In July we drove to Pigeon Forge, TN for our first major family vacation. I was honestly really nervous about the long drive. I was worried about not having enough to do, or too much to do.
But it went really well. And as much as I love the Rocky Mountains and I thought I might be dissapointed, the Smoky Mountains are beautiful. Quick rundown of our trip, the day we arrived we did a short auto-loop through one of the closer entraces to the park. The next day we drove around and explored a bit farther even going to our highest point of the trip. The next morning we went to Dollywood for a short time, but it was just okay. We spent that evening doing some exploring in Gatlinburg. The third morning we went to Dollywood Splash Country, which was amazing (and undocumented because I didn't take my camera). Our fourth and final "full day" we drove the Cades Cove wildlife loop. And the fifth day was the long drive home (although we left early enough to have lunch in Mid-Missouri).
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| Our Cabin home for the week |
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| Cozy and perfect! |
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| Should have taken a picture of the vaulted ceilings |
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| First picture of rushing water (there are 150 more) |
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| Lush, green, wet. Beautiful. |
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| An early settlers cabin |
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| The Bud Ogle Cabin |
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| Exploring the barn on the homestead |
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| Happy "Campers" |
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| At most of the "Scenic View" stops there were several people |
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| Staircase of tree roots |
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| Lower elevations, these are just called "hilltops" there. |
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| Each of the kids got their own camera for vacation |
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| The fam and rushing water! |
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| Official Entrance |
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| "A Wonder of the World" |
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| No jagged edges here |
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| Wish I could hear the water now |
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| The family truckster |
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| Getting up a bit higher now |
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| Why head to Maine, when Sweat Heifer Creek is just ahead |
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| "Hiking" the Appalachian Trail on a foggy morning |
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| Look we are in two states at once! |
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| On a clear day this western view is 100 miles, today is is 2 feet (that is fog not a fuzzy picture) |
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| At 6642 feet! |
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| This trail took us to the high point, you change 400 feet of elevation in a half mile |
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| Sassy poses in the ferns |
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| A more serious explorer |
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| One of our favorite views |
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| The original crafts remaining from when it was SDC Tenn are all marked |
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| Dollywood wagon shop |
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| Wilderness Church at Dollywood |
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| There are several Bald Eagles in a preservation program at Dollywood |
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| This is Pilgrim, the oldest Eagle |
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| Blazing Fury, or as we called it, Fire in the Hole with no water. |
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| In the "Eagles Nest" |
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| Girls with the Butterfly |
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| Letting Riley take me for a spin |
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| Davis drove Daddy |
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| At the Ireland store in Dollywood |
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| Grist Mill |
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| Think I could do this arrangement on our lamppost? |
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| BIG train. (But no robbery) |
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| The carousel is beautiful, but the only pic I got was the rooster (Davis rode a deer and Riley a leaping horse) |
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| On the route to Cade Cove |
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| First deer of the morning |
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| First bear of the day |
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| Bucks! |
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| Same bucks |
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| Got all five in the one |
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| Watched this guy bed down, even though he was being pestered |
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| Momma with 2 cubs |
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| Momma digging for grubs |
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| Another bear |
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| Momma and cubs again |
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| Panoramic view |
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| Still pool near the rushing water |
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| Back toward the steeper areas of the park |
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| On a walk near the main entrance |
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| Kings of the "mountain" |
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| Very cold water! |
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| Overlooking part of Gatlinburg |
