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Published: July 11th 2008
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Hello again!
After about 500 miles of driving (mostly Jim driving and me sleeping) and four states (Maryland, West Virginia, Virginia and Tennessee) we arrived in the beautiful Smoky Mountains for 3 nights and three whole days of hiking and camping bliss.
Day One: We arrived at Pigeon Forge, a nightmare! It's a gaudy city surrounded by the beauty of the mountains. It's a redneck wannabee Las Vegas on acid, with more Christianity and no gambling. There, surrounded by the beauty of the mountains, you are in an ADHD nightmare. You cannot even enjoy the natural scenery because everywhere you look there is a huge neon sign, big buildings with dinosaurs crashing through them, dancing bears, flashing lights, and dinner theater clips displayed on huge jumbotrons.. including the one for the newest Christian dinner theater hit... "MIRACLE"! Jesus and a chicken dinner! Only in Pigeon Forge. Honestly, what more could a person want?
We pretty much stayed in our hotel room that night and huddled in the corner for safety (well, not quite, but we were overwhelmed by the commotion and chaos of Pigeon Forge). I went in the pool, and was practically killed by little kids diving
and cannon balling on me. The parents that were there thought that this was very cute. I wanted to strangle a few of them myself.. the kids and the parents.
DAY TWO: Finally out of the hell hole of Pigeon Forge, we drove into the Smoky Mountains for a day of hiking. First stop was Clingman's Dome. This was the highest peak in the park and the highest point on the Appalachian Trail. This was an easy hike; 1/2 mile to the top of the mountain and 1/2 mile back. At the top there was an observatory where we could get a great view of the park.
Next was a hike called the Chimney Tops. This was a Jim pick, and one I was definitely NOT ready for. At first when I heard it was only 4 miles round trip, I thought that it would be a cinch. Not quite. It was an absolutely grueling 2 mile trek uphill at a very steep grade that at times I was crawling up. There was no relief from the uphill climb. I was dying! It was a battle of wills, me or the mountain. Jim made it up about 15-20
minutes before I finally reached the top. Boy was it worth it. Aching all over and barely able to breathe, we sat down and saw the best view of the Smokys that anyone could dream of. It was unreal. On the way back down, that was when the rain started...
We headed to our campsite to set up our tent. On the drive to the campgrounds a coyote ran in front of the car. Our campsite was beautiful. It was adjacent to a small stream that we could swim in. There was a pause in the rain (THANKFULLY!) so we were able to cook dinner, take a dip in the stream, and get a small campfire going. Setting up the campsite was such a chore after the hike we already did. We really had to push ourselves to get that done. I definitely was thankful for Jim's patience with me that night because I was not a happy camper... literally.
That night the rain continued to pour. Then the lightning began. Jim and I slept for a little while in the car. It was a LOOOONNNNGGGG night. Our stuff got wet because in a rush to get into
the car and away from the lightning, we did not close all the windows in our tent, and we had towels and shoes out on a clothes line. EVERYTHING WAS SOAKED.
DAY THREE: We headed to Cade's Cove and Abrams Falls. Cades Cove is a scenic drive where people are supposed to see animals. However, Jim and I saw more dead road kill than anything else. We then hiked to Abram's Falls. This was 5 miles and at the end there was a waterfall and you could swim at the base of it. What a relief from a good hike. On the way back, it started to pour again...
It was raining so hard that we went out to dinner at a town next to Pigeon Forge. At dinner we asked our waiter if there were any bookstores so that we could have something to read in our tent that night. The waiter looked at me like I had 3 heads and asked, "What type of books you all want? Christian? uhh, Occult?" I looked at him and said, "umm.. fiction?" HAHA! That's Pigeon Forge for you.
DAY FOUR: Our last day. It rained through the night,
Pigeon Forge
This was a go-cart place with multiple stories to drive on. which didn't matter because I was so tired, I slept the whole time. Jim was up most of the night. He was worried that it would lightning again. That morning while there was a lull in the rain, we packed up our site. We headed out for our last hike, to Rainbow Falls.
I DID NOT WANT TO GO. I was soaked, my body was killing me, I hadn't showered in over 3 days... but Jim really wanted to go, so we went.
The hike was about 2.7 miles up the mountain, then down on the return. About 3/4 the way up the mountain the rain started again. We trudged through the rain to the top of the mountain. When we reached the falls it was worth the effort. The cascading waterfall was breathtakingly beautiful. On the way back down to the car, both Jim and I were ready for a good meal, hot showers and a REAL WARM, DRY BED!
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Julie
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Hey!
Hey Bethany and Jim! Niiiiiiiiiice scenery in your photos! I hope everything is going well with you both. Miss you and hope you enjoy the rest of your trip!