Blogs from Great Smoky Mountains Parkway, Tennessee, United States, North America

So far the trip has been amazing and we have not had lots of separation anxiety from Nathan when he stays behind to sleep in the camper with Uncle Mike, Auntie Jenn, Ellie, and Grayson. It seems like it is the beginning of Nathan learning his independence when he says his nightly goodbyes that he is going to be fine, and he still needs help from Mike and Jenn so it is not that bad like if he was with non-family. It is really cute to see when Vivian sees him when we get to the campground in the mornings and she runs and gives him a great big hug! Rosie says she wants to sleep in the camper "next time" or when she is 6 years old too like Nathan. At the campground we saw ... read more

Today, I dragged the family to Cade’s Cove which is an area in the park that used to be a town. It is a 11-mile one-way loop with several historic homes, churches, etc.. It wasn’t that great and I'm sorry we went. It was crowded and required stopping and walking to many of the locations. We stopped at Cable Mill Historic Area and got some souvenirs and saw some historic buildings that had been moved to the site (two barns, a home and a mill). Drove out of Cade's Cove on Rich Mountain Road (dirt) and around back to Elkmont. This took way longer than expected. Then we picked up the trailer and left via Pigeon Forge which was Gatlinburg on steroids and the location of Dollywood and headed toward Shenandoah a day ahead of schedule. ... read more

It rained all night. In the morning we drove to Visitor Center and asked for Junior Ranger books which once again weren't sent with the materials I requested. Due to being over 13, we got a “not so junior ranger” flyer which requires attending three ranger events. It turns out we couldn't make three events, so this is another park that we didn’t get badges for. Junior Ranger requires participants (usually kids, but sometimes adults) to do activities to get familiar with a park. They usually require attending one ranger activity. When you are done you get sworn in as a Junior Ranger by a park ranger and get a plastic or wooden ranger pin. I have all of the pins from the other parks we've visited through the years in frames for the kids. We ... read more

LeConte Lodge sits atop Mount LeConte. The only way in and out is by using the trails. To get supplies to the lodge, and to get trash out of the lodge, they used to use horses. Eventually, they switched to llamas. Three times a week, a llama train makes its way up Trillium Gap Trail in the morning to LeConte Lodge. After eating lunch, the llama train is led back down the same trail. The Trillium Gap Trail is a popular one for hikers staying at the lodge. It's longer than the Alum Cave Trail, but it's not as steep. The trail has needed updating, so the National Park Service announced that they would be doing repairs on the trails for two years: 2019 and 2020. From mid-May through mid-November, this trail would be closed Mondays, ... read more

Tubing is an adventure! This is something I’d heard about from my mother-in-law, who is a Texan. I think it’s common to go tubing in rivers where she’s from. Me, I’d never heard of such a thing before I’d met Andrew. When I read up on Elkmont Campground at the Great Smoky Mountains, I read something about how people tube down the Little River there. There are videos on YouTube, and it looks to be a lot of fun. Our campsite is right on the Little River, so I was excited to try it! You need to bring your own tubes for tubing. For Christmas, I got river tubes for my mother-in-law and the kids. I also got the kids some life vests. So, we were prepared! Or so we thought. As it turns out, there ... read more