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Gatlinburg
Amy and I spent a few days in the Gatlinburg/Smokey Mountain area last week for a short "couples getaway", while the kids stayed with Mom and Dad (AKA "Gaga" and "Papa"). We had a great time enjoying the Smokies and Cade's Cove, hiking, shopping, and just relaxing in God's creation! The one downer was that it rained pretty much the entire time we were down there. However, it never poured, and didn't really deter us from our plans. The worst part was that we didn't really get to appreciate what probably would have been some incredible views in the mountains.
We actually stayed in Knoxville the first night, because we were arriving late and didn't want to try and find our cabin in the dark. Thursday morning, we got up and drove to Cade's Cove. This is a pristine valley area inside the National Park with beautiful views and lots of history.
Some of the original structures built by settlers in the 1800s are still preserved, and there are three old church buildings and cemetaries in the cove. The area is also known for wildlife viewing. Many visitors see black bears and cubs, and there is an abundance of deer. We hoped to see a bear, but didn't. We did, however, see several deer and a fox (pictures). We visited a house built by John Oliver in the early 1800s that is still standing and still mostly in its original condition. It was pretty amazing to see the skill of construction. Particularly interesting to me were the wooden hinges on the doors, and the notched construction of the walls. This served two purposes: the slope of the notches kept water running away from the house, and the shape, like a dovetail, gave the structure added strength. The fireplace and chimney is also original, the bricks are held in place with mud from the valley.
Friday was our shopping day, and we visited several shops and outlet stores in Pigeon Forge and Sevierville. We had hoped to spend some time on the strip in Gatlinburg, but we ran out of time and were pretty tired, so we didn't get to do that. One stop we had to make while in Pigeon Forge was the Apple Barn and the Applewood Farmhouse Restaurant. We ate here the last time we came down, and it is now a tradition. Every meal comes with the Apple Barn's well-known apple fritters and homemade apple butter... mmmmmmm.... apple fritters..... After a big meal, we headed back towards the cabin for the night.
Since Amy had a day of shopping, I got to set the agenda for Saturday. I decided to do a hike in the park. We were originally going to try the Chimney Tops trail, but one of the big attractions for that trail is the view, and with the rainy/cloudy weather, we were afraid that we wouldn't see anything. So instead, we decided on the Rainbow Falls trail. This is one of the trails that can be used to approach Mount LeConte, although we only hiked as far as the falls. This was still a pretty big hike for us to attempt--it's 2.7 miles from the trailhead to the falls, with an elevation change of about 1600 feet (then you have to turn around and hike the 2.7 miles back). It was pretty challenging, but we made it. The falls were beautiful--there was plenty of water from the rain to supply them! You can't really tell how big they are from the pictures--the drop of the falls is about 80 feet! Also, my camera lens got a little wet, so the picture quality suffered a little. I didn't notice this until we were back at the cabin after the hike. Amy had to endure a couple of blisters (neither of us had properly broken-in boots), but I think she was glad she did the hike.
Sunday it was time to come back home. We took back roads for a while to avoid the traffic out