July 22, 2021 : Pigeon Forge TN

This morning Laura and John were off to the Pink Jeep Tour of the Roaring Fork trial! We headed into the mountains with our super awesome, chatty guide Steve! We learned a lot from him - John has been spouting off facts ever since! 

The first stop was the entrance sign - which John had to climb!

 

We got a lot of waves in the pink Jeep! John picked out a onesie for his sister that says Wild and Cute!

We stopped a few other vistas…


And saw the first mill in the Great Smoky Mountains. It was owned by Mr. Reagan who wanted to make money - so he built a mill for all the other families to pay to use. Then he wanted to invest his earnings in another endeavor… 

During his time, there was a program as part of the New Deal called the Civilian Conservation Corp; young main signed up to work in the forests building the parks. While they had to send home $25 of the $30 they made per month, they still had $5 in their pockets which was more than they could spend on moonshine alone! So Mr. Reagan started making pancake breakfasts for these men - and it was a HUGE success! Now there are a ridiculous number of pancakes places in the area!

We also found a few waterfalls; this one is called the fall of a thousand drips (or something like that!)

John was a big fan of Steve!

Steve had shown us a part of Pigeon Forge called the historical mill district - there they have a guy who was in Forged By Fire has a shop where you can forge your own knife. For just $15 John made his own knife! It was pretty awesome!

It was a busy hot day, but a good one! A little pool in the afternoon, followed by dinner and s’mores, rounded out our day today. 

July 18, 2021 : Pigeon Forge, TN

I’m just going to come right out and say it. Pigeon Forge is Kid Vegas… and we had NO idea! There are upside down building, a billion go-kart tracks, mini-golf galore, everything Dolly Parton related, mountain coasters, and more! Definitely not the sleepy mountain town we were expected. So we went off to find the mountains!

Driving the foothills parkway was recommended and it was beautiful. Gorgeous views of the Smokies and a lovely curving road that at times seems as if you are just going to drive into the sky. This is a favorite of motorcyclists. 

We stopped to have some snacks on the back of the trucks while watching a storm roll in over the mountains.

Elizabeth tried beef jerky for the first time (and was a fan!) Then the storm hit! So we headed underground to the Tuskaleechee Caverns. Discovered by a 6 and 8 year old in the 1030’s, the boys kept it a secret. Both were drafted into WWII; when they came home they bought the land with the mineral rights. The caverns are still privately owned by the family; we bought our tickets from the grandson of the 6 year old.

Elizabeth thought the echo was fantastic!!

There was also a huge waterfall! 

And a super cold riverbed!

We made it back and luckily the skies had cleared a little so John could get a little pool time before bed!

I think we are going to be glad for the extra time in Pigeon Forge!

July 25, 2021 : A Final Morning in the Smokies

Of course, we couldn’t leave the Smokies without John getting his junior ranger badge. Even though we had to leave today, we wanted to go back to the mountains one last time. First stop was the visitor center, where we were second in line when they opened. John did his pledge and we grabbed a few souvenirs before heading to one last hike!

We went to hike Grotto Falls, which is known for 1) having a waterfall you can walk behind, 2) having llamas hike to it! We only experienced the first!

It was lovely and already getting crowded when we went around 9:30. It was about a 1.6 mile hike, uphill, and we powered through!

The Grotto Falls trial is on the Roaring Fork road which is probably my favorite so far in the GSM (and also the name of one of my favorite restaurants in Austin!) The drive out was gorgeous, and we only got back to camp a few minutes past check out!

 

All in all, we had a GREAT time in Pigeon Forge, and didn’t even do many of the activities there due to rising COVID numbers.

Our next stop was at Old Stone Fort Archeological Part about an hour south of Nashville. While Richard was getting the trailer set up, Laura and the kids went hiking to find a little waterfall. We will explore more tomorrow!



There is something just so pretty and serene about state parks!

July 23, 2021 : Pigeon Forge

Today was Dad and John’s turn to do the Pink Tours; they went up to Newfound Gap and then got to the 4x4 adventure at the end too!

Laura and Elizabeth headed to Starbucks for work and meetings until the boys were done. Then we piled in the car and went to a picnic area the boys had leaned about on their tour. Each site had a picnic table, grill, and place to park, but you weren’t on top of others. We got a spot next to a creek; the boys went exploring!

Elizabeth and Mom hung out at the picnic site having a blast crawling in the dirt! Love this nature girl!

John lived Hill Billy Mini-Golf so much, he insisted on using his own money to get take us all back there again. This time there was a bathtub on the course!

That evening John decided his RV chore would be the dishes, and he does them faithfully every night. 

Tonight we hooked up the TV for the first time just to watch the opening ceremonies of the Olympics! Go USA!!!

July 24, 2021 : A Day in the Smokies Part 3

It was a little more clear at the top of the Smokies this time! (It is much colder up there than in the forest!) by the way, did you know the Great Smoky Mountains is classified as a rainforest because it gets 80-90 inches of rain each year (threshold for a rainforest is 70). 



John had fallen asleep in the car and wasn’t quite ready to be awake yet!

We then hiked up a steep half mile hill to the viewing tower… only to find ourselves back in the clouds! On a clear day you can see up to 7 states from here!

After one final rock scramble it was time to head out a good 13 hours after we started.

Today left us wanting more! We will definitely be planning another trip to the Great Smoky Mountains in the future!

July 24, 2021 : A Day in the Smokies Part 2

After making our (painfully slow) way through Caves Cove, we headed to the recommended Middle Prong Trial along the Middle prong Little River. We stopped and had lunch on the back of the truck in the woods, then it was off to hike and play. 

It was an easy beautiful trail with lots of little waterfalls and areas you can play in the water. We stopped for a bit where a bunch of butterflies were.

We left there late afternoon and decided to try Clingmans Done one more time!