Happy Spring! We had a wonderful time on our adventure during Remington’s Spring Break a few weeks ago! For some time we knew we wanted to get away to somewhere that we could spend time outdoors. So we rented an RV, packed up lots of food, and drove 6 hours south to the Great Smoky Mountains! In preparing for our trip, we watched some videos on YouTube. We were going to be in bear country, after all, so we wanted to be sure we knew what to possibly expect! Black bears don’t like surprises, so if you are hiking, it’s recommended to make a little noise while on your way. They’re afraid of humans, and will avoid us in most cases. We did carry bear deterrent spray in the case that we came upon a bear at close range. Another tip was that if you do come close to a black bear, make yourself appear as big and scary as possible! Throw large rocks and sticks, make noise, say “hey, bear!”, and move sideways in another direction while keeping an eye on the bear. While we did not get to see any black bears, we did see some deer and elk, salamanders, woodpeckers, and a few squirrels. One evening, we could hear an owl in the distance, as well as many frogs chirping, and even some coyotes howling! The starry night sky was a favorite view as we sat around the campfire. The boys loved camping, making s’mores, finding sticks and rocks, and each had their own bunk bed! We did quite a bit of hiking, including a nature trail not too far from our campsite, that led up a mountain and back down again. Remington and Emerson are great climbers! The weather was cooler the first few days, and it warmed up later in the week. We spent a day walking around Gatlinburg, enjoying the sunshine and some ice cream. We did a short tour to Ober Gatlinburg, riding in a scenic skylift through the mountains on steel cables! Once at Ober Gatlinburg, we rode the Mountain Coaster, which we had discovered on YouTube! It was a fun way to spend the afternoon for sure! We’re already looking forward to returning to the Smoky Mountains in the future! Maybe we’ll see some bears in the trees! Side note: For some reason, adding my iPhone photos to this platform was not working! So my photos of our hike up a mountain to see Laurel Falls will be saved for a later date! Plus, carrying my big camera was impossible at times while climbing! I carried Emerson three-fourths of the way up to the waterfall, and once we reached it, I slipped and fell on the slippery, moss-covered rocks after putting him down! It was a popular destination that day with the most perfect sunny spring weather! At our next stop, I discovered that I had landed right on my camera that I was carrying in my backpack when I had fallen. Luckily, only a protective lens filter was damaged! Whew! Ok, ok, enough of my rambling! How about some pictures! 😉
