Smoky Mountains Trip

We had a fun and busy spring break visiting The Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Entrance to the park was free. There was a charge for parking - $5 per day or $15 per week. Parking lots filled up fast!

Favorite hikes:

• Chimney Peak:  4 mi round-trip, very steep (1400 ft elevation gain, mostly over a course of a mile). Not the best view ever, but it was a good starter hike for our trip.
• Mt Le Conte via Arch Rock (spectacular!) and Alum Cave Bluffs (pretty neat); had lunch at the lodge on the top of the mountain (accessible by hiking only...). Mt Le Conte is 6,593 ft. Roundtrip distance, 11 mi; elevation gain, 2700 ft.
• This was the longest family hike we've ever done! Very challenging and very fun! The views are tremendous and the hike itself feels adventurous enough that all the kids loved it. There were cables to hold on to - so I was OK (I have a rather healthy fear of heights).
• Husband and E did 2 extra-miles because there was no parking available at the trail head. They dropped the girls and me off with the backpacks and hydration packs, then found parking, then jogged back to the trail head.
• Porter's Creek hike - amazingly beautiful trail with wildflowers, streams, waterfalls! H chose not to go (I think she missed out). Round-trip, 7 mi; not too steep.

Because most of the hikes we did were fairly challenging, H and I needed a break - there was one day the two of us stayed home for a few hours while the rest of the family did more hiking. My knees were really hurting and H had sore legs, so a bit of a rest was good for us! We read, played board games, and chatted. 

Pigeon Forge: we drove through it and all of us got sensory overload (lots of flashing lights! amusement parks! fast food! more amusement parks! hotels and motels! gas stations! lots and lots of gas stations and hotels! and those flashing lights everywhere!). It's crazy - I've never seen anything like that. Gas there was cheapest we've seen in a while. Other than getting gas and groceries, we avoided it. 

Gatlinburg: touristy and crowded... but we had fun.

• Breakfast at the Crockett's Breakfast Camp was amazing. I had buckwheat pancakes. 
• We got souvenirs for ourselves and family. 
• Husband and 2 of the kids went to play miniature golf. 
• H and I did more shopping and went to a haunted house.

Ober Mountain (in Gatlinburg): we took a "tram" (a gondola) up the mountain. This is, apparently, the only skiing place in TN. There were rides for kids - alpine coaster, ice bumper cars, rock climbing, etc. They had fun. Husband and I relaxed. Saw a bear from the gondola on the way down!

Cherokee and Bryson City: a much less crowded and touristy part of the park. 

• We hiked the Lonesome Pine trail (~8 mi round-trip; beautiful views of the country).
• Got treats (ice cream!) in Bryson City at an old-fashioned ice cream shop.

Additional notes: the airbnb we rented was near a large pond that had ducks, fish and turtles. We didn't spend a lot of time there, but it was nice to be able to walk down to the pond and enjoy the peace and quiet. In the evenings, we all watched comedies together next to the fireplace.