Our second stop was Great Smoky Mountains National Park. We spent four nights with my high school friend, Betsie and her son, Ryan at a beautiful site on the Little River in Elkmont Campground. It began raining upon our arrival, so we set up camp in the rain and ate dinner in the tent. The Little River was freezing cold, but we swam several times a day since there are NO showers in the park. We laughed all week about the differences in the amount of gear that each family brought. Betsie came with her car loaded, pulling a small trailer full of gear. She had it ALL - dutch ovens for cooking in the fire, multiple HUGE air mattresses, several tents (one was the size of a mcmansion), etc. We, on the other hand, squeezed all of our gear into the Thule pod on top of the car and only had the bare necessities.
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| Roasting marshmallows for s'mores |
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| The Little River, next to our campsite |
The first hike we did was an easy walk up to Laurel Falls. I wish we had opted for a less popular trail as this one was paved and very crowded.
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| Laurel Falls | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
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| Zoe and I at Laurel Falls. Day two without a shower! |
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One day we toured Cades Cove, a beautiful original settlement that has been preserved by the park system. We visited historical buildings and viewed wildlife - bears were the main attraction!
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| Zoe and Zan participate in a Junior Ranger Program. |
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| Look closely for the bear cub! Cades Cove is full of wildlife that you can see from the car on the one way loop through the area. The drive through was full of "bear jams." In addition to bears, we saw people getting out of their cars and running into the woods after the bears - mind boggling! |
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| Cades Cove |
On our last full day in the park we went for a beautiful hike on the Little River Trail and the Cucumber Gap Trail.
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| Cucumber Gap Trail |
On our way out of the park we stopped at Clingman's Dome, the highest point in the Smoky Mountains. The Smoky Mountains are just as tall as the White Mountains, but the peaks are all covered with trees. We are accustomed to climbing just about any mountain in New Hampshire and having a view at the top. At the top of Clingman's Dome is a bizarre concrete structure with a ramp, allowing a view (on a clear day) of the Smoky Mountains. T 
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| Viewing tower on Clingman's Dome. The Appalachian Trail runs just below the tower. |
