Chattanooga/Smoky Mountain Trip Day 8

 DAY 8 SATURDAY

(Me at Grotto Falls)

Another early day for me.  I’d so much rather get up early and beat the crowds if possible.  I set my alarm for 6:00 am, made a quick thermos of coffee, got dressed and ate my donut in the car while driving to the trailhead for Grotto Falls.   

Starting early paid off and there were only 2 other cars in the parking lot when I pulled in.   I grabbed my backpack and hiking stick and took off.  It was a beautiful clear, cool morning but I quickly worked up a sweat on the uphill trail.  Everything was so green and the sun streaming through the trees was just beautiful.   Grotto Falls is 25 ft high and about 3 miles round trip to hike.  It wasn't a difficult hike at all.

I had the trail to myself the entire way up and 40 minutes later I rounded a bend and saw the falls in the distance!

The really cool thing about Grotto Falls is that you can actually walk behind the falls.  What a thrill!! 

 This was another hike that I’ve been wanting to do for a long time.  After several pictures and a few gulps of water I headed back down.   I passed dozens of hikers who were now on their way up but the ones that impressed me the most were bringing up a woman in a wheelchair.  They had constructed a travois of sorts and attached it to her wheelchair.  Her husband, who looked to be maybe 75-80 years old, lead the way with a harness strapped to his waist and shoulders.  Pushing from behind was their daughter and her husband.  They were all smiles and laughs and the elderly woman in the wheelchair was having the time of her life.   I can only assume they made it to the top and I prayed they did because they certainly were putting forth a lot of effort and love.   Way to go!!  The parking lot was completely full when I got back down.  Going early pays off!!   

I took my time heading back towards Gatlinburg by taking Roaring Forks Road, stopping several times along the way to get out and explore old abandoned homesteads and enjoying the stunning scenery.

When I got back to Gatlinburg I decided to head back towards Rainbow Falls so I could stop at the Noah "Bud" Ogle Homestead and do the nature walk there, which also happened to be a geocache called "Bud's Tub."  Bonus!   The hike through the woods there was really pretty and I was glad I took the time to drive back and check it out.

All this and it wasn’t even 11:00 yet.  I headed over to the Sugarland Visitor Center and found a parking space and got out to walk the Nature Trail and the Cascade Falls trail.  I was so glad I did.  It was just such a nice day, but Saturday was proving to be extremely crowded with people everywhere.   

 

Ugh, just too many people for me so I decided to call it quits after hiking the 2 trails, and headed back to the Campgrounds.  I stopped at the Hungry Bear and ordered a brisket sandwich with sides of potato salad and coleslaw.  

I ate about ¾ of it all and took the rest back to the campgrounds with me to have for dinner later.  I spent the next few hours cleaning and organizing my car and tent in anticipation of leaving in the morning.   I was sad that my little trip was already coming to an end.  Vacations always seem to go by so quickly, don’t they?   But I’m really missing my dogs and I know they’ll be happy to see me.  

All in all, it was a wonderful trip!  I had a fantastic time in spite of the rain.  I enjoyed camping in both my tent and the car.  I got to scratch several items off my bucket list - Go to the top of Lookout Mountain in Chattanooga, experience the splendor of the Great Smoky Mountains, climb to the top of Clingmans Dome and hike to Grotto Falls.  I also picked up 6 new patches for my jacket, bought 3 books to enjoy and collected tons of brochures and maps.  It was an amazing adventure.  I know I'll be back again some day to explore more of everything the Smoky Mountains have to offer.

 

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Chattanooga/Smoky Mountain Trip Day 7

 DAY 7  FRIDAY

This morning I woke at 6:00 am, eager to get to Cades Cove before the crowds.  It was chilly out, 45 degrees, so I quickly got dressed, made a cup of coffee, hastily brushed my teeth and took a coffee cup to go as I hit the road.  It was an hour drive to Cades Cove but it was a beautiful morning, quiet and green, with no rain in sight.  

I pulled into the parking lot at 7:45 and was happy to see only one other car at the first stop.  Cades Cove is a collection of historic houses, churches and buildings scattered in 15 groups around an 11 mile loop.   

Love this headstone - read it!

It was great fun to pull up and explore the different buildings.   Some were quite close to the road and others required a hike of several blocks to get to them.    My favorite was the Elijah Oliver place because I had to hike 5 blocks to get to it.  

I spotted 2 deer eating outside one of the barns.   They peered cautiously at me for a few moments before turning and disappearing into the woods behind them. 

  After 2 hours of exploring it was beginning to get crowded with cars and I had to make a decision – either forgo the rest of the buildings so I could hike the Abrams Falls Trail, or skip the trail and continue exploring the houses.   I finally decided to continue on with the buildings because the Cable Mill was coming up and that’s one I particularly wanted to see and it did not disappoint.   

It was actually my favorite stop on the tour, with plenty of buildings to poke around in and the visitor center was there as well.  

I popped inside the Visitors Center and purchased a couple more patches for my jacket and headed back to the car.  When I pulled out onto the loop I was dismayed to see that traffic was now bumper to bumper and moving at a snails pace of 7 miles per hour.  I turned off to check out one more house and then decided to call it quits.   It was just too crowded.   I snaked around the remainder of the loop and finally reached the exit and pointed my car towards Gatlinburg.  

My stomach was rumbling and it was almost noon so I munched on a Cliff Bar until I found parking in Gatlinburg and headed up the strip in search of something to eat.  I quickly decided on a Nathan’s hot dog with home made chips.  

I didn’t really feel like doing any shopping so I decided to try a Geocaching Adventure Lab to kill some time.  Adventure Labs are new and popping up all over the place.  They are very similar to Geocaching except that instead of having to find a container of some sort and signing a logbook, Adventure Labs take you to different locations and you have to get information and answer a question.  I pulled one up on my phone and was soon headed off in multiple directions throughout Gatlinburg, learning some history about the town and answering questions.  I ended up going to five different locations and ended up in a cemetery where I correctly answered the final question and got credit for my first complete adventure lab.  Here's some of the locations I had to visit..

It was quite fun and I rewarded myself with a raspberry Donut from the Donut Friar as well as a cinnamon donut to save for breakfast in the morning.   By then I was hot and tired so I headed back to the campground where I spent the rest of the evening laying on the cot in my tent and reading “Gone with the Wind.”   Altogether a very nice day.

Next up - my final day in the Smoky Mountains and a hike to the famous "Grotto Falls."

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