Yesterday morning Joel and I went back to Crooked Arm Cascade.

It’s such a pretty place, easy to get to, AND

we like to play in the water.
A little later, we met the rest of our gang

for a carriage ride. Bless his heart, our driver, who is obviously not a good judge of character,

let Hudson and Denton drive.

After that, Josie just couldn’t watch.
When the carriage ride was over, we all walked back to the cascade.

Toward the end of our little journey, some of us couldn’t help but get a little wet. That was o.k. because our next stop was the cabin.

Good thing, huh? Well, that’s a wrap for this trip.

Yesterday evening Joel and I drove back to Cade’s Cove to find the Crooked Arm Cascade. The hike to the cascade is just a little over half a mile. The cascade is about twenty feet wide with a twenty five foot drop and a forty foot run. The trail to Crooked Arm Ridge

is on the right just as you begin the eleven mile loop through the Cove.

After finding the cascade, which photographs do not do justice,

we followed the creek to a field which contained a small tree covered hill that I have always wanted to climb.

And I climbed it. It really wasn’t much of a going concern compared to the hills that surround it, but if it was on our property, I would have a hideout there.

Then we walked back through the field to the road and back to the car. We had had ourselves a fabulous time.

By eight this morning the last snow flake had fallen, the sun was out, and from the porch

you could see the mountains. We all loaded up and headed into the park to find a place to walk that we ALL would enjoy. We wound up in the Elkmont campground. The boys were beside themselves because the place was COVERED with snow. So as soon as we parked

the games began.

All of the guys

got involved, and I

got in the way.
As soon as we could get the twins under control

we headed up Little River Trail that parallels

the river on an old roadbed. We took our time

because the boys wouldn’t stop making snow balls. But, that was alright. They really enjoyed themselves.
The scenery was beautiful, and we took lots of pictures along the way.

So much snow, so little time.

Traveling with children is a lot like traveling with dogs. I don’t mean that in a bad way, it’s just that you have to stop every so often and let them run. In the Smokies, we’ve found that the best place to do that is Cades Cove. So, yesterday evening we headed back to the Cove for just that reason.
We stopped at the field that borders the John Oliver place.

The boys had been wanting to make snowmen

and this seemed like a good place for them to make that happen.

Josie came out to cheer her brothers on.

Papa helped with the construction.

Then we took a group photo with our new friends.
After that we drove down Hyatt Lane and got out at another field for even more fun.

They had a fabulous time.

Then, on our way back to the car, I found one of those mood rings. It fit perfectly.
.

Nikki asked what kind of mood I was in. I told her that it looked like I was in the mood for supper. So we made a beeline for the Firefly Cafe. I actually knew that before I found the ring.

Well, it snowed all night.

And this is what it looked like from our front porch.

We all decided to take a hike, so we drove over to the Little Greenbriar trailhead and walked through the snow covered forest for about two and a half miles. This is a record of our trip.

I’ve been on this trail several times before, but today it was more beautiful than all the other times put together.

Forrest Gump’s mama would have said that the mountains are like a box of chocolates…you never know what you’re going to get. Yesterday, we were sitting on the porch enjoying the sunshine. Last night, when we were leaving the Firefly Cafe, it was pouring down rain. Then, we awoke morning to this.

I’m sure that my Alaska friends are not impressed,

but my daughter-in-law was beside herself.

So were my grandchildren.
As a matter of fact, it snowed all day.

Josh was very careful to protect himself from snow blindness.
Joel and I went for a couple of walks.

We headed down Finley Cane trail and toward Anthony Creek trail.

The woods were lovely, dark and deep. But we had promises to keep. We had promised to meet Josh and the gang for a drive through Cades Cove. What follows is a record of our journey.

After leaving the Cove we stopped at the Townsend Wye to let the boys play by the water. When we were walking down the hill, Hudson said, “We’re going to make some new friends because there are some kids over there.” He was right. They met Nathan and Benjamin, who were their age and

were identical twins. You never know what you’re going to get. What a neat way to end a day.

Joel and I drove into Wears Valley about 10:30 this morning. Our check-in time at the cabin wasn’t until one, so we drove over the mountain, into the park, and to the entrance of Gatlinburg

where the NOC Outdoor Center is located. We both needed new pants and hiking boots.

These are mine.
By the time that we returned to Wears Valley, we were able to get into the cabin. Before long, the rest of our crew arrived. At the top of Hudson and Denton’s list

was the hot tub. That thing was not on my list at all, but you see where I wound up.
It was a nice afternoon

so we hung out on the porch while we decided where we would go for supper.

We chose the Firefly Cafe in Townsend.

We were all able to find something to our pleasing. Josh ordered the Cowboy Special.

It was Texas toast topped with hamburger steak, topped with mashed potatoes, topped with gravy and onions, and a bowl of greens on the side. “Hoss” Jaques ate the whole thing.

We left at six this morning on our journey to the mountains. About six hours later, in a little town just outside Meridian, Mississippi, we saw a sign for a store that was on the historic registry. We said, “What the heck, let’s check it out.”

So we did. The Simmons-Wright Company has operated as a general/mercantile store since 1884.

It’s a fascinating place to wander through. It was a little chilly in there, and seemingly the only heat

comes from this thing. I saw things that I have not seen in years.

Then, I noticed something that sent my mind back to Alaska…to the day

that Trish, Lee and I slid down that hill, right up to Jennifer’s garage. (No matter where you go, there you are.)
The place served breakfast and lunch, and while we were there they took some chocolate chip cookies out of the oven. Joel bought four…two for each of us.
We left there and drove through parts of Alabama and Georgia before reaching Tennessee. About 6:30 this evening

we checked into a Hampton Inn about thirty minutes past Chattanooga. We only have a hundred miles to drive tomorrow.

Tomorrow morning Joel and I will be heading to the Smokey Mountains, so this morning we tied up some loose ends in preparation for our departure. We made an early trip to the feed store…so early that the store dog

wasn’t good awake. As a matter of fact, he was still on his bed, eyes half open, snoring.
Joel got some seeds, and I got some staples

to repair the goat fence. The last thing I need is for those goats to get loose while we’re gone. While I was in Alaska, Rose and Jasmine got out and trimmed Joel’s citrus trees. To tell you the truth, I’m glad that I was 4000 miles from home when that happened.
The goats, chickens, guinea, turkey, pigeons, rabbit, dog and cats will be

under my sister-in-law, Donna’s care. Although, one time when we were gone, Donna ran over Willow with the golf cart and had to jack the thing up to pull her out. Willow’s horns are now uneven and her tail pointed to the left for several months, but she was fine. Actually, she was in better shape than Donna.
Even though I’m excited about our trip, there is a part of me that would like to stay

because the yard is in full bloom. But, there should be plenty of wild flowers in the mountains.
Speaking of flowers,

remember these gears? Well, they are now flowers.

I call them “geardenias”.
Well, let me throw a few things in a backpack, because tomorrow starts early.

This morning Joel, Tammy, Donna, Donna’s daughter Jean, and I

headed down the Azalea Trail to meet Tommy and a few couples from his Sunday School class for hot dogs and a hike.  Actually, they met us, because we got there first…which, according to my calculations, was on time.  But that was alright.

It was an absolutely beautiful day so we didn’t mind hanging out by the creek

and chatting until the rest of the group arrived.

Before long, we heard children’s voices and then were able to see

some of the guys coming down the hill with the food.  Not far behind them

were the girls, who were carrying fire wood. Something about that just didn’t seem right. Just sayin’.

There were five children.

Four of them were big enough to play in the creek.

And then there was Tatum, who stood at the water’s edge and threw in sticks.

Blake started the fire while the rest of us visited.

Then, while the fire was doing it’s thing to get ready to be cooked over, some of the young men decided

that their shirts needed to be hung out to dry.

Not long after that,

the cooking began…

followed by

the eating…followed by

a hike.  I felt that it was a little to soon after the meal for that, but hey, what do I know.  Thank goodness we didn’t go too far.  For some reason, Joel was appointed the leader, and the children stayed right behind him all the way til the end,

when I noticed that he was even carrying one.