Day 35

We woke up super early this morning to be able to pack up and head south again. Today was the day we were to say goodbye to The Dunlaps so we were going to finish the miles together then head our separate ways. Once we were all packed up and all filled up with a quick breakfast we hopped in the car and made it to our first spot pretty quickly - the highest spot on the parkway. I think this is one of my favorite photos or everyone from the whole trip!

We got back on the road and headed to Waterrock Knob for our last visitor's center. The kids were anxious to turn in their junior ranger books after working on them for the past month.  It wasn't supposed to be open until 10 so we said our goodbyes to Evey and Emily. It was awesome to have them with us this year in so many ways. Having never traveled together before it could have gone completely differently so we were both glad it didn't! 

We pulled on our hiking shoes and waved goodbye as they drove away and we started up the trail. This quick 1 mile trail was to be another awesome view and another straight up hike! It was a bittersweet climb as it was our last one on the parkway. The view was familiar but we could see the Smokey Mountains again.  All along our drive this morning I saw the Mountains To Sea Trail trail head snaking in and out of the woods and we passed it along this hike too. I think we might have to really consider hiking that soon!

The night before we talked to the kids about what they wanted to do on the way home. We had a few days to play with before we needed to be home. Brayden had always asked to go to Gatlinburg the few times we'd driven through so that was to be our first stop.  The kids were also itching to get into a swimming pool or semi-warm lake so they asked to go back to Cheaha in Alabama for another night before heading home. 

As we made the turn into Elkmont campground in the Smokey Mountains we saw the "campground full" sign. I made Dave keep driving hoping there were a few spots and they hadn't changed the sign. Lucky for us the check out deadline had just happened and we got first pick of the open campsites. We were so happy to be right on the bank of Little River. It was such a lovely white noise we had to raise our voices to be heard!

After we got everything set up we hopped back into the car to head to Gatlinburg. The kids were overwhelmed by all the stores and food, and people. I have to admit I was probably more overwhelmed more than them since I didn't get anything adjustment time since leaving the woods - so many people!! 

It also was about 50 degrees hotter than it had been in the mountains. About every 50 yards we ducked into a fudge shop to cool off and try some samples. I found a brewery after a little while so we slipped in there for some frickles, soft pretzels, and sandwiches. We reluctantly walked back outside to the heat searching for some ice cream. 

Now we were stuffed and I was tired of people and stuff everywhere so we hopped back in the car in search of ice and an easy breakfast for a quick departure in the morning.  When we are wanting to get on the road early it's no fun to have to cook and do dishes so I grabbed a protein shake for me and a danish for everyone else.

Once we made it back to the campsite it was challenge time.  The girls wanted to go walk around in the water and they challenged Dave to do the same. And that was just the beginning.  This water was so cold but they still all walked out to a rock which brought the water to the bottom of their shorts. Dave challenged them to walk out further then Ryan challenged them to dunk up to their shoulders. There was a lot of psyching up and screaming! Last Laney challenged everyone to dunk their heads and that was the end. There was no way Dave was going any further!

We started our last fire of the trip when it started to become dark while the kids snacked. How in the world they were hungry already I have no idea. Dave and I shared a few beers and I read before we all got tucked in our sleeping bags for the night. Another bonus of sleeping next to the relaxing river - no ear plugs needed!

Day 43

We started packing up pretty early and I headed down to the cooler to check out what we had for breakfast.  Our potatoes from the farmers market were ready to be eaten so we ended up with a big breakfast of cheesy potatoes, eggs, and fruit.  While Dave cooked (so nice!) I jenga-packed the car and we all ate breakfast. We said goodbye to Patricia and got on the road for a few stops before getting to our next park.  Dave and I were both looking forward to some downtime with just us and the kids for a few days.

Way back around day 3 or 4 the kids and I had enjoyed an evening program about the history of the caves.  At one point in the talk, the speaker mentioned some serpent mounds in Ohio. I put it on our list of possible things to do once we were back with Dave if it was not too far out of the way on our travels. After a little research, Dave found it was just a few minutes off our route so we stopped there first.

We stopped into the museum first and the kids loved learning how the people living there used spears and arrows before they created bows.  We even got a chance to throw spears with the atlatls!  Of course Ryan was the natural that beat us all, but it was neat to try for sure.

After watching the movie in the museum, we headed up the tower to view the mound.  We were impressed thinking about how these people designed and constructed this huge serpent. We'd learned archaeologists still didn't know the real reason why the mounds were built as they weren't for burial. They had a bunch of theories though, the most popular being a ceremonial mound.

See just how big they are next to the family?

We walked around the whole serpent taking a breaks to check out the head and the tail before walking back up to check out the store and the burial mounds. We'd learned inside how they had designed the burial mounds as well careful to respect and preserve the people buried.

Our next stop was nearby in Portsmouth at a brewery.  The building was old and beautiful with a huge working brewery inside. We decided on some snacks while Dave and I sampled a few of their beers.  On our way to the mounds, Patricia called us telling us to be sure to check out the murals on the flood walls in Portsmouth so as we were leaving we drove along the river to check them out.  The kids were amazed at the size and detail of each of the paintings!

There was a car behind us so Dave had to drive a little too fast for me to read them all, but we all really enjoyed the murals of the different important events and people of the area. The one of the area churches was really nice with a painting of each one set in what looked like stained glass ending up looking like a 20ft wall of stained glass.  Next we got to drive over a beautiful bridge!

Earlier this winter when talking about this trip, Uncle Terry had suggested we stop by Carter Caves State Park in Kentucky.  We were enjoying caves so much this trip!  We headed that way and were set up in no time.  We were lucky enough to be there during Pioneer Week with tons of schedule activities throughout the days we would be there.  The difficult part would be choosing between all of them and a tour of the caves!

Once we were set up, the kids hopped on their scooters and sped off to the playground nearby. Dave and I settled in at our site to have a beer and talk about the next day.  Unfortunately during our stay the kids caving tour wouldn't be offered so we would have to settle for a regular cave tour for all of us.







When the kids came back we cooked a quick dinner and opened a much anticipated surprise from one of the kids' friends Kyndall.  She had expertly wrapped a package to be opened on the road as a surprise for the kids and today was the day!   We love sushi, but candy sushi is a definite hit with this family!

 After everyone was sugared up we drove to the lodge for the night program.

It all our travels we'd learned a lot of history of each of the areas and this one was no different.  This program was about George Rogers Clark, a man responsible for some very strategic wins in the Revolutionary War. He was also the much older brother of the much more famous explorer William Clark. The benches were exceptionally uncomfortable, but the program was interesting and the kids seemed to enjoy the story. It was obvious the history of this man and time were a study this man was passionate about. After the program he answered some questions and delved into even more of the history.

We made it back to our site just in time for a little reading but were foiled by Brayden who'd lost his mouthpiece.  We spent our time looking for it but to no avail. The kids went to sleep and Dave and I laid thinking about all the possible places it could be.

Quote of the Day: Dave to the gift store lady, "What's with the quilt squares on the barns in Kentucky?"  Turns out there can be a reason other than decoration which was my answer! Many people add them to their barns in remembrance of someone.  Neat!