There were quite a few kids, older teenagers, and adults in these two site so Dave and I looked at each other thinking the night was going to be quite loud. We joked about finishing all the beers in the cooler just to have a good nights sleep. We did share a few beers but our night was surprisingly quiet and we all slept quite well.
The morning was chilly and Dave started on pancakes early so we could get on the road pretty quick.
The kids were up with the delicious smell and we were packed up and on the road by 8 which is probably a record having a cooked breakfast. It's nice having that guy around to share the load!
We decided on the first hour or so of backroads then we would stop for a stock up and drive on the highway for the rest. We had about a 6 hour drive ahead of us so we wanted a least some of it to be enjoyable. After about 45 minutes all the kids faces were turning green in the back and we had to stop. Dave and I felt like we'd been on a roller coaster too! The drive was beautiful though and we especially loved all the old barns and look what we ran into around a corner!
Dave and I switched driving so I could have some fun and Ryan decided to use Dave as a target. We were back in an area where we had cell service so he was go through all his emails from the past few days. Every 30 seconds or so we would be pegged in the head by taped up balls of paper! Whatever keeps them smiling!
We stopped for a quick stock up on food for our last few days in the woods as well as a quick ice cream. The kids and I had hit Smokey Mountain National Park last year on our way north so I knew it would be beautiful to share with Dave. One of the parts of the park we'd missed was Cades Cove so I decided to have us camp there. I knew it was going to be a fun drive when we still had 45 minutes and only 10 miles left! The temperature was dropping about a degree each couple minutes too!
We checked in, grabbed some firewood, then set up our site. Have I mentioned how nice it is to have Dave helping? We're on our 3rd day of camping and everything takes about half as long with him around! While I did our dishes from snacks in the car, the kids played target practice with their rubber band guns and lego guys.
We decided on a hike of the nature trail nearby after a little while. Every nature trail we'd ever done so far had been a flat, wide, accessible, winding path through native plants and trees. I had everyone stay in flip flops. I should have known better in the Smokey Mountains!
We learned a lot about the native trees in the area as the kids read the interpretive signs along the trail. The afternoon was beautiful and we were getting a little relief from all the heat in the woods.
This girl is so happy to have Dave back. She wouldn't let go of my hand the entire trip and now I haven't seen her for days! The only way she holds my hand is if she's already holding his!
Once we got back to the site and all the groceries put away, Dave started cooking dinner. He even had an assistant chef!
After dinner and dishes all the kids wanted to throw the football with Dave. I took the opportunity to get everything ready for the night. The girls enjoyed teaching Dave about poison ivy as we've run into so many different varieties these past few years of trips.
Our next night program was one Brayden was really looking forward to - a night hike! We got dressed and headed over to the shelter to meet the park ranger and get on our way.
Our park ranger was fun and he told stories at a few stops of the history of the park. The kids really enjoyed learning about the Cherokee so we'll be sure to focus a little more time on that this year. While we were hiking there were rangers on the trail doing studies on bats we were seeing flying above us. I was hoping they were going to take a minute to talk to us, but I guess not everything can be a learning opportunity!
We walked on a cut through road of the Cades Cove Loop back toward the park in the middle of one of the horse pastures. There was a half moon so the sky wasn't all the dark, but it was absolutely darker than what we see at home. The big dipper was hanging low in the sky and it looked so close as if you could grab it. The kids were more impressed with the ranger's laser pointer as they've seen so many dark skies on this trip.
The ranger ended the trip with a wonderful quote from President Lyndon Johnson played on a small tape recorder, "We must not only protect the country side and save it from destruction, we must restore what has been destroyed and salvage the beauty and charm of our cities … Once our natural splendor is destroyed, it can never be recaptured. And once man can no longer walk with beauty or wonder at nature, his spirit will wither and his sustenance be wasted." The ranger then thanked us for his job which I thought was awesome and we thanked him for a wonderful hike.
We were all asleep within minutes of zipping the tent closed. We had a big, full day the next day as we would be trying to eek out every last minute of our last day.
