The Smoky Mountains

We took a little trip to the Smokies this past weekend for Fall Break! The boys were out of school and Darryl and Anita came for a visit, so we rented a cabin for 3 nights just outside of Gatlinburg. We were just in time to see the leaves changing...along with the other 20 million or so people! We found out that this weekend is the busiest weekend of the year in this particular area. It was extremely crowded, but worth all the traffic.

We hiked about 4 miles one day into the woods along a creek, and then went for a drive to an area called Cade's Cove. We saw around 65 deer, maybe 10 fish, some crawdads, and about 50 stupid people who jumped out of their cars to chase the two bears that we DID NOT get to see. Caden was threatening to call 911 on all of them if they did it again!

The next day, we drove to the top of a mountain on the North Carolina side of the park, where we froze our little behinds off. But, if you could stand the cold (which Anita, Terry and myself could not) the view was spectacular.

Oh, yes! And, we saw many ladybugs...red, orange, yellow, dead. A few years ago the forest service brought thousands of ladybugs into the Smokies to help control an insect that was killing all of the pines. Well, the ladybugs were not aware that they were supposed to stay within the boundaries of the park, so they have worked their way into the surrounding woods, AND cabins. There were dead and alive ladybugs in every room of the cabin. There were also signs in the cabin saying that they are a harmless creature just wanting to come in for warmth and shelter and the best thing to do is use the broom and vacuum on them. Well, they were harmless, but you definitely watched your step!

Our visit with Darryl and Anita was very nice, but also very short. One week is just not long enough. The boys tried their best to tire poor Grandpa by dragging him to the creek, walking up steep hills, running on the hiking trails, playing pool, and just talking his ear off. Anita and I were able to get creative in a "not so well" stocked kitchen in the woods. And, Terry held down the couch while nursing a sore throat and cold.

Yesterday we went to The Hermitage, which is the home of Andrew Jackson. It was a great tour of the house and grounds.

So, today Darryl and Anita left, the boys went back to school, Terry went back to work, and I thought about cleaning and doing laundry, but never really got to it. Maybe tomorrow!