Gatlinburg

It is the last full day of our Gatlinburg vacation and we've had a fantastic time here in the Smoky Mountains. We've been staying with our good friends, Troy and Jessica, in a secluded cabin resort area with idyllic views of the surrounding Smoky Mountains and foothills. The cabin is a beautiful log cabin perched high up on the face of a hill, and it offers the necessities of a quiet vacation retreat: beds, kitchen, grill, DVD player and a hot tub. We've made full use of our relaxing time here, only occasionally making forays into Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg for some shopping, dining, and sightseeing.

Yesterday, by far, was the highlight of our trip as we made our way up into the mountains for some driving and hiking adventure. Our intent was to drive up to Clingman's Dome since the walk from the parking lot is supposedly to be relatively short, somewhat of a necessity for Jenny who is 8 months pregnant now. However, when we reached the road leading to the dome, it was blocked with a rusty gate and a sign notifying us that the pass would still be closed until March 31st due to winter conditions. Never-mind that it was about 60 deg. and sunny all week long, and there certainly wasn't going to be any ice and snow even at that elevation. I guess it is just easier to simply open and close the gate twice a year, than to send a park ranger to open or close it as needed. It was a shame, but we weren't going to let it stop us from having a good time.

After turning around, we headed back down the mountain and stopped at a few places on the way. At one place, we hiked on the legendary Appalachian Trail for a little bit. We were only on the trail for about a half-mile or so, but even then there is something about standing on a man-made foot trail that could take you all the way to Maine if you had the sort of crazy inclination to do so. I, of course, have had that crazy inclination for the last three of four years now, so standing on the path made that dream seem a little closer, even though reality speaks much differently. Some day I might actually get my chance to hike the AT, but until then I'll cheerfully accept whatever opportunities God affords me to enjoy moments like these.

Leaving the first area, we decided to stop at one of the little "pull-over" stops where the creek runs near the road. These little areas are nice because there is only enough pavement for two or three cars to stop at any one time, which was drastically different than the last place we stopped, which had about a hundred or so people walking around. Troy, Jessica, and I took off our shoes and hopped among the rocks in the creek while Jenny safely watched us play like children from the dry creek bed. The fresh mountain water lazily moving down this creek seems so inviting, but the water pierces like icicles moving through your feet. I could only take wading through it for a few seconds at a time before needing to find the warmth of a dry boulder top. Troy, however, "loved" the water so much that he found himself lying in the stream, not once but twice. This event provided laughter for us for the rest of the day.

Our last stop was a nice little hike that Jessie, Troy, and I took that left from another little parking lot area. We thought we were just taking a little hike through the trees, but were rewarded with a rushing stream that we hung out by for a little while before making our way back to the car. That night we hung out in the hot tub relaxing our sore muscles and chatting. It was great.

I'll get some pictures on here sooner or later...