Smokies--Day One

To celebrate our family anniversary in the beginning of November, we took a quick camping trip to Great Smoky Mountain National Park. Here's a little play-by-play of our short trip.

 We set up camp in the Elkmont Campground and cooked the tinfoil dinners I had prepared the night before at home. The meat meals were everyone's favorite, but we learned something very important: burnt broccoli smells a lot like cigarette smoke. We couldn't get ourselves to eat it.

That evening we travelled against the flow of traffic to get to Clingman's Dome for sunset. As the highnest point in the park, it has a 360 degree view of North Carolina and Tennessee. 

From the added elevation of the observation tower I couldn't help but feel like we were on a still lighthouse tower with the ocean all around us.

Looking west into Tennessee

Looking south into North Carolina.

This is the best time to make this half-mile hike to the top. The next day we returned to this same trailhead and it was packed with people, but just that evening before were only there with about a dozen others. Also, in the evening, the kids have just a bit more energy for the hike, but then at it's end they are anxious to get into their sleeping bags for the night.