Sorry this one’s a little behind, I needed sleep. I was tired, drop my phone on my face kind of tired! We’ve been up early and to bed late and pretty much gone all daylight hours so far. It was great smoky mountains national park day yesterday. Tuesday was west of where we are staying and yesterday was east. We left a different way going south headed for the interstate, it would be a short jog down it to drop further south and come in the west park entrance. It was about and hour and a half to get to the park and one of the prettiest interstate drives I’ve ever had. Where we are staying it is hilly but not far east it started becoming more mountainous.
We saw an amazing iconic Smoky Mountain scene as we topped a grade there was a thick bank of that smoke. It looked like heavenly clouds came down on top of the mountains. I would have swore we could have walked on top, it was off the interstate with nowhere to get a picture but that sight won’t be easy to forget. I then told Amanda we’ll we’re in the smokies now! We had been talking about the “smoke” I’d looked it up it’s essentially fog but it comes heavily from the vegetation because the area is so thick with it. If there’s a difference between it and regular fog it’s more of a plant fog. Amanda said that’s perfect for us, plant based fog!
As we got closer to the park it kept getting more beautiful as we went. I was in love before we even saw the park sign. The west entrance is less busy than the northern one that borders Gatlinburg. We took a winding road along a river, the traffic wasn’t light but not horrible either we were able to have short stretches without seeing another cars. There are tons of small 2-3 car spots to over look the River, we kept looking for one to pull into and get some pictures. I just finally whipped in to one on a bend in the river without other cars, it just so happened to be the perfect one.
We thought we’d just stand on the side and take pictures but there was an almost hidden staircase that led down about 10 steps or so to the bend in the river. It opened up and was walkable for a couple hundred yards on either side of the stairs. It was gorgeous and we had it all to ourselves for over 30 minutes. We took a ton of photos and just hung out. We got photos of each other and of her, not Amanda the prop, she goes everywhere with us now. It’s kind of a pain packing her in but it’s worth it. I’m still going to keep you in the dark here, just a little longer. Don’t get your panties in a wad, you’ll see soon enough. We couldn’t have asked for a better spot, I could have turned around went back to the room and been happy with our great smoky mountain trip right there, but I’m glad we didn’t.
We had the windows down, sunroof open, with no music playing just the sound of the river as our soundtrack. There was a picnic spot with a few to many people for my taste but the farther we got towards the visitors center the busier it got also. There were bathrooms though so that was a plus, one can only hear a roaring river so much without a bathroom break! We had broccoli edamame and quinoa salad. An Asian flavored salad with an almond butter rice wine vinegar dressing I make, it held well for the trip and eats good hot, cold, or in between.
We stopped at the visitor center, they were full on spring 2020 with their Covid restrictions. Stern mask rules along with limited numbers allowed only letting some in as some left. We weren’t sure where we’d go next, I’d made reservations at a spot in Knoxville that had live music on Wednesday’s but didn’t realized it was eastern time zone so it was a little earlier than what I’d planned. I needed to cancel and call back a spa to secure our couples massage for our spa day on Friday but didn’t have service. I asked a ranger about Clingman’s dome it’s the highest point in Tennessee at 6,643 feet in elevation. It was a little quicker to make it there than I thought so that’s where we headed next. Don’t think I made it out of the visitor center without buying Amanda a tee shirt, well I got one too and a sticker!
The park just kept getting better as we went especially as we gained elevation, and elevation we gained. We just kept going up and then going up more, I think my ears popped 5 or 6 times! We’d started out not knowing if we’d hike up to the dome, the trail was less than 3/4 of a mile but gained 330 feet in that short distance and it was all up. Amanda was worried a bit about the strenuous hike. As we got close to the top, traffic jam, it took 30 minutes to go the last mile or so with cars parked all along the road for the mile too. We were sure we wouldn’t make the hike plus the parking lot walk. As we got close a lady was getting in her car and motioned we take her spot. It was close and there was no backing up for us. Amanda didn’t think she was going to make it but she backed that Prius right out inches from us and I whipped in.
We went for the top then. Amanda had to stop a few times it wore her plum out but she was still passing some others. I’m so proud of her, she just kept pushing and made it up like a champ. I was having to keep up with her on the way down, she was like a run away truck! We needed a snack after that so we munched out in the car. It was getting later and the line had all but dissipated. I was hem hawing about going through Gatlinburg, everything I read said it’s a nightmare or a tourist traffic trap but Amanda wanted to see it. The articles I read weren’t wrong, the drive through will suffice for my lifetime Gatlinburg experience. It was way to touristy for me, the low key spot we’re at is just my pace.
We left and went through Pigeon Forge then on to Nashville. We needed gas so we stopped by Costco for the cheapest since leaving Birmingham. The restaurant I had reservation at wasn’t too far away so we swung by to see if they had any tables. They did it was a nice little place we had a couple appetizers and each had salads, pretty much the entirety of their plant based options!
We had short drive back home, less than an hour, but it seemed for ever.
Then it was off to bed since we were getting up early to head to a south loop of state parks, 3 in total. We don’t want to waste daylight even if neither of us likes getting up early. Amanda is the kind you can’t talk to before she is up and going or has coffee! I’m not a coffee required kind of person, I just don’t like waking up, but I’ll ready to go and awake when I finally commit to getting out of bed.