Smokey Mountains June 11-14, 2017

Great Smoky Mountains NC

Day1 Sunday June 11, 2017 We departed from home at 8:26AM with our two grandsons, Jackson and Levi headed for the Great Smoky Mountains of NC. We stopped for the afternoon at Tanglewood Campground in Clemmons NC. This is halfway to our destination. We have used this campground several times for one and two night stays on the way to and from the mountains.

After we got everything setup the boys rode their bicycles around the campground for awhile, then I joined them for a ride on the paved bike trail in the park beside the campground. Later we went to Pizza Hut for supper. We had planned to eat at Cracker Barrel but it looks like there was a long line so we passed it up.

Site 11

Day 2 Monday June 12, 2017 After a good breakfast we broke camp and departed for Flaming Arrow Campground in Whittier NC (near Cherokee) at 9:15AM. We had an uneventful trip and arrived about 12:30PM. I checked in and was assigned site 17, a shady back-in site. Most of the sites are occupied by seasonal campers but there is some that are open for campers like us that just stay a few days and move on. We don't normally stay at a campground that is mostly seasonal campers because many we have checked out are rather junky but this one is not like that. It is an older campground but it well maintained and they have a small playground for kids and also a nice pool.

After we got setup and had lunch, the boys went to the pool and a awhile later I joined them in the pool to cool off. I had not been in a pool in a long time. It was refreshing. After supper we rode through Cherokee to the Great Smokey Mountains National Park to see if the Elk were out grazing in the fields the park maintains for them. We soon spotted two across the creek that runs along the rode. We all got out of the car and took several photos of them. Then we rode to Smokemont Campground to ride through it. We camped here 5 years ago on my birthday. On the way back there were several elk out in one of the fields beside the road so we stopped and took more photos. One of them was a young male elk. His antlers were just forming. Some of the park volunteers were on hand to stop traffic because the elk come across the creek and then cross the road to get to the field for grazing. There were several people stopped along the road to watch the elk and take photos.

Elk watchers

Day 3 Tuesday June 13, 2017 We drove the few miles to Bryson City to ride the Great Smokey Mountains Railroad. I ordered our tickets yesterday. We boarded the train at 10AM for the 10:30AM departure. We took the 4.5 hour Nantahala Gorge Excursion. Jackson went with us on this train ride about 7 years ago when he was 4 years old but Levi had never rode this train. We saw some pretty scenery along the way. We saw several groups of people taking a raft trip down the Nantahala River. We rode in an open air car and the weather was perfect for the trip. After our return we spent a little time in the train museum, then drove to Cherokee to get a late lunch at KFC. We took some snacks on the train because the food on the train and the place where the train stops on the way back is very expensive.

Not bad when you have a train car named for you

The campground had received a very heavy rain just before we got back to our site.

Day 4 Wednesday June 14, 2017 We ate breakfast and headed for the Gatlinburg TN area to visit Cades Cove in the Great Smokey Mountain National Forest. The drive from Cherokee to just outside Gatlinburg in 34 miles through the mountains. Most the way the road runs along side a beautiful mountain stream. Along the way we turned off the main road and drove 7 miles up to Clingmans Dome. We were in the clouds when we go to the top at 6643 feet above sea level. The temperature was 60 degrees. Jackson, Levi and I took the .5 mile trail to the top where you walk up a winding ramp to a 360 view over the mountains. The walk is on a paved trail but the incline is probably 10 percent so it is a fairly tough walk. The clouds and fog was so thick we could only see a few feet off the tower.

Nice view from 6643 ft above sea level

Here we go to the top

Long way down

We made it

We drove back to the main road and decided to head to Pigeon Forge for lunch before driving into Cades Cove. It is about another 60 miles round trip from the main road to and from Cades Cove and the speed limit is only 35 MPH on 48 of those miles because the road is really crooked and on one side is rock and the other is a rocky mountain stream. In Cades Cove it is only 10 MPH. We stopped at Cracker Barrel and had a good lunch and then drove to Cades Cove. We were hoping to see some wildlife but it was the wrong time of day so all we saw was wild turkeys. They have saved several of the houses and buildings that are original to Cades Cove settlers that lived there until the US Government forced them out to create the Great Smokey Mountains National Park. Cades Cove is a really beautiful place. I can see why the settlers decided to live there. Beautiful views of mountains, rolling hills, wildlife and water.

When we got back to the campground it was raining but it soon stopped.