Our Gatlinburg Adventure (COMPLETE!) *** Conclusion added 10-07-06 *** About This Page:

[christiejay]

My parents always go through Maryville and Townsend to get to Gatlinburg. The last two times we went it was in the middle of August and there was no traffic to speak of. I knew it would be busy during July 4, but I had no idea how bad it would be. Next time we go, we will probably just wait until later in the day to drive in - we were in the middle of prime check-in-at-the-hotel traffic, and I think it would have been a little lighter in the evening instead of the afternoon. Or else we'll skip the zoo next time and just straight through to Gatlinburg in the morning and find something to do until our check-in time. Hmmm, decisions, decisions ...

[christiejay]

After supper we drove out of Pigeon Forge and onward to Gatlinburg. Just before coming into town we stopped at the Welcome Center. I again picked up a few brochures. I also looked in the National Park gift shop here, but only saw a couple of things I wanted, so I decided to wait on my shopping until we visited the main visitor center and gift shop tomorrow. I went back to the truck and we drove into Gatlinburg. Well, we made it almost into Gatlinburg before the traffic backed up again. I had hoped to be here earlier in the day, but I still wanted to stop at Cooter's Place. http://www.cootersplace.com/ That would be "Cooter" from the Dukes of Hazzard TV show, Ben Jones. Mainly it is a gift shop with some display cases in the back of Dukes memorabilia, but it also has the General Lee, Daisy's Jeep, Cooter's Tow Truck and a Sheriff's car parked out front. [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/cool.gif[/img] But the main reason I wanted to stop was that Ben Jones had been scheduled to be here today. [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/shocked.gif[/img] The web site didn't state what time he would be here, so I thought I would just check and see if he might still be around. (My dad loves the TV show and enjoyed meeting one of the other actors here last year, so I was hoping for an autograph to give him for his birthday at the end of the month.) I walked inside and looked around, but "Cooter" wasn't there, nor was there any table set up where he would have recently been, so I guess he was long gone. [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/frown.gif[/img] Maybe next time.

After some kind people let us back into traffic, I suggested to Jay that we take a shortcut to get to our resort, by turning at light #1 instead of light #3. He was able to get across to the turn lane, so that's what we did. This isn't really that much of a shorter way to go, but it did allow us to get away from the traffic jam. After a few more minutes, we arrived at the entrance to our resort, Mountain Loft:





There was a man at the security booth, and we gave him our name. He found us on the check-in list, wrote down our tag number on a form, and handed it to us to present at the check-in desk. Then we drove on up to the clubhouse to check in. These bears were all over the resort, holding the "road" signs:



Check-in was extremely easy - there was nobody else in line so it went quickly. When she gave me the resort map, I noticed that we had been assigned to a different unit than the one we had when we made the reservation - I guess that's because I cancelled out the second bedroom a couple of weeks ago. I was happy to see that they had extended the entrance road to connect with the end of the property where our building was - that helped cut down on driving through the whole resort. We went back to the truck and drove around to our building, marveling at the size of the new building they were still working on - it was huge! [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/shocked.gif[/img] We parked, found our room, which was now on the first floor instead of the fourth, and started unpacking.




That's our building - our room was at the opposite end. I don't know what this pose is all about. [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/confused.gif[/img]

We brought our things in and tried to start putting things away for the week when we discovered a couple of problems. [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/frown.gif[/img] First, Jay was going to turn the TV on to find something for Joshua to watch, but it wouldn't turn on. Neither would the movie player, the stereo, or the light switch over the fireplace - that whole wall was without power. We assumed it was the breaker, but it still required us to call maintenance. In addition, the light in the corner of the bathroom was out - this was the light in front of the toilet and the shower stall, and the light fixture (globe) looked very dark as well, as if it was more than just a burned-out bulb. We checked everything else in the unit in case there was anything else that needed to be added to our fix-it list, then called for maintenance. They had the breaker in the living room fixed in no time, then checked the bathroom light. There was something wrong with the wiring, so they went in search of a whole new fixture. They were back a little later and finished up the project. We were pleased with the excellent service, but felt that those problems were things that should have been noticed and taken care of before we arrived. [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/mad.gif[/img] Oh well, at least it was something relatively easy to fix, and it didn't interfere with our evening in any substantial way, so it all worked out fine. During all this, Joshua watched a Kipper video that my parents got him as a surprise to bring on the trip, and Jay and I put away all our clothes, food and drinks.

Another minor complaint I had with this resort was that there were no dressers. The bedroom had a closet with a few hangers, and Jay claimed that for his clothes since he prefers to hang up all his clothes, which is something that isn't that important to me, at least not for shorts and shirts. That left us with our nightstands and the cabinet under the TV armoire. I put most of my clothes in my nightstand, with the remainder on a shelf under the TV. I think Jay had a few things left that he put in his nightstand. The living room had no closet, so I had to put Joshua's clothes in the cabinet under the TV. There was plenty of space for all of our clothes, but it was just odd to have no dressers, and only one closet. Again, a minor nit-picky type of thing that bothered me, but no big deal. Oh, yeah, then there was the fact that they had touched up some paint in both the living room and the bedroom. How do I know? Because the paint they did the touch-ups with dried to a different shade than the paint they originally used. [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/blush.gif[/img] Oh, and then there was the dining table which, if you pulled out any of the chairs, almost completely blocked off the whole space around the table, and you couldn't walk in that area. Oh, and the living room was very cramped, especially since we had to use the sleeper sofa. To do that, we had to move the coffee table and side chairs bunched up against each other under the windows next to the other table. But other than all that, we really liked the place, honest! [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/smirk.gif[/img] [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]


The kitchen, followed closely by the dining table and living room.


The view from our patio.

After we got all settled in, Jay and Joshua went outside to take some pictures.


The view from the top floor of our building.


Joshua enjoyed using the stairs ...

Once they arrived back in the room, it was time for Joshua to get his bath. While Jay did the honors, I washed my hair and made sure we had our clothes laid out for tomorrow - it would be the first of several early starts to beat the crowd into the National Park. [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img] We got Joshua settled into the sleeper sofa bed, then Jay went to bed himself. I dried my hair a little bit, then read a few minutes while it dried the rest of the way. Soon it was bedtime for me, and we all drifted off to sleep.

Next up: Day 3, Our First Day in the National Park

[christiejay]

[ QUOTE ]
WOW, Joshua looks like he has GROWN!!!!!!!!!!! [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/blush.gif[/img]

[/ QUOTE ]

I had to go check his growth chart to see how much, and I was surprised - 3 inches in a year!!! [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/shocked.gif[/img] I guess he will need new long pants for this fall! [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]

[DrDolphin]

Great updates!!!

[lauren-roxy]

Great updates Christie!! Sorry you got stuck in traffic and no nap for Joshua. Those things always seem to happen together for us too. The resort looks beautiful and so does your room, but I would have been a little upset with all the things they had to fix when you arrived too!

[arielrocks]

We spent a week camping out just north of Knoxville and spent a day in Gatlinburg. We parked at the parking structure next to the Ripley's Aquarium of the Smokies. We got the Ripley pass. This included golfing, the haunted house and a few others. This was a great day to see Gatlinburg. If you want to have a really great time? Go on the 4th of July. See fireworks at midnite. Why midnite? Because they want to be last one to do fireworks on this day. We used the bus to get around from attraction to attraction. There is a great set of shops to shop from and just a real pleasant area. I just wish it wasn't so touristy. It could be a great gateway to a great national park. If you want another great musuem idea? Drive to the bottom of the mountains to Cherokee. See the museum. We would have toured the small town if it wasn't raining so hard. Otherwise, the museum is a real eye opener. What we did to those people would make you think Hitler was a saint. Enjoy the area, it is to die for.




[img]/ubb/images/graemlins/home.gif[/img]

[Meggera]

Great update. Glad you liked your room despite the few problems.

Laura

[mtstranscribe]

I have a funny story about Cherokee. There are Native Americans throughout the town who dress up in traditional costumes with whom you can take your photograph. One particular man was set up with his headress and full regalia. He had a big bowl to put money in at his feet for the privilege. One little boy came up and had his photo taken with him. The man never said a word but put up his hand to stop the little boy and then pointed at the bowl. The little boy looked up in disbelief and bent over and scooped up all the money! We just about died laughing! Of course, the man ran after him and got his money back.

[christiejay]

Day 3 - Sunday, July 2

We woke up early this morning and started getting ready for our first day in the National Park. I soon discovered that Joshua was not going to cooperate in this effort very much, as it took a lot of talking to get him up and moving each morning. [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/frown.gif[/img] We all ate breakfast, and I started getting together the things we would need for our outing: fanny pack with snacks, hiking book, camera and film inside and 2 ice-water-filled bottles on the outside, small cooler with sandwiches for lunch, small cooler with drinks for lunch, first aid kit (just in case) and Jay and Joshua's walking sticks.



We left the resort at 7:20 instead of 7:00, but I still felt confident that we would be able to do lots of things on our itinerary anyway. [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]

We drove through Gatlinburg with no traffic, and soon were inside the Park. We had to stop at the entrance for the traditional family portrait:



We were pleasantly surprised to find the temperature in the 60's - very nice for hiking! [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/082502yes_prv.gif[/img] After taking our picture, we drove to the trailhead parking lot at the Park Headquarters building. Our first trail of the day was a portion of the Cove Mountain Trail which leads to Cataract Falls. By parking at the Headquarters building, it cuts the walk to the waterfall down to only a tenth of a mile. Because the rangers use this portion of the trail for guided walks, it is very well maintained. It is also level and wide, and cushioned underfoot by pine or fir needles.


Joshua ready to begin our hike

After a short walk we arrived at Cataract Falls:



The trail continues on past this point, but gets steep and doesn't loop around, so we headed back to the truck after spending a few minutes at the waterfall.

After arriving back at the truck we continued in the opposite direction, toward the Maintenance building on the Gatlinburg Trail. While walking along the road toward the Maintenance building, I spotted this hornet nest in one of bushes next to the trail:


It was just getting started, and not very large, but a reminder to always be alert!

The bush the hornet's nest was in was a rhododendron. There were tons of blooms on these bushes throughout the park:



Lots of trails, this one included, run alongside streams and rivers. This is a typical scene:



Soon we approached the Maintenance building, and I discovered that there was room for a couple of vehicles to park along the road here. I'll file that info for the future!



We stopped several times to look at the river, and on one of those stops Jay spotted this chipmunk:




Another shot of the river and rocks


Some type of contraption alongside the trail behind the Maintenance yard. I have no idea what it is, but it is as big as a person.


This is what my hiking trail book says is a "thunderous cascade" where the two branches of the river meet.

The trail has one small hill to climb, and halfway up is an old homesite, although about all that's left are the front steps.


It's a little blurry, but I wanted you to see the steps here - they are semi-circular and very well made. Very unusual to find in this area.


One of two chimneys still standing at the top of the hill.

A little ways past the hill the trail crosses to the other side of the river on this nice bridge:



We decided to turn around here and head back. The trail continues the rest of the way into Gatlinburg, but from this point on it is beside the road and we didn't want that much traffic noise. So after a water break we walked back. Note that this trail allows leashed dogs and bicycles - one of only two in the Park that do. [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/cool.gif[/img] This trail is very heavily used by locals for biking and jogging. So while there's lots to see on this trail, you'll have plenty of company. [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/082502yes_prv.gif[/img]

We soon arrived back at the truck and took a break to eat our snack. I immediately fell in love with the snack mix we had picked out for the trip - Sam's Choice (or was it Great Value) Indulgent Trail Mix. It has cashews, peanuts, almonds, raisins, dried cranberries, and chocolate, peanut butter and white chocolate chips. Yum! [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/facelick.gif[/img] There was another trail that starts in this area, the Old Sugarlands Trail. We had it on our list of things to do because you can reach the Sugarlands Cemetery via it, but we felt that we had walked enough for the time being, and it was starting to warm up. So after finishing our snack we decided to just go ahead and drive around to the Sugarlands Visitor Center.

Next up: On to Higher Ground!

[lauren-roxy]

Great update Christie and beautiful photos!!! Can't wait for more!!!

[DrDolphin]

Great update!!

[Meggera]

Your pictures are beautiful. Great update!

Laura

[Huntermom]

Your vacation sounds great. I love the National Parks and my kids could live in them.

Diane

[christiejay]

Once we arrived at the Visitor Center we were no longer without company, as the Park was very crowded today.


Sugarlands Visitor Center

We found a place to park, visited the restrooms out back, then went inside. Jay and Joshua looked at the exhibits while I browsed the shop. Being a new member of the GSMA, I had received a one-time-only coupon for 25% off merchandise. [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img] So I was trying to pick out all the things I thought I would want, to buy at one time. I got a scrapbook and two packs of stickers, two trail patches for Joshua (Cove Mountain and Gatlinburg, the ones we just walked), a book about the sisters who lived at Little Greenbrier (we were planning to walk to their house), and some trail brochures for ones we planned to walk: Clingman's Dome, Cade's Cove Nature Trail, Smokemont and Cosby. I paid for these things and we headed back to the truck.

Back in the planning stages for the trip, I let Jay decide which part of the Park we would visit each day, and for today he had picked the Sugarlands Valley and Clingman's Dome areas. Well, having finished most of what we wanted to do in the Sugarlands area, we got on Newfound Gap Road (along with a lot of other people [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/crazy.gif[/img] ) to head toward Clingman's Dome - with lots of other stops along the way, of course! First we pulled over at the Campbell Overlook to get a picture:


This is the first real "view" you have driving up the mountain. [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/cool.gif[/img]

Stopping here was not that great of an idea, as it was on the opposite side of the road, so we had a little bit of a wait until we could get a break in traffic to get back on the road. Shortly, though, we were on our way again.

Just up the road was our next stop, the Chimneys picnic area. We meant to stop here on our last visit, but let the entrance road (in a curve) slip up on us and we missed it. So we were a little more careful this time and pulled in. We located the parking area for the Cove Hardwood Nature Trail right at the entrance.


Jay wanted to take our picture by each nature trail sign, so here's the first one!

This is a relatively easy trail to walk, although it is not level. [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/082502no_prv.gif[/img] It is about 3/4 mile long and has a brochure with corresponding numbered stops all along the trail. It makes a loop back to the parking lot. The brochure lets you read about a cove hardwood forest - the trees and animals found here, and what life was like in this area before the establishment of the park.


You learn from your brochure that this tree, before it split and fell, was the largest black locust in the Park. This stop is also memorable to me as the place where I was attacked by a swarm of mosquitoes - both my legs were full of bites! [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/shocked.gif[/img]


A shot of the treetops along the trail


Joshua taking a break on the trail with his walking stick

Once we finished the trail it was still a little early to eat lunch, so we drove through the picnic area to leave. This is a really nice picnic area, right by the water, and almost all the spaces had been claimed by somebody, with lots of people already starting to cook their meals - it smelled wonderful! [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/facelick.gif[/img] I had wanted to walk a portion of the Chimney Tops Trail, connecting over to another trail to see a waterfall, but we really didn't have time for it. Plus, the trailhead parking lot was already full, so we decided to save that for our next trip. We stopped a couple of times to take in the views as we approached the high point of the gap crossing. Then we turned onto Clingman's Dome Road, and stopped at the Indian Gap parking lot.



Indian Gap was the lowest-known (at the time) gap to cross the mountains, and there was a toll road here that people used to drive their animals to market on. I had wanted to look at the trail, as my book stated that you could still make out the wagon ruts along the trail (Road Prong Trail). Well, we didn't walk very far on the trail as it was very grown up with grass and weeds, but you could tell it had been used as a road. After a minute we went back to the truck and continued our drive to Clingman's Dome.

After a few more minutes we arrived at the jam-packed parking lot for Clingman's Dome. [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/shocked.gif[/img]



We circled the lot a couple of times, but couldn't arrive at a spot where somebody was pulling out, so we just parked along the road like other people were doing. We had our lunch in the truck, and I got a scare as Joshua started crying saying that his stomach was hurting. [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/confused.gif[/img] I couldn't figure out what was wrong, I just didn't want him to throw up in the truck. And here we were, as far away from our resort as we would be all day. Luckily, it was nothing - I guess he might have eaten too fast or something, as after a few minutes he felt fine. Once we all finished eating we started our walk back to the parking lot, then through the parking lot and up to the restroom building.

Up next: We hike to our highest elevation!

[lauren-roxy]

Another great update Christie!! Glad Joshua felt better!! Cute picture of him and his walking stick!! Can't wait for more!!