Smoky Mtns '12: It Wouldn't Be a GSM Vacation Without

A little hillbilly. Ahh, gotta love the sights you will see on Cades Cove. Really, seeing the animals and the mountain views normally pales in comparison to the people sights. I have yet to go through Cades Cove without witnessing this scene. The car seat in the truck bed was a new one (note, baby was not in said seat). Adam pointed out that next time, WE can be the hillbillies, now that we have a truck. I have taken it under advisement.  

 And this one is totally new to me! This guy is a wood carver and was advertising his work on the back of his truck! I'm really glad I wasn't behind him coming into or going out of Cades Cove. I doubt an 8 foot bear statue holds up well to sharp curves at 35mph. 

Smoky Mtns '12: Cades Cove, An Evening Event

Sunday afternoon we hung out at the camp grounds, played in the pool and attempted to take some rests. Around 5, we piled back in the car and headed for Cades Cove for an evening drive. After taking an hour just to get through Gatlinburg (we definitely found those 130,000 other people that came in for Labor Day weekend), we hit the park with two sleeping boys. We got to Cades Cove at the golden hour as it is called in photography, when the sun is starting to set. It has rained earlier and cooled down so there was a lot of fog/haze. It was really pretty. I was hoping we would see a bear, but no such luck, just some deer and of course the horses. Of course an evening drive through Cades Cove is always in adventure in patients, which we had to have lots of - people were going a little crazy about the deer in the fields and had traffic backed up for the majority of the 11 mile loop. But, the boys fell asleep once it got dark, so it wasn't terrible. We were really glad we went for the evening drive - it was a great way to end our vacation!

Smoky Mtns '12: Ober Gatlinburg and Baby Bears

Sunday morning we headed out for church in Gatlinburg followed by some shopping and a trip to Ober Gatlinburg, the ski mountain. After walking the strip and checking out some shops, we headed for Ober. We decided to take the tram up because I thought Ben would really like it. Unfortunately, the ride up was completely full and got stuck in the middle of the tram, so Ben couldn't see anything as we went up. We got window seats on the way down, but he didn't see all that interested at that point because he was so tired. 

Once we got up the mountain, we checked out the wildlife exhibits. They had baby bears born this past spring, so I knew Ben would love to see them, which he did. He was totally fascinated with the baby bears and the mama bear and the brother and daddy bears on the other side of the enclosure. One of the bears was in 'time out' and was banging on the metal door. Ben was completely obsessed with the idea that one of the bears was in time out. 

The baby bears really were just 'sooooo cuuuute', as Ben would say. Adam said these were about the size of the ones he hit with my car two years ago in Pennsylvania when he went camping with the guys. You know, the bears that stole his wedding ring...

They also had a group of otters at the wildlife exhibit at Ober Gatlinburg. One of the workers came out to feed them as we were standing there, thus the reason for the fine display and pictures I was able to take. As soon as the guy left with the bucket of fish, they all went back in the log to hide.

And there were turtles and snakes and fish and raccoon and opossum and an owl and even a few skunks (that were enclosed behind glass with the owl)

Views of Gatlinburg on the way down the tram. We stayed in a condo near the ones pictured below the year the bear chased Sarah and I in the parking lot.

Looking down on Gatlinburg

Smoky Mtns '12: A Camp Fire - for about 5 minutes

Saturday night Adam wanted to make a camp fire. We hadn't had the chance to make one before that because it was raining or we got back really late. Saturday, we finished making dinner (chicken alfredo) and Adam got stuff ready to start a fire. Well, his fire lasted for exactly 5 minutes before the rain started. And we're not talking sprinkling - we're talking downright downpour! I let the boys stay outside for a bit in the rain before making them come inside. Poor Adam and Ben. All they wanted was a camp fire, and the rain ruined it! 

Note: These pictures are blurry because it was pretty much pitch black outside and the camera had difficulty focusing in the dark.

Smoky Mtns '12: Oconaluftee Stream

On our way back from Fontana, we stopped at the Oconaluftee stream/river in Cherokee. The boys had a great time throwing rocks. That's all they did for almost an  hour - throw rocks. Ben ventured out into the current a bit, but Nick stayed in the warmer, calmer water. Which is good because he has zero balance, as evidenced by the big chunk missing from his front tooth. I don't know how it happened, but I believe it happened at some point while on vacation. 

Smoky Mtns '12: Fontana Dam

Another day, another adventure or two. Saturday we started off with a drive to the south side of the park to Fontana Dam. 

Ben enjoyed looking at the dam and the spillways. I explained the whole electricity thing to him but I'm not sure he really got it. 

They have a nice visitors center, but they no longer do powerhouse tours since 9/11 and with that they have discontinued the tram down to the bottom of the dam. I remember going down on it when I was in high school. Ben was very intrigued by the display and video of the building of the dam. 

Nick was into it for about 2.5 seconds.

Ben watched the video on the building of the dam several times. And with that came twelve thousand questions about construction equipment and this and that and everything in between.