Nearing our destination.

At the moment, Hailey is crawling around on the dinette bed, Katelynn is cuddled on the top bunk, Emily and Beth are actually quiet on the bottom bunk. We are listening to Adventures in Odyssey at 10 o'clock at night, trying to wind down from 6 hours in the car. Tomorrow we will get the oil changed in the truck and get to visit with good friends the Hassengers.

It was an uneventful drive, albeit a beautiful one to Smithfield, NC. (We're planting ourselves at the KOA here for the next few nights.) It was rather interesting to be pulling the trailer over, around, and through the Appalachian mountains today. Oh, and don't worry, if you've read Scott's blog today, I was not IM'ing him while driving the curlique roads. :)

Our time in the Great Smokey Mountains was just AWESOME!!! It was really cold, 24 degrees up at the top of the Newfound Gap Outlook, but just beautiful. I've never been to the Smokies before, and really didn't know what to expect. We stayed at a gorgeous campground (Smokey Bear Campground) about 10 miles outside of Gatlinburg, TN. One of the owners, Chong, took some of her precious time to talk me through the map of the area and give me her perspective on what was worth seeing while in the area. We both happen to enjoy nature, and God's creation, more than the shopping and attractions available in Gatlinburg or Pigeon Forge. the girls and I had two days to explore the Mountains, some time was in the car, and some was spent on foot.

The first day we drove around the Motor Nature Trail, stopping to visit the Oliver settlement and take a 3/4 mile hike. The girls were amazed at the tiny size of the two room home, they didn't see how a family could live there. (Oh, how spoiled we modern Americans are!) I was so proud of my little troop as we trekked through the woods. Over and around rocks and roots, Katelynn, Emily and Beth had a great time. Hailey enjoyed the view, safe from the sling on my hip. Toward the end of the loop, Beth decided that her "yittle yegs" were tired, and the roots were too much for her "yittle yegs" to walk over. It is so cute to hear her big thoughts in such a little voice. :)


For now, it is late in North Carolina and the girls are all asleep, so I will have to detail the rest of our Tennessee adventures in another post at another time.