Everyone keeps asking us whether we have a travel plan. The answer so far is, not really, but part of the fun is figuring it all out along the way. We have some vague plans, like not experiencing winter this year. And, after being in the south for a bit, maybe we want to avoid the hotter heats of summer as well :). Our first national park stop after we packed up our stuff and officially started our journey was Great Smoky Mountains National Park. We came to this destination after our friends Erica and Stephen decided to plan a vacation to Great Smoky with their adorable son, Nicholas. What better way to start our journey than spending some time with good friends in a national park?
We left DC on a warm Thursday morning, with a short stopover in Charlottesville, VA to visit our dear friends Kelly, Brian, and Fletcher. Kelly and Brian used to live in DC near the Logan Circle Whole Foods; when we lived on U street and shopped at this Whole Foods we would often make the slight detour to Kelly and Brian’s apartment on the way home. Often in pajamas and probably not expecting nor wanting visitors, they would reliably welcome us into their home and entertain us (and occasionally feed us as well!). It was so nice to visit their home in Charlottesville (and I imagine they appreciated that we gave them more notice of our arrival than a knock at the door!). It is amazing to me that despite the distance and time that has passed since our last chat, with Kelly and Brian we can just resume where we last left off. We caught up on the craziness of our lives (which for us at this present moment is this road trip and for them involves their now 2-and-a-half-year-old bundle of adorableness, Fletcher.) We visited their local CSA to pick out veggies for the week, cooked meals together, went out for yummy tacos (Brazos Tacos has some seriously scrumptious tacos and a sense of humor with its specials – (e.g., Shady Grady which features mashed potatoes, brisket and yams, and the Pork Star that stars pork belly and a stellar supporting cast of avocado and watermelon pickles)). We showed Kelly and Brian our home for the year, affectionately called “Ellie” for short. We went to the park, played hide-and-go-seek, had a tea party, played with trucks, read stories about trucks, watched some You Tube videos starring trucks (sidebar- this whole trip was an interesting lesson to me on how fascinating trucks are to little boys!), and more. All in all, we had a fantastic first stop en route to Great Smoky. Thanks, Kelly, Brian, and Fletcher, for hosting us!
We left Kelly and Brian’s on a Saturday morning, stopped at Bodos for a bagel (shout out to Charlottesville for having a decent bagel outside of the NJ-NY metropolitan area!), and made our way to Smokemont Campground on the North Carolina side of Great Smoky Mountains National Park. After setting up our tent, we enjoyed a delicious meal with Erica, Stephen, and Nicholas at the house they rented for the week in Whittier, NC.
Great Smoky Mountain National Park Highlights:
- Views of the Great Smokies: With Erica, Stephen, and Nicholas, we drove to Clingman’s Dome, the highest point in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park (6,643 feet). From this point we were awarded spectacular views of the Great Smoky Mountains and the park more generally. The contrast of the luscious greenery with some bare bones trees was stark (the hemlock wooly adelgid is sadly killing the hemlock tree population). Another day we got another perspective from Newfound Gap, one of the lower points of the park, and watched the auburn, red, and purple hues over the mountains at sunrise.
- Views from the Eyes of an Almost Two Year Old: We spent part of a morning hanging out by a stream which provided hours of entertainment for a little person. Similar to our other young friend, Nicholas loves trucks and “diggers” and spent much time digging in the dirt and playing with rocks. There were, of course, breaks for lunch and a dunk in the stream. Watching a little person so content, enthralled, and absorbed in what was around him, I can’t help but be a bit jealous. We’re often so forward-looking and on to the next thing before we finish up with our current thing that sometimes we forget to enjoy ourselves in the moment. It was a good reminder to appreciate that moment- we were in our first national park since the official start of our adventure, picnicking with some great friends and surrounded by beautiful scenery. Thanks, Erica and Stephen, for inviting us to crash your vacation; it was so special to start our journey off with you.
- Waterfalls: Sorry, Erica and Stephen, we didn’t follow your advice to go tubing in the river (which did look like loads of fun). But we did go see all of the waterfalls in Deep Creek which was quite beautiful. I loved the sound of the water rushing off the rocks and the cool mist that provided a temporary respite from the heat.
- Appalachian Music at the Oconaluftee Visitor’s Center: The National Park Service (NPS) offers a variety of programs, ranging from nature talks to hikes to music. On the day we left, local musicians gathered on the porch of the visitor’s center to play Appalachian music. There were guitars, fiddles (I have since learned from an exhibition along the Blue Ridge Parkway that a fiddle is simply a violin), mandolins, banjos, and even a harmonica. The musicians sat in a circle and each one chose a song he or she wanted the group to play. Some songs were instrumental ditties while others had catchy melodies sung by the musicians. The music was accompanied by the pitter patter of a rainstorm which was typical of our time in the Great Smokies.
- Exploration of Small Towns: Because we had some work to do during our trip and because it was hot, we tried to be out exploring in the mornings and inside mid-afternoon (we also missed a few rainstorms this way as well!). We explored a local coffee shop in Cherokee, NC (which was eerily quiet for a coffee shop due to its broken espresso machine – thankfully we sustain ourselves on tea!). We also spent an afternoon walking around downtown Bryson City, NC, which has plenty of small town charm. In fact, it was named by Smithsonian Magazine as one of 20 small towns to visit near national parks. This was very much in contrast to Gatlinburg, TN, which was much less low-key and more built up and touristy- we skipped the main attractions there and made our way down the road to their community center, where we each spent $2 for a swim and a shower (we went for the shower, but the swim was bonus!)
Lessons Learned
- With the humid weather and rains, we struggled a bit with starting our nightly fires this trip. A family across the way took an interest in our struggles- first this guy brought over his giant torch, exclaiming, “this is how we do it in the South!”. Then his wife brought over her hatchet, and then later on they sent over their approximately 5 year old son with some small, dry wood for kindling. It was somewhat sweet but at the same time embarrassing / annoying that they were so obviously watching us. Needless to say we watched a number of You Tube videos after that and made a giant fire the last night we were there (…not really sure if they noticed that but hopefully they did!) We’ll perfect our method by the end of our adventure. 🙂
- Move campsites mid-stay to see more of the park. We stayed in Smokemont for the entirety of our stay at Great Smoky. While it was nice to be settled in one place, this meant that we did not see too much of the northwest section of the park, which we hear is the most popular. We did travel up into Gatlinburg, TN and do a quiet hike in the northern section of the park to a nice waterfall. However, we were limited in how much we could do in a day and still get back to our campsite before dark.
- The weather is unpredictable inside and outside of the park. Ignore the forecast (which said it was raining when it was not and vice versa) and be prepared for rain. Truth be told, it was probably raining somewhere all of the time. The storms often came quickly and then dissipated in a snap as well; no wonder why the park is so lush.
- Carry soap everywhere. Not all campsite bathrooms provide this amenity.
- A little bit of curry powder goes a long way. Don’t use as much curry powder to season vegetables as you do when you use McCormick’s Steak seasoning. Our food one night was almost inedible. ha!
For Next Time:
Along our way we inevitably run out of time to do everything. On one hand, it’s frustrating to find out many of the exciting features of a park and then not get to experience all of them. But, taking the glass is half full outlook, it just means that there is more to do and see when we return one day. So here is our wish list for next time.
- Hike Mount LeConte and stay overnight in one of the park’s lodges at the top. The park service provides dinner and breakfast (and transports food up the mountain on llamas!). Watch the sunrise over the mountain and return the next day. Convince some of our friends to join us :). This lodge is so popular that reservations largely fill up within hours of the day in early October when they open reservations for the year.
- Explore the Museum of the Cherokee Indian
- Visit during late May / early June to see the synchronous fireflies (notably Adam did not believe me that there were synchronous fireflies here until he saw the park flier).
- Visit Cades Cove and the western parts of the park
Some Stats
Because we love numbers, here are some stats and trivia relating to our time in the Great Smokies (suggestions welcome for stats we should keep track of):
- Books read during our stay in the Great Smokies: almost 1 each
- Cups of Tea Purchased for Free WiFi (I suppose that makes the WiFi not free!): 11
- Park Cancellations (i.e., Stamps) Acquired: 11
- Number of Waterfalls Visited: 4
- Number of Elements Spotted in the Campground (outside of our Ellie): 1
out of our element 