Traveling with a large party means that there is a wide variety of interests among the people in your group. Not everyone loves shopping. Carnival rides are not everyone’s cup of tea. Nature is not everyone’s idea of a good time. But, everyone gets a choice and the unwritten rule is that you participate in the activities so that when your pick comes up, you don’t end up with a bunch of Grumplestiktskins.
The morning rain subsided around 10:30 AM, giving way to blue skies and 65 degree temps. With no more rain in the forecast for at least five hours, we headed toward the Smoky Mountains. The Great Smoky Mountains is the most visited national park in the U.S. It covers parts of Tennessee and North Carolina and is recognized for its mountains (part of the Appalachians), waterfalls, biodiversity and forests. One of the most recognizable inhabitants of the Smoky Mountains is the black bear, but the woods are also home to white-tailed deer, river otters, salamanders, coyotes, elk, timber rattlers, and a whole host of wildlife. We didn’t see any of these, but counted about a dozen wild turkeys throughout the day! The mountains get their name from the thick white clouds that hang low over the evergreen dotted peaks. One of the entrances to the park is right down the street from Pigeon Forge, in the city of Gatlinburg, TN.
Gatlinburg is a gateway to the Smokies. City planners designed the city to resemble a Swiss-mountain village. Even with the growing tourism in the city, the feel of the city is much quainter and quieter than its neighbor, Pigeon Forge. The quaint streets are walkable and lined with restaurants and artisan shops with touristy attractions woven in throughout. It’s a great base camp for all kinds of activities – head into the mountains for a hike and come back for dinner and a show!
With rain predicted for every last day of this trip, this was the only opportunity to get at least one hike in. I mean, we couldn’t come all the way down to Tennessee and not head into the Smokies at least once. We chose a trail that was pet-friendly. This turned out to be a pretty easy task, since, as per the usual, having done very little research prior to this trip, we realized that there were only two trails where dogs were permitted in this region of the Smoky Mountains. This is consistent with all National Parks. Dogs are not permitted for their own safety as well as that of local plant and animal life. At one point a couple of years ago, we knew this. Clearly, we forgot. If I’m being honest, this is 100% on-brand for us.
So, long story short, we headed to the Gatlinburg Trailhead behind the Sugarlands Visitor Center to commence exploration. To say Lemmy was excited would be the understatement of the century. No one loves a walk (or a car ride, or food) as much as Lem. The thump of his tail sounded for the entire ride. He stuck big blonde head over the back seat between Marlie and Kai, his hot panting breaths in their ears. And then, there was Finn, flattened to the floor of the trunk, getting whacked in the face by Lemmy’s unrelenting wagger. Great Smoky Mountain National Park is the only national park that does not charge a fee to enter. It cost us $5 to park our car and we hopped out for a quick four-mile hike with Finn and Lemmy. Lemmy could hardly be contained as we unloaded him from the car. He practically dragged us to the trailhead, unable to contain his enthusiasm. This is what he was built for! Finn likes a hike too, but sniffing things along the trail is more his jam. Smelling things makes his heart happy – nose to the ground.
The scenery in the Smoky Mountains did not disappoint. The trail follows the Little Pigeon River, a rushing waterway that meanders through the forest with some small rapids here and there. It curves and winds its way through the woods which were just in the early stages of sprouting their new leaves. Remnants of homes long gone and other stone structures appeared from time to time as we made our way down the trail. Marlie is a speed-walker and definitely the fastest in our group, while I am more of a wanderer and stop frequently to look more closely at rocks, trees, and empty the gravel from my sneakers. Why am I the only one who ever has a shoe full of pebbles?
We passed a lot of other hikers with dogs. Here, I use the term “hiker” very loosely. Going into this adventure, I knew we were going for an easier hike, which means it is accessible to more people of varying abilities. Many people had lovely dogs whose dogs, like ours, were polite and well-behaved on short leashes (the rule is six feet or less). We made sure to collect our dog waste and deposit it in the appropriate receptacle, like responsible stewards of the park. Who wants to walk a trail littered with dog poop? Unfortunately, it became clear that not everyone has the respect for the parks, for nature, or for other humans, in general. The kids looked on in horror as a family with three teenagers and a bulldog wandered onto the trail with their lit cigarettes and flip flops. The father kicked a few leaves over their dog’s “business” and flicked his butt into the forest floor. Isn’t this is how forest fires start.? We weren’t the only people wildly offended by this family’s behavior. Exchanging glances with other hikers, we sort of all shrugged at each other and gave a wide berth as we passed them and continued on our way.
Since we were already in the park, I wanted to see a bit more before heading back to Camp. Not met with the greatest enthusiasm from the backseat, we proceeded to make the slow drive through the park. On our way, we passed the trailheads for Laurel Falls and The Sinks, two very popular trails in this part of the Smokies. Laurel Falls is probably the most famous hike with the reward of 80-foot falls at the top. It’s a moderate hike, but no dogs allowed. The Sinks was created by loggers who blasted rock near a natural bend in the river, creating crystal clear natural pools. We’ll consider this trip as an opportunity to scout great hikes for our next visit.
By the time we got back to Pigeon Forge, poor Kai was incredibly carsick. At one point he asked for gum and all I saw were his white lips. Switchbacks will do that to you! Mercifully, it was a quick recovery and after quick respite at the camper including lunch and laundry, we were onto the next big thing: Go Karts!
Go Karting in Pigeon Forge is probably one of the most popular activities on the strip. You can have your pick from dozens of locations with an array of themes and levels of safety. We chose XTREME Racing Center of Pigeon Forge – with an elevated track and a high-speed track. My mama heart skipped a few beats as I realized that, while the Go Karts and track were well-maintained, they did not have helmets for the riders. Yikes. Against any sort of good judgement, we let all three kids go anyway and hoped for the best. There wasn’t too much to worry about on the elevated course. The cars went at a moderate speed and the long course allowed for plenty of space between drivers. Alyssa had a death grip on the wheel, but a huge smile on her face, while Marlie creeped up slowly on Kai, nearly catching him. Three competitive kids… I love it!
After a couple of turns on the elevated track, the kids graduated to the high speed course. These Go Karts were on a whole other level of speed and excitement… and fear. Not for the first time, I crossed my fingers and hoped for the best! One of the best things about Kai, Marlie, and Alyssa is that they like thrills and adventure (Alyssa has to be talked into some of these adventures, but she’s always glad she shows up.). This is also one of the things that stresses me out to watch! Participating in these things is one thing, watching your kids do it is quite another. A couple of spin-outs, one slightly nasty sideswipe, and an idiot adult made the experience heart-pounding for ALL of us! Fortunately, all the kids survived their Go Kart experience largely unscathed. Adrenaline still pumping, we went on one final thrill of the day.
We are lucky to still be at a point where the kids still want us to do activities with them. It was really sweet that they wanted to end the day with something we could all do. Taking advantage of the dry weather, we chose the mountain coaster at Skyland Ranch. A mountain coaster is like an alpine slide, except the your car is on rails instead of a concrete luge. You buckle into a single-rider car with hand controls that allow you to go at full-speed (forward) or slow down (pull back). It is also less likely that you will flip out of the car and suffer serious road-rash on a mountain coaster. In fact, the ride is smooth and the views on the Skyland Mountain Coaster were stunning! The coaster looked out over the Pigeon Forge Strip, but also over the enormous horse farm on the side of the mountain. Great way to cap off a very adventurous day!
Not quite ready to turn in for the night, the five of us made a quick trip to the arcade located in the Camp Margaritaville Lodge. It’s your pretty standard arcade: Air Hockey, SkiBall, Space Invaders, Pop-A-Shot… We got a $5 voucher with our check-in packet, so naturally, we spent $40 more. This was a pick EVERYONE agreed on. Alyssa and Marlie teamed up and I paired up with Kai. Of course, the first game we gravitated toward was Air Hockey. It’s a well-known fact that I do not care for losing. Kai led me 5-2 with just a few minutes left in the match. I was bracing myself for the loss, when he smirked and said, “I’m not eight years old, Mom. You can’t beat me anymore.” Game on. If I was a better parent, I might have let him have his victory, but I opted for a teachable moment, and beat him 7-6. I also won at Pop-A-Shot. I did, however, lose every game that was created after 1980 (sigh): Halo, Jurassic Park, Mario Kart. I guess we call it even(ish). After a long day it was a fun way to let off some steam – and to preserve my Gen X pride in the process.
Having walked back to the camper in high spirits, we capped off the evening with the traditional bowl of microwave popcorn and flipped on the Netflix show Physical 100, Season 2. If you have not seen Physical 100, you are totally missing out on good family fun. Now, normally, I’m not a huge reality TV fan (except for the Amazing Race – I love that show!), but this one is a winner. The best way I can describe this show is 100 beautiful and athletic Korean contestants compete in brutal feats of athleticism. The show dubbed into English… terribly dubbed and hilariously translated, but the most dramatic and satisfying part of the show is that the contestant who is eliminated each week has to smash a plaster of Paris torso of themselves before they leave the arena – in incredibly dramatic fashion. The show is definitely entertaining and fun for our whole family to watch together. Not many shows keep everyone engaged, but for nine glorious episodes, we will see which contestant is in top physical share and remains the last one standing. I’m rooting for a female winner this season!
With rain on the horizon for tomorrow, plans are up in the air! But today was a good day – a really, really good day.
Wandering, But Not Lost 