Our last hiking day in Tennessee, last night of vacation

 Well, this is the last post of our vacation. I'm so glad you came along on this "little" tour. On our last day we decided to have an easy day of serene walks and nature hikes and taking pictures. We started out in the morning at Grotto Falls. It was a 1 1/5 mile hike up the mountainside. We started in the crisp dry leaves, found many small streams along the way,and by the time we made it to the falls, we ended up in the slushy snow. The beginning of the trail head was typical forest. Large rocks, huge trees, fallen mossy logs. As we ascended the mountain, it got colder, muddier, and we started to see snow. By the time we got to the falls, there was quite a bit of snow and you had to climb boulders and roots on a very narrow path. It was well worth it, though, and people of all walks of life were visiting that day.

(Remember, you can click the first picture and be taken to a gallery for full size photos that you can scroll through with your arrow buttons. My pics should be bigger, and I'm figuring out why Blogger will only let me do the first two. Bear with me, we'll get it :) 



Large boulders at the entrance of the trail head. Look at the long veins of quartz running through this one. These were all over the mountains. So beautiful.

I fell in love with these mossy logs, stumps and rocks. This is a mere few of the pictures I took.

This water fall was accessible from the back. I took so many photos on that day. Where I'm standing for this photo, is the actual trail. Narrow and very snowy. Everyone was courteous and took turns in this great spot to take their pictures.

Down the road from the trail head to the falls, there was another homestead. These little houses were along the roads in certain areas and just there for you to visit and explore as you wish.

After we stopped by the homestead, we decided to take a hike up the Trillium Gap Trail. Just inside the trail head we came upon this little graveyard. It had this lovely mossy stone wall around it, just a very interesting find.

Well, we walked and walked. It really was a pretty hike, but eventually we realized we were really getting far in. The trail was 2.7 miles in and 2.7 miles back. We had had a plan for nice, slow picturesque nature walks, and didn't want to spend all day on this one hike. Boy, we really moved double-time back out of that trail. It was very strenuous challenging and adventurous.

 Once we were back out, almost two hours later, we stopped and took some pictures on the Roaring Fork Motor Nature Trail.

This bridge was right close by. It's an actual fishing stream, and we saw two young boys gearing up to do just that.

The Roaring Fork Motor Nature Trail is a long one-way loop in to many trail heads, including Grotto Falls. It is designed for you to enjoy a nature trail from your car, with pull-overs for exploring. And, that we did. From the car through the trees I saw a large cascade (almost waterfall). We found a pull-over close by and noticed that their was a trail going way down to these massive rocks with cascades and streams. So, of course, down we went. It was really beautiful.

This is just some of what we saw while we were down there.

Later that evening, once we got closer to the Gatlinburg Welcome Center, we found this very cool bridge and, of course, I needed a picture of it.

There were quite a few more lovely walks we took just up until dark. I will post everything to Smugmug (a photo-keeping site) very soon, now that I've finished this series. Thank you so much for sharing in our adventures to Tennessee. We truly loved it, and I hope you enjoyed these posts as much as I did remembering our trip while posting them.

At the time I'm writing this, Thanksgiving is quickly approaching, next week, in fact. I'll have a post about that, and something for my other blog confessions of a thinkaholic about Giving Thanks and having Gratitude.

I truly appreciate everyone who is reading. and wish you a fantastic, abundant ThanksGiving and hope you will be able to share it with your family, friends, and loved ones.

Have a great day!

Nanette

Gatlinburg on Dwellable

Finally! That view we were waiting for! Also, a trip to Knoxville and a ride up the skylift

Wednesday morning, the weather cleared and we awoke to this fantastic view of the mountains. We didn't even know how much was out there! Here are a few pictures of the first glimpses of those beautiful Smoky mountains, all covered in snow. We also took a trip to Knoxville and just fell in 

L-O-V-E!

We also took a trip up that Skylift, and had some great views there. Remember, click on the pictures to view them in full frame.  

The view from bed

                                   And from the balcony outside

                              That's when I noticed all those hawks flying around.

                                  These musicians were really good. I got some really great candid photos (with permission) of these two (more for Smugmug). There was a farmer's market right there in Market Square. This area had so many shops and restaurants, we sooo love it!

                              This gentleman was also just a little ways down the square. We spoke to him a bit. He told us about the little nature walkway in the photos below. He was a traveler, I guess. He said he'd only been in Knoxville for about a week...

                      A picture of the square for your dogs. There are little "doggie bags" for clean-up all around in little stands. So cute, and doggie friendly :)

                          Downtown Knoxville. All within walking distance. We just parked and walked all around. There was so much to take in.

                        Here's the little park. There was a pond and sculptures and benches.

Knoxville was great. Big enough of a city to live the city life, but smaller than St. Louis and cleaner, friendlier. It has huge potential for a move in the future.





So, here's the Skylift, up close and personal. I was on before I realized I'm afraid of heights. It really goes straight up. You get on like a ski lift. You stand on this box and the seat comes right up to you. You just sit right down and it scoops you up. But...no seat belts! Just a little bar that comes right over you. I was a little apprehensive, at first, but it was so worth it. I was mostly afraid of losing my shoes!

                   Look at that view! This is our first real up-high view of the mountains. But, just wait...there's so much more to come!

This was Halloween, by the way. We decided to stop here and do this and walk around the Parkway after we got back from Knoxville. I'm so glad we did! Everyone was out, and dressed up. The kids from the area were having a blast. Even the tourists brought their kids out to trick-or-treat up and down the parkway. It was so fun, and all the storekeepers were passing out candy, and dressed up as well. There were some characters, let me tell ya!


These two ladies thanked me for taking their picture. I told them that they reminded me of my mom, who loved Halloween, and would be dressed up right there with them.

                                            Everybody got in on the fun. Look at that face!!!

Here's an example of what the Village looked like that evening. A huge difference from when we had it all to ourselves just days before. Everyone was having such a good time!

           This little lady was handing out candy at the entrance. She is the cutest thing!

                         Here is the Pancake Pantry. We went here for breakfast a couple of days later before we went to Cade's Cove, a long forgotten pioneer village back in the woods. (I'm blogging about that, next). Anyway, here you will find the BEST pancakes ever! I think I might even have a picture of what I had that morning...

                   This 'gentleman' was a hoot! He was posing for E-V-E-R-Y-B-O-D-Y!     SO SASSY!
         

We had a great Halloween, after all. Then we went home and relaxed in the jacuzzi on the deck. It was a crisp night, the sky was as clear as a bell. We had some local wine and got to watch the full moon rising above the tree next to our balcony. As we sat there we contemplated our future and discussed all of our blessings. We just felt so thankful for everything we have. Right at that moment, Noah stuttered to me and pointed. Right in front of us soaring straight across the sky was the biggest and brightest shooting star I've ever seen. It was so close. It traveled linearly, not in an arch at all. Very strange. Then it broke apart into a bunch of little scattering sparkling pieces. It was a truly magical moment. Oh, how I wish I was able to share that with you, as well. It is something I will never forget.

Well, thanks for reading today. There are several post left to chronicle out little adventure. We've got some amazing sunrises, sunsets, hiking, beautiful nature shots. I hope you check back soon to finish our journey with us.

Have a great day!

Nanette

Sevierville on Dwellable

Downtown Gatlinburg, our Cabin, SNOW!, and Pigeon Forge

When we arrived in Gatlinburg, it was cold and rainy and foggy, but we were eager to check out our surroundings. This is one thing we saw that we really wanted to do, but had to wait until the weather cleared up. Well, it did, so we were able to go up that hill and look upon an amazing view, but that's for a later post.

Skylift

         Downtown on the Parkway is jam packed with shops of all kinds, but there are several side streets that lead into these little villages that were decorated so cute. Thank goodness we were there on a Monday and it was a little rainy, because we had it pretty much all to ourselves. These pictures are of the side shopping area called The Village.

                         The Donut Friar...we didn't go in yet, but I had to have a picture of this sign.

                                     A friendly little pigeon...
                              

                               This is a little brook we crossed over as we left the Aquarium. It runs the length of the Parkway. A lot of the hotels on the Parkway boast a balcony view of this "river".

                                          This is our cabin. The day it snowed we were a little bummed. We thought we had to stay inside the whole day and were prepared to do that...cozy up next to the fire. Noah and I sat together after breakfast and watched the snow fall. I did yoga in front of the fire as I watched the snow falling serenely outside the large windows. Then we decided to take a chance and travel to Pigeon Forge to visit the Christmas Place, a large store that sells only Christmas...all year 'round.

                                   A view from inside the cabin, upstairs bedroom balcony.

                                            A view from our window. We were up pretty high, the drive up that mountain was pretty steep and winding. But, as you can see, it continues even further upward. I don't think I could make it any further!

                              Noah and I sitting together watching the snow fall.

                              The ski lift traveled along between our cabin and the few over to our right. This is a bit of a close-up shot.

                        Here's the Christmas place. It was funny seeing it decorated for Halloween.

When we walked in, it was like the North Pole. I was in Christmas Heaven. Then, Noah brought to my attention the sleigh and eight tiny reindeer suspended from the ceiling that had hundreds of twinkling starry lights.

                            The whole store was like this. Every corner had a different display. Fully decorated trees, tall ornate Santa's, miniature villages. It was wonderful. I thought of my mom. She loved Christmas. It was a precious moment.

                       This is a miniature for a village. It was the cutest thing. I was amazed at how I could zoom right in and get these great photos.

                       This is from one of our all time favorite Christmas movies, "A Christmas Story." The whole gang is there, even Ralphie in his pink bunny pajamas.  I just wish I had gotten close-ups of these, too.

                        After shopping around we were hungry, and it just so happens that right next door was a Christmassy restaurant called The Partridge & Pear. We thought it would be really expensive, but the prices were fantastic and the food was even better. If you are ever in the area, we highly recommend it!

 Here's the Wonderworks museum. We didn't go to this one this time, but it's a definite for next time.

                                 The Titanic museum...again, on the list for next time.

                             Same goes for the Hollywood wax museum.

We had a great time in Pigeon Forge. It's just a short drive from Gatlinburg, and not as crowded. There are a ton of attractions to keep you entertained. I can't wait to show you what was lurking behind all that fog, though...

Thanks for reading and stay tuned for more!

Have a great day!

Nanette

Downtown on Dwellable