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Smoky Mountains Camping TripLabor Day Weekend 2000 |
It's been nearly a year since we last went camping. The move to Tennessee and our new home kept us busy, so we decided to take advantage of the three day weekend. Candi especially wanted to relive her memories of her first trip to the Great Smoky Mountains nearly ten years earlier. We stayed at the Tuckaleechee campground just outside the National Park. Candi's friend Jamie also came on the trip with us.
One of the first memories Candi wanted to relive was seeing the smoky mist hanging over the mountains that gives the Smokies their name. It wasn't long after we entered the park that Candi insisted we take this picture. Next, we drove through Gatlinburg and into Pigeon Forge. Candi's next memory was panning for gemstones at the Mine. At the mine you buy eight pound sacks of dirt filled with gemstones. You rinse the dirt away in the sluice, and then take the stones you find inside to the geologist to have them identified. Candi and Debi both had rings made with some of the gemstones they found. We finished the first day at the Apple Barn Restaurant, another of Candi's childhood memories. While we waited for dinner, Candi and Jamie enjoyed the scenery at the river across the street from the restaurant. There was also time to shop in the gift shop. Candi and Debi found lots of goodies, and Candi and Jamie posed with the apple cart.
Our second day started off with breakfast in the Smoky Mountains. This was probably Candi's most vivid memory; although, she remembers a bear joining us for breakfast. Debi and I don't remember any bears, but it made Candi happy. There was also a little time to play in the river before we moved on to the Laurel Falls hiking trail. Candi and Jamie stopped short of the falls. This picture was taken when I passed them on my way to the falls. Next we stopped at the visitor center where we picked up some maps, saw a movie on the Smoky Mountains, and visited the gift shop. I bought a Whistle Creek Hickory Scout walking stick that would have been really handy on the Laurel Mountain trail. We had lunch in the park in an area called the Chimneys. This is where we really had breakfast ten years earlier. Again, the girls had a great time playing in the rocky river. We finished the day with a cookout at the campsite and a campfire before heading to bed.
We had pancakes and sausage
for breakfast Monday morning before breaking camp. It was a long
drive back, and we stopped to make sandwiches at the rest area just north
of Chattanooga on I-75. We had a great time, but everyone was glad
to get home.
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