In late September, we went on vacation with my in-laws to Gatlinburg, Tennessee. This was my third trip to the Smokies, and the Baby’s first. (Also his first drive of more than five hours).
Baby did surprisingly well, although he wanted to run every trail rather than ride in his stroller or hold hands. We had some cloudy, rainy weather, but overall had a really good time. I even came up with a story idea on the way home. I love the Smokies, so I’m looking forward to setting a story there.
The thing about Gatlinburg is that there’s a little bit of everything. National Park, history, shopping, people watching, and lots and lots of pancakes and candy. We spend most of our time at the National Park, and I’m hoping to create a Park Ranger hero soon.
On our trip, Baby most enjoyed seeing the chickens at the example farmstead in the park. Here he is quaking at them:
We also got to see some wildlife. Hubby was very excited to see bears on our drive down from Clingman’s Dome. (I was safe inside a car taking these pictures).
And possibly even more excited to see elk. We also heard the elk, which was a strangely mechanical sound.
I didn’t get too many gorgeous views this visit because of all the cloud cover, but overall it was still a great place to vacation with the family.
Nicole Helm 