Great Smokies

Travel days continue to be the bane of our existence. I had looked up campgrounds, and decided we would stay in the NC part of the park, over at Big Creek campground. It's walk-ins, in the middle of bear country. We would have to pack up everything after every meal, and walk it all back to our car in the parking lot. We travel heavy. We don't even have our tabletop stove any more because that broke. So we bailed on Big Creek, and headed to Gatlinburg, since that's where we're meeting Bill's family later in the week. That's quite the circus. The walking town aspect of it all reminded us of Banff, but with so many more people. And a lot more lights. Bill found us a place to stay, just outside of Dollywood in Pigeon Forge. We stayed the night, then hit the grocery store. While I shopped, Bill tried to find us a campground. Not an easy task. With the Great Smokies/Gatlinburg/Pigeon Forge area being such a destination spot, campgrounds can be quite expensive/filled/far away. By the time we left the grocery store, we still didn't have a spot. Just one of those days where you question why in the world anyone would take on such an adventure. Especially in a tent when nighttime temps sink, humidity builds during the days, the lighting situation is haphazard, and oftentimes it rains in the fall. But God came through for us, and one of the campgrounds that Bill had called but no one answered called us back. And they have space! And they're cheap! And they're on a river! And they're only 30ish minutes from Gatlinburg! Living large! Oh, and now we're only about an hour away from one of my old roommates, so we get to visit her and her family!!! Thank you God for this wonderful blessing!

Our first sunset here. We were fortunate enough to get the campsite set up early in the day, get our lunch, get cleaned up, and head out to our first field trip. That we just barely missed--it closed just a few minutes before we got there. But we'll hit the Bush's Baked Beans factory visitor's center another day. On our way there, though, Bill got a call from Nate Taylor. Of Taylor Coaches. Our trailer is now moving forward. So exciting. We even got a floor plan. The countdown has begun.