Birthdays and Colors

We spent some time, finally, in Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Beautiful colors, beautiful water, beautiful animals. Did not enjoy getting hit up for donations everywhere we looked. Nor did I love the idea of paying for the Junior Ranger program. A program designed to get our kids more involved in our parks. To get them to pay attention to nature and want to protect it. I get it, they think they're underfunded, so they're going to hit me every which way they can. But to put together a fancy schmancy junior ranger packet and charge me $2.50 for it. Bah to them. There are parks out there where the junior ranger packet is photocopied pages all in black and white, packets that engage my kids and make the visit to the park something to remember. Cut your costs, do more with less, stop putting your grimy paws in my pocket.

Beyond that, though, the park is gorgeous. We made the hike up Clingman's Dome. Half a mile of torture. We worked it out with another couple in the shop after the hike--it's a 12.9% slope. But I'm happy to say that, even though I was huffin' and puffin', my body is no worse for wear after that hike. Yeah!

Rock Hopping

We spent about 20 minutes at this one spot, trying to get a picture of the gorgeous little waterfalls. Except that there was a couple rearranging nature so that it looked more natural. It was painful. I'm not even sure they walked away with a picture. They certainly didn't walk away before we did. But we had a great time there, as the kids decided they would cross the stream, and then got stuck on the other side. Not permanently, we did come home with all five that we went with, but there were some moments when a few kids got a little anxious.

Clingmans Dome

This is what you're greeted with after you've done the Clingman's Dome hike, you get a ramp up to the tower to get the view. Totally worth doing the extra incline. And to me, this seemed easier than the trail. It's a bit chillier at the top than throughout the rest of the park, so you'll want a jacket when you get up there!

Mellow Mushroom

We ended the day with a trip to the Mellow Mushroom for dinner. We celebrated J's birthday, but I think most of us were a bit too tired to really party. At the campsite we did presents, and then crashed. LONG day!!!