Park #250!!!

Before I dive into what we did today, I need to tell a really funny story that I forgot to blog about yesterday.  On this trip, we are renting an RV.  This is our first time ever in an RV, so we fully admit we are newbies to the RV life.  On Saturday, we were leaving King's Mountain National Military Park with Steve driving, Craig driving the rental car, and Jamie and I were in the back of the RV chillin' out, maxin', relaxin' all cool (Fresh Prince of Bel Air reference).  Thankfully we were on one of the side roads on the way out of the park instead of on the highway when this happened.  But all of a sudden, the side door of the RV flies open!  Steve pulled over as fast as he could so I could close and lock it.  Keep in mind this is only day 2 of us ever operating an RV.  Steve doesn't make it even a mile further down the road, when the door flies open again!!  This time I made Steve close and lock the door because apparently I am inept at using the door on the RV.  Seriously - I still can't get out of it from the inside and we're 4 days in.  :-)

Alright, so on to today's adventures!  So we spent the day in Great Smoky Mountains National Park, which we are very excited to share that this is park number 250 out of 417 for me and Steve!  It's crazy that we've been to 250 parks, battlefields, monuments, historic sites, etc. since 2012 and each one has been so cool in its own way!  Sadly, we woke up to rain this morning, but we decided to still move forward with our plan in the Smokies in hopes that the rain would let up some of the day.  When we got to the park sign, it was pouring.  But by the time we got to the first hike, the Laurel Falls trail, we had beautiful weather!  The Laurel Falls trail is 2.6 miles round trip and is entirely uphill the whole way there.  The good news is, it's downhill the whole way back!  It's a pretty hike through the woods and when you get closer to the top, there are some breathtaking views.  Plus, the waterfall is pretty!

All of us at the sign 

Park #250!!!

Top of Laurel Falls

Top & Bottom of Laurel Falls

Scenic Vista

After the hike, it started to rain again, which was the perfect time to head over to Cade's Cove, which has a scenic drive loop.  Supposedly this is a great place to see wildlife, including bears, but we think everyone who has told us that is a liar because we saw nothing but deer and turkeys!  ;-)  We heard later in the morning that we missed a bear and three cubs on the loop.

Meigs Falls - seen from the road on the way to Cade's Cove

Ste - I mean, turkey  ;-)

John Oliver's cabin - this cabin is 200 years old!

Deer

The mill in Cade's Cove

We didn't plan out much more to do today since the rain was so off and on, so we decided to go into Gatlinburg to go to Smoky Bear Brewery for a sampler.  The Black Bear Ale was delicious!

Yum

We're back at the campground now and Steve is getting ready to cook us dinner:  tacos in a bag!  They are a camping must!  :-)  I can't wait to blog tomorrow because we have a really fun activity planned that I've been looking forward to ever since we started planning this trip!!!