Smokies Fall 2018 Trip Part 1
Smokies Fall 2018 Trip Part 1 starts at 7:30am on Monday morning, the day before my birthday. This was my fifth trip to Great Smoky Mountain National Park in a little over 2 years. Last Thanksgiving Tim and I had decided we would celebrate both my birthday and Thanksgiving in the Smokies. Since Tim’s drive was twice as long as mine, I decided to not leave until 8am so I wouldn’t get there much earlier than he would especially since he had my camera.
The drive itself was pretty easy, it took my about 6 hours to make it from my front door to the Sugarlands Visitor Center where we would meet. I picked up a couple of items at the store. Big surprise I know. I stll had about 2 hours before Tim would arrive which wouldn’t give me a lot of time and I didn’t want to lose my parking space. Thanksgiving week at the Smokies is busy and Sugarlands Visitor Center is the closest one to Gatlinburg.
There is a short trail to Cataract Falls (photo on the left) behind the center so I decided to do a video blog with the GoPro. I was wearing a pair fo slip on shoes and I stupidly didn’t change to my sneakers. I did change them when I got back to the car.
Tim arrived and after he bought a couple things, we did the short hike to Cataract Falls.
Our next stop was our cabin which was located in Townsend about 10 miles from Cades Cove but away from the craziness that was Gatlinburg. Cute cabin nestled in the mountains. It had both a screened in porch and a deck. After dropping off our stuff, we headed back to Pigeon Forge for dinner and to pick up some groceries.
Thus ends Smokies Fall Trip Part 1.
Smokies Spring 2018 Trip Part 6 was unfortunately our last full day in the Smokies. We made breakfast at the cabin using up as much of the groceries as we could. The original plan was 
We stopped at an overlook and eat our lunches. I had to make a quick pit stop first. I couldn’t believe when I joined them, the guys had already started eating their lunchs. Thanks for waiting for me. Our next stop was Mingus Mil which is the image on the leftl. We finished at the Oconaluftee Visitor Center where we picked up more souvenirs. I did ask the Park Rangers if there was a "I survived Ramsey’s Cascades" pin but unfortunately there isn’t one. They totally need to create one. They have one for Clingman’s Dome.
Smokies Spring 2018 Trip Part 5 is the day after the Ramsey’s Cascades hike. Given that we were all quite sore for the previous day, we decided to let our bodies decide when we would wake up.
After breakfast we headed to the store where I picked up apple butter and the fritter mix. Our next stop were the Cades Cove stores. Both the one near the campground and the one near the Cable Mill. Not surprising, I picked up a few more souvenirs. The keychain that is in the photo on the left is one of the things I picked up. It is 3 parts and has Cades Cove written on the butt. I also picked up a tee shirt, lapel pin and another sticker for my laptop. The original plan was to have lunch at the Cades Cove store but after the big breakfast, none of us were hungry.
We FINALLY made it to Ramseys Cascades. This blog post will take care of the rest of Wednesday. I placed my camera bag on a large boulder (threw it up there was probably a better description) and then climbed up myself. I just sat there for ten minutes to get my breathing back down to normal and to take in the falls. There was a nice breeze coming off the falls which helped cool us down. If I remember correctly the temperature was around 82 degrees. Tim, after taking off his pack, laid down on his stomach and practically kissed the rock. 
Unfortunately soon it was time head down. The good news was that it was almost all downhill but we still had over 4 miles to hike carrying our backpacks with very tired and sore legs. I can’t tell you how many branches and rocks I kicked on the way day. At one point Tim and I made a suicide pact. I finished the one bottle of water I brought while we were at the falls so I was parched on the way down. I have never been as relieved as I was when we reached the car. I immediately changed from my hiking boots to my sneakers and drank half a bottle of water. 
Smokies Spring 2018 Trip Part 4 is the 
The first 1.5 of the trail follows an old gravel road and isn’t hard at all. It pulls you in thinking even though its long, its not going to be a difficult hike. We stopped a few places along the way on the rivers edge to get shots of mini waterfalls. The 2.5 miles to go marker was one of those places. I had just put my camera backpack back on and was about to start hiking again when I saw a bobcat dart across the trail and run into the woods. Both Joe and Tim were facing the wrong direction so I was the only one that saw it. I didn’t even know that the park had bobcats. It was quite a treat for me as it was the first one I had ever seen in the wild. I just wish it had stopped long enough for me to get a photo. At least I saw it.
Smokies Spring 2018 Trip Part 3 is our 2nd day in the park. We got up REALLY early and headed to Foothills Parkway to shoot the sunrise. Anyone who knows me knows that I am NOT a morning person. Tim and I weren’t impressed with the first overlook we stopped at due to it wasn’t totally facing east. We hopped back into the car. The second overlooked had a narrower area to see the sunrise due to trees but it was much better. And there was a farm in the valley below and what looked like a bunch of ants, They were actually cows. We got some great shots. At one point, I did not fully tighten my tripod head and while I was doing a long exposure show, it slowly panned down. Tim threatened to punch me if I got rid of the photo. A little harsh I thought.
We headed back to the cabin where it was my turn to make breakfast. Joe had made breakfast the day before. I chose french toast. Tim opted out of the breakfast and had Raisin Brand cereal instead. I tried not to take it personally.
We played one more round of miniature golf before heading to