Smokies Fall 2018 Trip Part 3
Smokies Fall 2018 Trip Part 3 was the first day of the trip where I actually took photos with my camera. After having breakfast at the cabin, we decided to head to the foothills parkway to take some photos. Unfortunately the clouds had cleared by the time we arrived. Since it was 9am so the sun was too high for decent photos.
We headed into the park and were able to get some photos since the mountains were blocking the sun on part of the river.
We had picked up prepackaged sandwiches the night before and decided to head over to Ramsey Cascades to eat. There was no way we were going to redo that hike. I’m not sure I would have made it since I’m not in as good of shape as I was in May. But we could say we did head to Ramsey Cascades.
Downtown Gatlinburg
After lunch we decided to walk around downtown Gatlinburg. We were quite surprised how crowded it was. Most of the parking lots were full. We walked around the Arts and Craft Fair and the Festival of Trees both of which were at the Gatlinburg Convention Center. I was surprised that there weren’t any photographers. One of the vendors were selling collegiate Christmas tree ornaments. It gave me an idea what I was going to get my father for Christmas. My friend Maureen would have loved the Festival of Trees as it was a room with decorated Christmas Trees so I sent her photos.
We took the tram up to Ober Gatlinburg. The tram was cool but Ober Gatlinburg was a little too cheesy for me. I was amazed how much color were on the trees considering how late in the season it was. There was a ski lift to top of one of the mountains but not with my fear of heights.
We were originally going to have dinner at BBQ joint where we ate in May but was closed to a fire. We ended up having pizza at Big Daddy’s Pizzeria.
Smokies Fall 2018 Trip Part 2 did not start out well at all. I slipped on the stairs and had beautiful dark purple bruises on my forearm and on my butt. What made it even worse is that it was my birthday. My klutziness strikes again.
wandered across the street to the winery to see if they had any Pinot Grigio I could pick up for my boss but like the Apple Barn winery, they didn’t stock it. Tim soon joined me and picked up a few more bottles of wine along with some hard cider and the cutest corkscrew holder. It was a bear. 
Smokies Fall 2018 Trip Part 1 starts at 7:30am on Monday morning, the day before my birthday. This was my fifth trip to 
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.