after mammoth cave, we did a mammoth drive to reach the other side of the great smoky mountains to reach our north carolina airbnb cabin. on our way through knoxville, we started to notice that all the roadside greenery appeared to have been spray painted onto the trills and hills. it didn't take long to accurately guess that this was the invasive kudzu weed. it. is. everywhere.
on the way into the park, we cruised through pigeon forge (dollywood!!) and skipped gatlinburg...man, pigeon forge is like the dells on steroids. it was awful. james wanted to stay forever. i hear gatlinburg is even worse.
once we entered the park in early evening, it was stunning.
every turn on the way up the mountain was a rewarding view
at the highest point of the park, we reached clingman's dome and hiked up to the observation tower to see the start of the sunset. totally glorious.
on our way back down, we found the appalachian trail,
and a motorcycle group hanging out with some pink cotton candy.
finding the cabin in the woods on the mountainside was harrowing and definitely required all wheel drive, but we did it. in the morning, we donned our water shoes
and made our way to nantahala outdoor center for the day's big adventure: whitewater rafting.
the campus is beautiful,
and the river was perfect. they sold us these photos of our family going through the final (and biggest rapid--a class 3). look at the second photo: you'll see that ramona has fallen over into the boat and is laughing.
it was a blast.
we spent the rest of the day there, climbing their tree structures, eating their burgers, and 100% enjoying ourselves.
back at the cabin, we played pool and had a hot tub soak under the rain.
1 comment:
What a wonderful trip. Ramona and James will always remember this. You are building great memories
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