The Beautiful Smoky Mountains

Anytime we head east, I can't wait until the Smoky Mountains come into view. It makes me smile the second I see them in the distance.

Nancy and I went to Gatlinburg last Saturday to stay overnight and then to go to an outdoor Easter Sunrise service at the top of Ober Gatlinburg, the ski mountain. There was a free Tram (cable car) ride from downtown to the ski area for the service which started at 6:30 am. It was dark and cold (about 25 degrees) but we wore our ski jackets and pants and were quite toasty. The sun came up behind the mountains as the service progressed. It was a very nice way to celebrate Easter, and I would guess we will do it again.

There is nothing more beautiful than being in the mountains and the Smoky Mountains are a real gem. After the Easter service we drove the Roaring Fork Motor Trail and then up to Newfound Gap and to Clingman's Dome. There was snow from Newfound Gap on up, but sunny and not too cold.

We continued on to Cades Cove for a 5 mile hike to Abrams Falls and back. Cades Cove is at a relatively low elevation and everything was green and snow free. We hiked with fleece vests but no jackets.

I have an interesting little story that happened on the hike. About an hour into the 2-3 hour hike I realized that I had left my $350 GPS on top on the car roof in the gravel parking lot with about 30 cars and many people around. After calmly saying "stupid, stupid, stupid" out loud I had nothing to do at that point but continue on the hike. A few minutes later we met a couple on the trail heading back toward the parking lot, an hour away. I asked the man that if my GPS was by any chance still on the roof top if he would place it under my car by the rear wheel to put it out of sight. When we returned to the car almost 2 hours after that there was a note on my windshield. It read "Check before driving off". Under my car was my GPS, still on. Believe it or not, I really had a positive feeling that it would be there. It is enough to restore your faith in human goodness.
If you haven't visited the Smoky Mountains recently, get there soon. Try to avoid July & August (prime vacation time), and October (leaf peepers) if you want to miss the most crowded times. The Great Smoky Mountains National Park has no entrance fee and no commercialization. Gatlinburg is a tourist zoo, but the National Park is all natural. The park is great for hiking, fishing, wildlife spotting, or even just listening to the sounds. We just wish it was 30 minutes away instead of 90. That way we could visit more often and we could smile at those mountains every day.