The Smoky Mountains

This is the view from the deck of the rental house.

 When you look straight down, it must be about 50 feet.---at least.

 We've rented a huge log house. We spend a lot of time out on the deck. The views are just beautiful.

First thing on Sunday, we went in to Gatlinburg.

 We took a sky ride where I got this photo.

 Once we got to the top, we took a few photos.

We browsed the shop. Most of the family went in to the Ripley's Haunted House. We had lunch at Bubba Gumps. You can't go to Gatlinburg without buying fudge and salt water taffy---and we bought lots!

This was our favorite thing. We tried all flavors of moon shine. We bought lots of that too!

We left on Monday for a drive through the mountains for a hike and a picnic.

And this is why they are called the Smoky's. The further we went, the smokier it got. It didn't help that it was a little drizzly too. 

 About half way up, we hit the border. Of course we had to stop for photo ops.

We had planned to hike a bit of the Appalachian Trail, but the weather did not cooperate. The guys have made a plan to hike a hundred miles of the trail. They didn't set a date.

 Mitchell couldn't resist a few climbs. Slipping or falling doesn't enter his mind.

 Victoria and Elizabeth climbed on top of a big rock. E is quite the poser.

We also forgot to take in to consideration that between the bottom and the top of the mountains is a 20 degree difference. Jordan is the only warm one---and that's only because Nicky gave her his sweatshirt.

Mitchell wanted to do a lot of exploring, but he was the only one willing to do it in the drizzle.

Although we were a little disappointed that the rain put a damper on our outside day, we don't stay down for too long. We got back to the house and played a ton of games. Our new favorite is "Reverse Charades." Instead of one person acting our for their team, the whole team acts out for one person. It's really a lot of fun.

Up next, Dollywood!