Tennessee Trip: Day 6

We packed up Wednesday morning, said a quick goodbye to Dave and Dana at our hotel after a "fancy waffle" breakfast. Since we weren't in a huge rush and had the day to explore we took a more scenic route into the park.  We came from the Southern part of the park and entered through the Oconaluftee Visitor Center entrance near TN.  The kids thought it was fun to travel through North Carolina and I hadn't planned to be in this part of the park originally, so it was a great drive.  After all was said and done, I do wish I had incorporated the Cataloochee Area in this part of our trip because that's where all the beautiful Elk are supposed to be.  There weren't really great roads connecting the rest of the park to that area, but I'd visit it next time.

The weather was really nice and our goal for the day was to reach Clingman's Dome at some point ad check out most of the Newfound Gap Road.  By entering from the South we were able to travel the entire Newfound Gap Road and it was really beautiful.  It's the large North/South road through the park.  We got to travel through different terrains on the road and see the beautiful colors.  Originally I thought our end of October trip would be a little late for the Fall colors, but this was a late change year, so while we did see beautiful trees, I think maybe the huge pop came after our visit. 

We stopped for some photos here and there and made it to Clingman's Dome.  I was getting a little nervous because the road was backed up and cars were parked pretty far back on the road.  I didn't want to really do a 1-2 mile walk along traffic to get to a trail that wasn't even that long.  Luckily we fed the little ones some snacks while we waited, although Theo was crying from a headache, and I we were all mostly ready to be O-U-T of the car for a bit at this point. Thankfully, we were able to find a parking slot in the main lot.  This hike/trail is fully-paved and a "half-mile" one way trip, but between the steep gradient and higher altitude it was a workout.  Lots of stops along the way.  The Dome is at 6,642 feet and is the highest point in the Park. 

Max was a bit of a trouble maker on this hike.  We didn't grab the carrier since we'd been in the car and it wasn't too 'far'.  He didn't really want to be held, but rather jump off the sides of the path.  Then on the way down he just wanted to run, but it was so steep we were afraid he was going to completely wipe out.  Mason was a saint and carried him a lot on this hike. We passed part of the Appalachian Trail which interests with the pathway, so we took picture and walked about 20 feet on the trail to say we'd done part of it.  Woodrow can claim to have peed along the trail. 

Once we made it to the top, where there's a large structure where you can get a 360 degree view, I was unsure why I'd pressed for this location-kidding-a little.  I'm not a fan of heights, I get wobbly knees, and chasing fearless kiddos just makes me tense...all while Mason's handing over ledges to snap amazing photos.  Overall glad we did the iconic hike, the calves were definitely feeling it for a few days.

 

 
We continued North along the Newfound Gap Road and I don't know what did it, but Woodrow started pitching a fit so we pulled over and Mason got out of the car with him to calm him down.  It was probably the prettiest spot he's ever had a time-out.  After regrouping we headed back on the road, and with no real plans, but it being later in the afternoon we headed towards the Sugarlands Visitor Center entrance, and right near the entrance we were lucky enough to see a black bear! 

I'm convinced that so many people actually see the wildlife due to the crowd and not the actual animal.  The park rangers were out directing traffic, and lots of people were out along the road watching a black bear along the hillside.  We were able to find a quick parking spot nearby to let the kids get out and see the bear.  A woman told me that this bear had been hanging out in this area for a few days.  In the morning it was  on one side of the road eating nuts, and in the afternoon it climbed down to go to the water source and was hanging on the hillside.  We even saw it quickly climb up a tree.  Wow!

Since we like to suck all we can out of a day, I suggested a drive around the Roaring Fork Motor Nature Trail road right nearby...it was supposed to have nice views and I'd marked a few hikes from that location...plus we thought we'd see some bears!  There were some rangers suspiciously on the road just after the entrance, but they weren't offering up any information...so we kept our eyes peeled, but didn't end up seeing any bears.  This area was really pretty.  Heavy forest and pristine water trickling along the riverbeds.

Heading back towards Gaitlinburg we grabbed dinner from the Texas Roadhouse and made our way to our AirBnB just outside the town.  This was our first time using an AirBnB and it was great.  The location was away from the noise and bustle of the city, we had an entire house with lots of space after several days of sharing a hotel room, and full amenities.  I had no complaints about it at all.  After a yummy dinner, we all cleaned up and hit the sack.