Summer Road Trip: Day Four

Gatlinburg, Tennessee: Despite being on vacation, we continued to live by the alarm clock as we were up bright and early to embark on another great day of exploring the east Tennessee mountain side. Today’s adventures takes us into the Great Smoky Mountain National Park.

Wow, despite having a really nice looking room and a very comfortable bed, nobody got much sleep thanks the lack of insulation and soundproofing from the adjoining rooms. The neighbors were so loud and the sound was not muffled at all. At one point during the night, I woke up thinking my wife was snoring loudly. Sad thing is that it wasn’t her, or my son, or my mom and nephew in the next room. It was the neighbor in the next unit.

We headed into town for breakfast at the Pancake Pantry. The Pancake Pantry was recommended to us by Mary Phillips from Ripley’s. While planning this trip, I had asked a few of the local media reps what are good dining choices and she recommended the Pancake Pantry. It was a great recommendation. They have no shortage of specialty pancakes. Unfortunately, I wasn’t too adventurous as I chose the standard buttermilk pancakes. They were very good and the portion size was more than enough, providing us with enough fuel to power a day of mountain exploration.

We had originally planned on heading to Cades Cove first thing in the morning to try our luck at seeing bears, however on the drive there we found out that Cades Cove only opens at 10 on Wednesday and Saturday. So we decided to head up Newfound Gap Road.

Newfound Gap Road cuts through the park from Gatlinburg to Cherokee. It features plenty of scenic pull-offs and hiking trails. On the way through when we were coming into town, I already eyed these as must-do attraction to get great photos. We started the trek up the mountains, stopping at each one along the way.

The trip got a little exciting when we stopped at an overlook just before the Chimney Rocks area of the park. When we got out of the van, I noticed the waterway down below and the nice rapids created by the rocks. The creek was about 50 feet down with a nice natural stairway created by the rocky hillside. There were footprints along the way so I figured I would give it a try. It can’t be that hard, right? Well I was wrong, as I made it half way down, the rocks that made nice stairs went away and I was left with a steep, grassy embankment. But I thought I was still in good shape, there was a downed tree and the footprints were still visible so I pushed on. Well I quickly lost my footing, and slid/fell the rest of the way down, landing on a rock in the waterway. I managed to not severely hurt myself nor damage the camera. But I did walk away with some stunning photos and only a few bruises and cuts.

After I climbed back out of the hole, we continued on to the Chimney Tops hiking trail. While we had no intentions of climbing to the top of the mountain, we did hike a small portion of the trail. That is when I realized how crazy my previous endeavor was as this trail took up right down to the same waterway. And it took us there on a marked trail without a free fall. Oh well, it was the journey that made the memory. However, my lower back tells me to stick to the trail next time.

By this time, it was getting closer to Cades Cove opening to vehicular traffic so we turned around and headed to Cades Cove. It is amazing how long it takes to travel 27 miles in the mountains. While the drive to Cades Cove was really scenic, that 27 miles seemed to take forever.

When we reached Cades Cove, we were instantly met with a ton of vehicle traffic. The 11-mile one-way road through Cades Coves is one of the busiest parts of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and I was expecting crowds, just not this many crowds. This was almost like summer traffic at Disney. Bumper to bumper and creeping through the valley. Cades Cove is filled with historic structures, something I love to see and photograph. However, the large crowds made that almost impossible to do. And by the time we had enough, we still had to sit through the slow moving traffic to get back out of the 11-mile road. By the time it was said and done, this Cades Cove excursion took almost four hours and we didn’t even see any wildlife.

The four-hour tour of the cove was enough for my seven month old nephew, so we headed back to the Westgate and dropped him and my mom off so they could get out of the van and relax for a while. Then my wife, son and I headed back into the park to continue our exploration of the park.

The next stop for us was Newfound Gap. This is the namesake of the Newfound Gap Road that cuts through the park. It is here where President Roosevelt welcomed the world to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in 1940. This is also where the states of Tennessee and North Carolina meet, some 5,046 feet above the sea.

Then it was off to the highest elevation in the Smokies and the third highest east of the Mississippi, Clingmans Dome. Originally we had no intentions of climbing to the top, but after getting there and seeing the paved trail, we decided to tackle the feat. Only ½ mile separated us from the parking area to the top of the Smokies. But don’t let that distance fool you, that ½ mile hike was the toughest I have ever done. The steep incline of the trail made it a cardiovascular hell! There were several times I pondered whether or not the walk was worth it. But the higher you climbed, the more you realize that you are not alone. It didn’t matter if you were overweight and out of shape like me or lean and fit like some of the other hikers, the hike was battling everyone. And the longer you went, the more everyone banded together to offer words of encouragement as you continued the climb together.

Eventually, we made it to the top. The view was well worth the effort. At 6,643 feet, taller than the city of Denver, we were at the tallest peak in the Smoky Mountains. What I was amazed with the most was my wife’s effort in the climb, for someone as deathly afraid of heights as she is, she kept pushing through to make it to the top. A few months ago, we praised her for making it to the top of the tower at Myakka River State Park in Sarasota, Florida some 74 feet above the ground, an accomplishment that she built up for years. Today she blew that accomplishment out of the water. 

The climb down Clingmans Dome, was not as easy as I had expected. I figured the momentum would make the downward leg much easier. But it did not, trying to keep your legs from getting out from under you was a tougher task than I had expected. But when we reached the base safely, I went into the gift shop and bough my wife a challenge coin to commemorate her climb to the top. We also decided to become members of the Great Smoky Mountain National Park and help further support this great natural icon.

After the great climb, it was getting closer to dinner time so we headed back to the Westgate to pick up the rest of our travel party and head to dinner. We made a quick stop off at the Gatlinburg overlook along the Foothills Parkway before returning to the resort.

We had intended to eat at Paula Deen’s restaurant in Pigeon Forge but when we arrived at the Island, we were greeting by large crowds and no parking. So we tried our second choice, Cheddars and found the same scenario as they had quite a large wait as well. That’s when I decided to reach out for a longshot and head back to the DreamMore Resort at Dollywood and the dinner buffet at Song & Hearth. We loved it so much for breakfast so I figured it wouldn’t hurt to give it a try. Amazingly enough, it was not full. We were seated quickly and dinner was wonderful. Two of the family favorites from the meal were the Stone Soup and the Ham Pot Pie.

With full bellies, we took the short drive back to the Westgate where we would retire for what we hoped would be a good night sleep to get us ready for our final full day of vacation and our white water rafting adventure.

Be sure to check back for more photos and stories from our summer road trip.