This morning we got up around 8, had breakfast again, which
was again, delicious, and packed up. We
went back into the park and this time decided to hike the 5.4 mi Rainbow Falls
trail. We’d heard the day before that it
was a great hike. The only obstacle was
the weather forecast which was full of rain.
When we pulled into the parking lot, it wasn’t raining but the wind was
HOWLING and it made Nick and me both a little bit uncomfortable. The tall trees were swaying back and forth
and it just seemed like a huge storm was going to blow in. But man-oh-man was luck on our side yet
again.
We hiked up and it took a little
more than two hours. It was super muddy
and pretty steep. The first hour
we made cairns along the way every ten minutes or so. There were several small waterfalls along the
way and lots of water crossings and even a few log bridges that always make me
nervous.
We played ‘I’m thinking of something’ up (and down) much of
the trail and no one suffered any serious injuries. Ryan sang a large section of ’99 jugs of milk
on the wall’ and made it the whole way through by the time we finished the
hike.
At the top we precariously situated ourselves and had a
small picnic/snack or salami, crackers, cheese and apples. Then we headed back down. And man it was super windy but it never
rained once in the almost 4 hours that it took us to complete the hike.
At the end I realized my Timberland hiking shoes that I’ve
had for 16+ years had torn so I took a picture of them and threw them away in
the bear-safe trashcan at the end of the trailhead.
We drove back through Gatlinburg and re-entered the park
through the main entrance and drove south down the road that divides the park
between east and west.
The drive was something!
It began raining and there were iced over small waterfalls all along the
way. I can’t believe how lucky we got
with the rain.
We drove south into
Cherokee, NC (an Indian reservation) and stopped at a Dairy Queen where we all
got a much-needed snack. Then we drove
over to Ashville.
Before we checked into the hotel, we drove by my Great
Grandfather’s house and sent a picture to my mom. So cool!
Then we checked into a Baymont Inn and Suites and all took showers/baths
because we were filthy – literally covered in splattered mud from the
hike. Then we took a quick drive through
downtown Asheville (I LOVE THIS TOWN!) and ate at the Wayside Grill, which used
to be a train station (at the recommendation of the man working the front
desk). The food was delicious and the
service was great. Then we headed back
to the room and the kids got into their bathing suits. Believe it or not, the hotel has a washer and
dryer that are dirt cheap so right now, I’m sitting by the edge of the indoor
pool/hot tub while the kids are swimming and we have a full load of filthy
laundry in the wash.
It was another amazing day with luck firmly on our side yet
again! I love this trip!!
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