It’s been a while since the Beavers have all gotten out to visit a national park together. We took the occasion at the start of our Spring Break to head through the Smokies on our way to see Tiffany’s grandma, whom we last visited a couple of summers ago, along with our visit to Manhattan Project NHP and Obed WSR. (This visit would prove to be much cooler and with fewer car issues, PTL!)
Growing up in the upstate of South Carolina, I have spent my fair share of time in the Appalachian Mountains. I’ve been through the Smokies several times, and I’ve been around them innumerable times. So, it was nice to now have an official visit with my family.
We started by driving through Cherokee, NC, and I pointed out to the fam all the Cherokee language that was on various signs. This visit would be especially interesting, considering that this summer on our road trip, we will pass through the Cherokee reservation out in Oklahoma, AKA the end of the Trail of Tears.
We stopped first at the Oconaluftee Visitors Center. There were a fair number of people here. We picked up our Junior Ranger book and walked around some. (Side note: At this park, entry is free, but if you want to park for more than 15 minutes, you have to pay…I think it was like $5. Also, you have to pay about $5 for a Junior Ranger book and $1 for a brochure…I’d be lying if I said I didn’t feel a little nickle-and-dimed.)
At this VC, there is a collection of old farm buildings, most having been brought here from around the area. There was a small demonstration happening, during which they were melting down pork fat, I believe, for tallow. I watched that while the girls watched the free-range chickens. More on one of the chickens in just a bit.
We saw the various buildings there, completing some JR activities along the way. Teagan also enjoyed playing near the stream (and she managed to stay dry here). Then, we decided to go back towards the VC and eat the lunch we had packed.
While the VC was a little bit away from the tallow-making program and the chickens, one of the chickens (a rooster) had wandered up towards the VC. Needless to say, that rooster was quite intrigued with our lunch. We ended up eating quickly, moving to a different area, etc. It would cock-a-doodle-doo, and I would put my shoe up to keep it away…and eventually we just got it all packed up and/or eaten.
We then headed through the park, but before going too far, we managed to see some of the elk just north of the VC.
The drive itself is great…but there were just so. many. people. I’ve heard some say that to really experience the park without people, you have to hike several miles out. That wasn’t in the cards today, but we did stop at the Chimneys area to walk a bit. We didn’t get too far, as we found a stream with lots of boulders. A lot of fun was had here, and Teagan did manage to get one leg+shoe wet.
We made it to the other side and stopped briefly at the VC in Tennessee. Here, the girls got their Junior Ranger Badges. At that point, we headed on up the mountains, bypassing Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge (*shudder*) on the way to Tiffany’s grandma near Knoxville.
We had a nice visit, with Tiffany’s mom and aunt/uncle joining us for a couple of days. We also went to City Church in Knoxville, which is a church that was started by a group of people from our church in Columbia. It was a nice chance to catch up with some old friends.
Another adventure in the books! Many more national parks coming this summer. Stay tuned!
Beavers in the Park 