They Don't Call It That for Nothing!

One of the main reasons that we wanted to go to Pigeon Forge was to see The Great Smoky Mountains!Unfortunately, the day that we went there was the only day that it rained, or more like poured!
The beauty of the mountains, however, were only accentuated by the mist that formed around them and created that "smoky" look. I am not a photographer by any stretch of the imagination, but I hope that you can enjoy the beauty that we saw in person, at least a little, through the pictures that we took.
Taken from inside the car.

We drove all the way to the top of this mountain to see the view and the only thing that we could see clearly was this sign.

We had planned a hike to a hidden waterfall that only the locals know about, but because of the rain we had to settle for the paved trail to Laurel Falls. There was a slight lapse in the rain that morning and we took advantage of the time to hike up there.
By the time we got back we were all pretty wet, but we did it. Since I have been sick and am still recovering I was always behind on the hike, and on the way back Karlee stayed with me. I would like to say it's because she likes my company but it was because I had a camera and she wanted to be in all the pictures. She is very photogentic.

That's me way behind on the way back. Can't imagine why I was so far behind, what with having to stop every few minutes to take pictures of Karlee.
Chimney Rock

This is the view of Gatlinburg, TN (the place with all the Ripley Attractions)

The best part about this area was that if you wanted to pay for your entertainment there was plenty of things to do in Pigeon Forge and in Gatlinburg, but if you wanted to escape from the craziness of it all you could drive for 10-20 minutes and enter the beautiful mountains.
I kept trying to figure out why the beauty of these mountains overcame me so much, having grown up around the mountains my whole life, and I realized just how much I have missed being near the mountains. Erik and I, both enjoyed just looking around, the kids, however, were happy to watch movies and skip the whole mountain adventure. Poor kids don't know what they are missing!
So there you have it, I'm all caught up...for now.