Sunday afternoon and Monday morning were an absolute whirlwind of time spent in the Smoky Mountains - but it was an awfully good whirlwind. Ryan had never been to Gatlinburg and the surrounding areas and I was excited to show him a place I spent so much time growing up.
We arrived in the Smokies around 3:30 and headed for The Sinks; a spot with a small waterfall and also a place where my Mom used to leap from rock outcrops into the water below. I grabbed some snapshots of similarly adventurous people who were leaping into the chilly water - not something I'd be up to doing! Ryan and I wandered all around the rock outcrops and snapped tons of pictures - as you do.
The next stop that we made was the old Elkmont Campground area that was once a playground for the wealthy in the 20's and 30's - most of the cabins are being saved as part of a restoration project and we popped in and out of some. We also climbed up to where the Wonderland Hotel once was and saw the only thing that remains - an old stone chimney rising up between tree trunks blackened from a fire that burned down the shell that was left.
Our final stop of the day (before dinner and the hotel) was hiking to Laurel Falls. The hike itself isn't too bad as the path is paved all the way, but it does wind up the mountain for most of the hike - so know that going in. We were about 3/4 of the way up the mountain when other hikers pointed out to us a mama bear and a baby bear up in a tree - it was definitely the closest I've ever been to a black bear and maybe it was a little too close... *nervous laughter*
Ryan and my Dad were intent on getting excellent pictures while I was intent on backing away from the Mama bear so she didn't try to attack us. She even snorted at them at one point - and it made me back up ever farther. I love them both dearly but I didn't want to become bear bait! Thankfully, they got their pictures and we finished the climb to the falls - which were beautiful! As you can see - Ryan couldn't resist doing just a little bit more climbing.
We had a pretty delicious dinner at Bennett's BBQ Pit and then checked in at Margaritaville - which is where we have stayed twice now and we really love it! Monday morning we got up and went to our favorite spot - Pancake Pantry - and introduced Ryan to all the pancake options and piles of butter! After breakfast we hopped on the sky life to Anakeesta to explore for a couple hours!
The views from Anakeesta are lovely and there is truly so much to do at the top of the mountain! They have beautiful gardens, a tree walk, ropes course, a viewpoint tower, plenty of spots to sit and take in the gorgeous views - it's just the best spot! We even decided to be brave and stand on the glass panels on the viewpoint tower - which was really stepping outside the box for me because I cannot stand heights!
We ended our visit to Anakeesta doing the Treetop Walk and then headed down the mountain to check out of the hotel and head on our way to Virginia and home. We snapped one last picture after we checked out from Margaritaville and y'all - that picture is now in a contest to win a two night stay at the resort - so that's fun! It was such a great time - even though everything about the five days seemed like it passed in an absolute whirlwind!
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