Today, it was a mix of joint events like hiking with each other and exploring on our own. The first part for us was hiking a trail in the Great Smoky mountains with my college roommate. We enjoyed exploring the trail, finding spider webs, and playing in the waterfall.
After the late morning hike, my husband & I were on our own to explore Great Smoky mountain national park. So, we headed for the highest point in the park, Clingmans Dome. It wasn't as busy as we expected, but still busy enough. Clingmans Dome was where my father rescued my hiking partner, at that time, and me from the snow, and he took us into Gatlinburg for food, shower, and a warm place to sleep. It was great being back there remembering coming through there, hiding in the ladies restroom, and waiting for my father, hoping he could make it to us.
As we were checking out some of the spots, we had the privilege of seeing a black bear. I've heard many stories of black bear sightings in Smoky Mountain national park. During the spring break trip in college, we heard of problem black bears coming into shelters for poorly managed backpacker food, but never saw a bear. As I came through the park to Clingmans Dome on the Appalachian trail, I was warned of a black bear by the water source at one of the shelters where I was staying. I never saw that one either. So, it was wonderful to see one on this trip. It was just wandering along the side of the road.
After seeing the sights of the Smokies, we headed down to one of the smallish towns near our VRBO. My husband needed to get in a run, and the car needed to be charged. So, again I explored while he ran. Like I said, we were in moonshine country, and there were plenty of distilleries to visit. I didn't end up tasting, but did visit and find fun signs.
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