Catching Up
Posted: June 29th, 2012 | Filed under: Travel | Tags: clingmans dome, great smoky mountains national park, hubert bebb | 5 Comments »
There’s so much, yet nothing really to share these days.
We took a trip to Great Smoky Mountains National Park to camp…you know how much I love the mountains, and these are no exception. We took a few back roads through some small towns for fun…and to avoid driving through Pigeon Forge.
I love the architecture of the observation tower at the top of Clingman’s Dome. Designed by Hubert Bebb and built in 1960, it is still a wonderful way to enjoy the views above the treeline.
As the highest point on the Appalachian trail, the 360° vista, if you’re lucky enough to get it without full cloud cover, is absolutely breathtaking. We had a cloud roll in and envelop us completely at one point, but the winds were strong enough to move it through so the show continued.
It may be a bit shabby, but I hope they continue to preserve such a well thought out and functional gem. I worry it will be torn down and replaced by something…else.
I woke up to see Thing Two had rolled off his air mattress in the night….
Campfire time = glow bracelet fun.
The CC taped a bunch of bracelets to a hiking stick to create the glow staff of cool……
The weather was perfect, not too hot with evenings cool enough to sit by the fire. On the last day, the Things hit up a roadside ice cream stand and the next 5 days at home were, well..pretty awful. Both of them down with food poisoning. Everyone is fine now, but it was rough for awhile. In the middle of all this, Otto decided to throw up some of those hickory nuts he seems so fond of… in our bedroom. I may have briefly considered running out of the house screaming.
Upside: A fawn was born in our absence, as we spotted a newborn in our compost pile the day after we returned! Baby owls are out and screeching pathetically.
I am a bit down though, because of this.
I guess it’s time to pack up the outdoor cushions until October. Summer is over already and we’ll be stuck inside with heat advisories the rest of the time school is out down here. Luckily we plan to visit somewhere cooler before school starts again, but I’ll miss our time outside in Nashville.
So why did you want to avoid Pigeon Forge? I live in Colorado and had never heard of that place until last night. Literally. There was a tourism commercial on last night and I just thought it was funny to hear about the same random place twice in 24 hours.
Your mountains look so lush and beautiful, ours are all on fire right now. That dome thing looks pretty cool too! I can see why you’re a little worried they might replace it with something “different”. Oh, and I finally get what you’ve been saying about not being able to enjoy your summers. It’s been just reaching the 100′s here in Denver this last week and I’m dying! (no a/c) I can’t even imagine what 108 feels like! Good luck and stay cool!
Nikki Kelly @ the ambitious procrastinator
Ha! Nikki, Pigeon Forge is what I call Hillbilly Vegas. It’s a super touristy commercialized town with tons of traffic. Lots of family fun like go-carts, mini-golf and waterparks, but it’s the opposite of what we went to GSMNP to experience. We were attempting a more pastoral adventure!
The fires out there are making me so sad! I used to live in Denver myself and it breaks my heart to see so much of the state burning!
Looks like a great trip! There’s a photo of my mom and dad at Clingman’s Dome when my mom was about 7 months pregnant with my sister (this was 43 years ago) and my mom looks miserable and my dad is laughing his head off. That’s what I always think of when I see Clingman’s Dome.
This weather blows. That’s all I can say.
Loved looking at your pics and wish we had some clean cool mountain air to breathe. I am sick of this weather and hate feeling cooped up but I get literally sick when I get out. Come on Fall…hurry up and get here!
oh man, i didn’t realize that clingman’s dome thing was still there! i have an 8mm reel of my dad’s family up on that in the 60′s on vacation! i need to go and reenact it!