There's gold in dem thar hills

[charitycase20....Charity 10]

Can't wait to see more!

I agree the baby is adorable!!! :heart: I miss my days of babywearing...although I'm not ashamed to admit that sometimes I can still talk Zach into hopping into the carrier on my back for a bit! :heartsmiley:

[stefa70 205]

Don't worry....I'm not a one and done guy.

:clint: Best quote EVER!

Did Jen fire all of the fairies?

[ImDownWithDisney 342]

Great stuff so far!

Thanks for posting this report- I have never been to the Smokey Moutains, and we do not get Fall leaves like what your photos show in Florida.

That cabin looks like it was a great deal.

Can't wait to read the rest.

TCD

Thanks...you should get up to the mtns. It is really pretty and very diverse. You can walk or drive from a Southern hardwood forest to one that belongs in Canada in a short amount of time.

Carry on with leaf photos, mine are all raked up for another year (yeah it takes most of a day). The pictures are beautiful so far. Maybe we can get you to 10 pages (without hijacking too bad). :)

Thanks.....highjacking...never!

Can't wait to see more!

I agree the baby is adorable!!! :heart: I miss my days of babywearing...although I'm not ashamed to admit that sometimes I can still talk Zach into hopping into the carrier on my back for a bit! :heartsmiley:

Thanks! I would still ride in one of those packs if I could get someone to carry me.

:clint: Best quote EVER!

Did Jen fire all of the fairies?

Hey....get you mind out of the gutter.........if that's possible...doubt it, though ;-)

[ImDownWithDisney 342]

Alright, we left off with me gorging myself on garlic rolls. Thankfully, they all went down without a fight....you never know how it will work out...you just have to hope for the best.

I forgot to add one thing in my last update. The parking situation in Gburg is horrible. Businesses are crammed in everywhere they can put a building and lots are an afterthought. You can pay $5-10 if you can find a lot that is empty on a busy weekend. On a fall weekend with a TN football home game it was an exercise in futility.

But I wheeled in the little lot at Best Italian (about 7 spots) like a boss and snagged a front row spot for the family truckster. I knew then that it was probably going to be a good weekend. :clint:

After leaving the restaurant we hung a right at the #8 traffic light and proceeded up to the Roaring Fork Motor Trail. It is a nice little drive that is as close to Gburg as you can get. Surprisingly, it is never very crowded like some other spots. It is a hidden gem, fo sho.

Linky

http://www.nps.gov/g...roaringfork.htm

As we set off through the trail I snagged some pics with my phone while driving (don't try that at home, kids).

This is the best one from that effort

The trail is one way and slowly ascends up the slope of Mt Leconte (I think). You pass through many unique areas including a block field. Geology nerds will know what that is and how it is formed, but just picture a large area of cube shaped blocks that look like they don't belong.

As you drive higher and higher you will occasionally see some old growth hemlocks and tulip poplars. They are truly impressive up close. Unfortunately, the hemlocks are being killed by a pest called the "woolly adelgid". It is a bummer to see the skeletons of these great old trees.

About halfway through the loop you reach the old Ogle homestead. The Ogles are still in the area. You see the name on a lot of businesses and signs.

This is where I took the pic posted earlier....here it is again.

Other outbuildings

There is a very nice creek running right through the homestead. It is truly beautiful here. Old Mr. Ogle sure knew how to pick a spot to build his place.

Looking downstream

And upstream again

Remember that mystery haze that I noticed on the drive up? Turns out it wasn't haze or fog. It was dust from a massive dust storm in the midwest. It really did ruin the views and made for some bad air quality. Yet another reason why I hate the midwest. If not for food production I say erase everything from Memphis to Denver....but I digress.

Prior to reaching the Ogle homestead the trail passes an area where the park service has cut the trees back to expose of view of the surrounding mtns.

I call this one "Dust Storm from the Sucky Midwest"

[DaveInTN 3,247]

Nice update! I wanted to take the Roaring Fork Trail today but we ran out of energy, as well as ran out of patience with a couple of the rug rats.

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

IDWD-

Great photos!

That Ogle homestead photo is the best! And even that duststorm one is still good.

So is that cabin where the Ogles lived? I always enjoy visiting historic places and thinking about how tough life used to be for folks. I think it's a good thing for kids to see. Seeing actual buildings and places where people lived and worked will help a kid understand about the past way more than any book.

Keep up the good work!

TCD

[anolefan 8]

Awesome photos and report! We love Roaring Fork.

Can't wait for more, we are heading to the Gatlinburg area next week and between you and Dave's reporting, are looking forward to it even more. Hopefully there will be some fall color left to see.

[SCTigerCock 171]

Loving the TR!!! :heart:

If I could just find the time to enjoy the mountains this time of year! :banghead:

[Nicki aka Rebelstand 272]

gorgeous .... more please

[ImDownWithDisney 342]

Nice update! I wanted to take the Roaring Fork Trail today but we ran out of energy, as well as ran out of patience with a couple of the rug rats.

I know that scenario very well!

IDWD-

Great photos!

That Ogle homestead photo is the best! And even that duststorm one is still good.

So is that cabin where the Ogles lived? I always enjoy visiting historic places and thinking about how tough life used to be for folks. I think it's a good thing for kids to see. Seeing actual buildings and places where people lived and worked will help a kid understand about the past way more than any book.

Keep up the good work!

TCD

Yes, that is the real homestead. I too like to envision what it was like back then. I like to think that I could make it just fine, but who knows. Those people had to be tough as nails and very resourceful.

Awesome photos and report! We love Roaring Fork.

Can't wait for more, we are heading to the Gatlinburg area next week and between you and Dave's reporting, are looking forward to it even more. Hopefully there will be some fall color left to see.

Thanks...glad you're enjoying it. I think the color will be just fine....especially in the lower elevations.

Loving the TR!!! :heart:

If I could just find the time to enjoy the mountains this time of year! :banghead:

Thanks.

gorgeous .... more please

I have a little more to share.

[stefa70 205]

Nice work!

I love those cabins, but I don't think I'd love them in the middle of the night. :wetpants:

[ImDownWithDisney 342]

Nice work!

I love those cabins, but I don't think I'd love them in the middle of the night. :wetpants:

Especially in the winter.

[KeepSwimmingDory 2]

Beautiful fall colors & what a great site for a homestead! Would love to drive that trail.

[ImDownWithDisney 342]

Alright....let's get this one rolling again. Last week was busy at both work and home, plus I wasn't feeling well. I saw a Dr. and found out that I have high blood pressure (140/100), which is a bummer. I am reasonably active and eat decently, but my dad has it too, so I am thinking it is hereditary. Anyway, I am feeling better now that I have some meds in me.

I left off with our drive through Roaring Fork Motor Trail.....I highly recommend driving this one if you are in the area.

After driving back into Gburg I had the bright idea of heading back to Townsend via Pigeon Forge and Wears Valley Rd. This was a mistake. Traffic was slammed in PF. It took about 40 minutes to go 1.5 miles. I vowed to never return to PF...it's just not my cup of tea.

After a long drive back to the cabin we were ready to chillax. It had been a long day with the drive up from AL and the afternoon adventure.

Little man was whipped

We watched a little bit of tv then turned in, but it wasn't a good night's rest. The only complaint that we had with the cabin was the bed. It was as hard a rock. It honestly felt like sleeping on the floor. The next night I slept on the bottom bunk and my wife slept on the couch.

Saturday dawned pretty chilly. I would guess that it was about 40 or less with clouds. This is when that I learned that I had forgotten my jacket.....packing fail! But I did have a fleece pullover, which was enough.

I had asked a local about a good breakfast spot and was directed to the Carriage House.

They had a buffet, but we both ordered from the menu.

We both had scrambled eggs, bacon, and biscuits with gravy. It was delicious...better than Cracker Barrel and cheaper! Definitely hit this place up if you're in the area.

After breakfast we made our way back over to Gburg, but before we got to Gburg I stopped at Elkmont CG to take some pics and mark down sites that our camper will fit into.

Elkmont is a nice CG, but there aren't any hookups. There are generator loops and generator free loops. We can camp fully self contained for several days so I plan on staying there in the future. Here are a few pics. I will put up more in the campground forum.

I thought of Carol when I saw this rig.

Once in Gburg, we stopped at the NOC shop to check things out. It's a nice outdoor/camping shop, fo sho.

View from the NOC

We had two things on the agenda for the day. Hiking and visiting.

Coincidentally, Cosby was the location of both. I have been wanting to hike up to Albright Grove for a while now. There is some nice old growth forest up there. Here's some more info

http://www.hikingint...brightgrove.htm

And Dave and family were camped just a short distance away from the trailhead. I am glad that I logged in to see that they were in the area.

We took our 4 month old boy on his first hike there. He fell asleep in his carrier right away. That little joker seemed to get heavier the higher up we went too.

We didn't make it to our intended destination, but I did see some nice old growth in a few spots on the way up. We turned around about 1.5 miles into it....for two reasons.

1. Dave and crew had texted to let me know that they were back at camp.

2. I had read an alert about increased bear activity....plus I spotted some very fresh bear scat on the trail on the way up. On the way back down I saw some more that definitely wasn't there on the way up.

Knowing that bears were active in the area made me nervous since I wasn't carrying any bear spray and had a kid on my back.

I will check this one off of my list the next time we go back.

After the hike we met up with Dave and had a nice visit. No Anna sighting, though. She was hold up in the camper...napping, I believe.

It was nice to visit with a fellow fiend and family. Years ago who would have thought of creating friends over the internet via a Disney related website! Isn't technology great!

After leaving Dave and crew we cruised back there Gburg and the National Park to Townsend. We had dinner at Timbers in Townsend. I had the best sirloin that I've had in a long time. The wife had a blackened chicken salad that was heavy on chicken but light on salad. I told her to order the steak.....

Back at camp I took a walk around the CG to look at things and take a few pics. I plan on posting these in the campground forum soon too.

[DaveInTN 3,247]

We hiked that trail the next morning, and I saw no bear activity. I wonder now whether we shouldn't have taken the kids up there! :bugeyes:

I'm sorry you missed Anna. She was inside napping the whole time. I think our excursion to the Apple farm, pumpkin farm and festival wiped her out.

[YENSIDCAMPER 66]

Man, great pictures! I love going to the Smokies. Keep the report rolling.

[anolefan 8]

Nice update, I'm definitely putting the restaurant on our list for our trip this weekend.

Sorry about the traffic in PF. We usually take that route to Townsend and love the drive and scenery.

Looking forward to more.

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[Seals 111]

Looks like a fun trip and beautiful scenery. We were at Dollywood the weekend before. Did you know you can bypass the PF strip with the road that goes by Dollywood? Takes you almost to Sevierville. We've been through GSMNP several times on our way to and from Dollywood but need to stop and enjoy the park more. Last weekend was the first time we'd driven through Gatlinburg in several years and I was surprised at how many new buildings there were.

[Sunset Lady 6]

Your photos are gorgeous!! We also had beautiful fall color here in KY this year. Thanks for sharing your photos.