Day 5 - Great Smoky Mountains National Park - Little River Road

Tuesday, May 11, 2022

Weather - Partly cloudy, high of 78F

Steps - Shaun: 17,122, Shannon: 14,215 (Shannon took her watch off before cooking so she's off a bit)

Varmints - one wild turkey, common goldeneye duck (we think)

Today was a full-on hiking day. We got a late start because we haven't used our "big packs" since our Southwest vacation in 2018. This meant we had to go through everything we'd left in them from before and figure out what we needed now. It was a bit of a cluster, if I do say so myself (and I do!), and then we decided NOT to use the dang things! Our thinking was that the first hike of the day was only 1.3 miles, so we could use our little packs. The only problem is that we didn't bring our little packs, so we put what we could in our pockets and carried our water bottles (even though we had 2 liters of water in our water bladders in our big packs!). There was the additional problem that it was really 1.3 miles EACH WAY, but hey, it was a learning experience. We'll be better prepared on Friday when we will face our most daunting hike (hopefully).

The hard-won picture of the park entrance sign

Anyway, once we were all packed up and finally made it on the road at around 10:00 a.m., we entered the Great Smoky Mountains National Park for the first time. Right out of the gate, we missed pulling off the road to take a picture of the sign, so I ended up pulling over at the next turnoff and walking back to take the picture. A little bit of a bonus was that in the process of walking, I found a really cool plant that had GIGANTIC leaves (which we later found out was a type of magnolia).

Our first hike of the day was about 30 minutes into the park from Townsend, going along the northern edge on the Little River Road (which was gorgeous) to a place called Laurel Falls. This is a really popular hike, and since we got there much later than expected, we actually had to park about a half mile from the trail head. The distance was advertised as 1.3 miles in our book, which we assumed was round trip, but we were mistaken, so the total walk for us was 3.6 miles (including the walk to and from the car).  

Lower right corner is the mountain laurel, from which Laurel Falls gets its name

Laurel Falls is an 80-foot waterfall with an upper and lower section that has a walkway between the two that makes you think you're walking right across the waterfall. The hike to the falls was almost totally uphill, so it was a bit challenging, but at least it was paved most of the way. This meant that the walk back was almost totally DOWNHILL, which was good because both of us had to use the restroom, so we made short work of the return trip. The hike was totally worth it though, and we felt like we'd accomplished something at the end of it.

Shaun, the daredevil

Next we rushed to the Sugarland Visitors Center (and the closest restroom), which was three miles further down Little River Road. Once we had taken care of our abused bladders, we went through the gift shop, bought some stuff, and then had our lunch of PB&J's, BBQ potato chips, and nectarines. It was good since we were hungry, but our nummy nummy bread from Whole Foods wasn't that great. Bummer.

A pretty rock we liked in in the river

After lunch, we went on a short (.8 mile) hike from the Visitors Center to a 25-foot waterfall called Cataract Falls. It was entirely flat (which I appreciated), and the falls were pretty but not near as impressive as Laurel Falls. After returning to our car, we started to re-trace our steps down Little River Road, this time armed with a book that described what we were seeing, but we didn't get very far. At the pullout for an overlook, a group in the car next to us mentioned a big backup caused by bears on the side of the road past Sugarlands. Of course, we had to go! And of course, we forgot to ask which road they were talking about! So, we ended up driving around aimlessly on Newfound Gap Road for awhile, not seeing any bears. We did, however, have our first official critter sighting: a wild turkey. After admitting defeat, we returning to our original plan of heading back down Little River Road toward Townsend.

The Sinks (this pic and the one below)

We stopped at two other waterfalls that could be accessed from the road; one called The Sinks, which was created when the river became backed up with logs from the lumber industry and had to be dynamited to clear the logjam. The dynamite ended up doing a lot more than that though. It actually re-routed the river!

Our final stop in the park was Meigs Falls, the second waterfall that we could see from the road. It was actually set pretty far back and could only be glimpsed through the trees, so I actually had to pull out my big camera to get a good shot of them. Four waterfalls in one day...we felt like we'd done a good job with our first official day in the park.

Meigs Falls

We stopped at a couple of little shops in Townsend on the way back to the cabin. Shannon got a fried pie that she was hankering over, so she was happy. Once we had both showered the bug spray off our bodies, we cooked a bunch of food to set us up for success the rest of the week. Shannon spent a couple hours working on Tickner stuff, and I wrote our blog. We need to get to bed early tonight because tomorrow we're driving to Cades Cove, where we have the greatest chance of seeing bears and other cool wildlife.  Since the best times are at dawn and dusk, we figured we'd get up at 6:00 a.m. (much to Shannon's dismay), which means that our day will probably end early. Shannon is glad about that because we got an awesome 2000 piece puzzle that she started to sort through day before yesterday, and she didn't get very far. We've never done a puzzle with this many pieces, so we're a little intimidated by this one to say the least.

A few pictures of the cabin for your viewing pleasure:

Our favorite spot: the screened-in porch

Day 4 - Knoxville, TN to Townsend, TN

 

Tuesday, May 10, 2022

Weather - Sunny, with a high of 82F

Steps - Shaun: 6,292, Shannon: 5,761

Today was a travel day, so we checked out of our hotel and went back into town to have a lovely breakfast at Ruby Sunshine because Shannon had a hankering for homemade biscuits. She ended up getting peaches and cream pancakes and a biscuit that was delicious. Shaun had some very tasty potatoes and veggies, and then we headed off to the Knoxville Art Museum.

Despite its relatively small size, the museum was actually quite interesting. The highlight was a monumental artwork called Cycle of Life: Within the Power of Dreams and the Wonder of Infinity. It was created by a Knoxville glass artist named Richard Jolley and depicts the cycle of life for humans and the cosmos. It's incredible, made completely of glass and steel and filling an entire wing of one of the floors. The total size on one wall was 105 feet long, 12 feet high and weighed 8 tons. Hanging from the ceiling was another section that was made up of glass balls that was 90 feet long and 9 feet tall. They had a video that showed what was involved in not only designing and creating the incredible piece, but also the craziness of transporting the sections on trucks and then figuring out how to suspend that much weight off the walls of the museum. Pictures don't do it justice, but above are a few to give you can idea of the scale of it.

On either side of the atrium with the Jolley sculpture were sculpture gardens, one that had a great view of the World's Fair Park and Sunsphere and the other with a fountain and lawn for events and relaxing. 

A small darkened room off the atrium held nine dioramas made in the 1930s and 40s by Narcissa Niblack Thorne, who used them to show the evolution of architecture and interior design. Most of her dioramas are at the Art Institute of Chicago, but these ones found their way to the Knoxville Art Museum, and they were super cool. Every little detail was perfect, from the wall and floor covers, to the decorations and creepy little dolls propped up in the miniature chairs.

The other major exhibit was a tribute to women artists, and it was cool because Shannon knew (or knew of) a few of them through her work. There was everything from paintings to mixed media to sculpture and textiles. It was quite interesting, and we're really glad we took the time to visit.

After the museum, we went grocery shopping and headed towards Townsend. We stopped at a lovely soup shop called The Soup Kitchen and then made it to our cabin for the next ten days. We didn't take any pictures of it yet, but we'll post more tomorrow.

We spent the rest of the day working out our Smokey Mountains plan of attack. Afterwards, we ate leftovers and watched Willow on Disney+. I know, we really know how to have a good time, don't we?  

Day 3 - Knoxville, TN

 

Monday, May 9, 2022

Weather - Sunny and clear, with a high of 80F

Steps - Shaun: 12,282, Shannon: 11,423

We started the day leisurely, getting up around 9am, and then going down for the complimentary breakfast at the hotel. We left around 11am to head into Downtown Knoxville, where we planned to do some shopping and see the sights.

We parked in the Market Square Parking Garage, which was centrally located and easy to get to, and walked the couple of blocks up to the Knoxville Visitors Center. Part information center, part event space, and part store, the visitors center was pretty great, with a knowledgeable person working the counter who knew all about the local products and could guide us to our various intended destinations. We bought a few treats, including toffee made in Nashville and drink mixers, and then made our way a couple blocks further north, stopping at a cute plant/gift/coffee shop, where Shannon got a strawberry mocha latte and a rosemary-grapefruit mask spray. Our ultimate destination was the Arts & Culture Alliance's Emporium Center, a mixed-use building filled with artists' studios and exhibit space. Shaun didn't think it was that good, but it reminded Shannon of the old factories-turned-artists' studios she visited in Boston and Lowell. The art was interesting, and since we weren't going to be able to see the Knoxville Art Museum, this was the next best alternative.

After leaving the art emporium, we checked out at a mural we had learned about at the visitors center. The city has a bunch of murals scattered around, including a whole alley covered in them. This one in particular lines the center column of a multi-story stairwell, and has hidden symbols and features related to Knoxville and its history. We got a brochure that acted as a scavenger hunt, listing what you should look for and famous people, events, and attributes that are represented in the imagery. It was super cool, interesting, and beautiful too!

At that point, we decided to head back to Market Square to get some lunch. Shaun had looked up some vegan-friendly restaurants in Knoxville on The Happy Cow website, and one of the ones she found was located right in the square. The Tomato Head was perfect. Our server turned out to be vegan too, and she was able to help us not only figure out our meal there, but also recommended other eateries for us to try later on. Shaun ended up getting a pizza with vegan cheese, seitan pepperoni, and veggies, while Shannon got a curried spinach soup (surprisingly delicious) and deconstructed pasta salad (rather than lettuce, the goodies are served over noodles). 

We decided to take the stuff we had bought at the visitors center back to the car before going back out and exploring Market Square and environs. Of course, then we stopped at the Mast General Store and managed to load ourselves up again! Most exciting of our purchases was a 2000-piece puzzle of stained glass windows, which we're going to set up at the Vrbo tomorrow. We'll be there 10 days, so hopefully we'll be able to finish it before we leave!

We meandered a bit more around Downtown Knoxville before getting back in the car and driving over to the World's Fair Park (we could have walked it, but by then our dogs were barking and needed a bit of a rest). This was the site of the 1982 World's Fair, which is credited with bringing about a renaissance in the city, re-focusing attention and investment on the downtown district and leading to a resurgence in civic pride in Knoxville. The park is mostly used as an event space now, with a big lawn space for festivals and a canvas-covered amphitheater. The crown jewel in the park is the Sunsphere, a 266-foot tall tower topped with a gold sphere, which can be seen from most places around town. A little stream runs through the park and it's really quite pleasant. 

Closing out our day, we went to the University of Tennessee Gardens, something that we had intended to see yesterday but ran out of time. The gardens are used for teaching and research at UT, and they reminded Shannon of the Smith College Botanic Garden. There was a kitchen garden with lots of yummy fruits, veggies, and herbs at various stages of growth, a gorgeous rose garden in full bloom (we're not even close to rose season in Michigan!), Japanese and rock gardens, and a children's garden with lots of fun sculptures. We were pleased to see some poppies blooming, along with irises, dogwoods, and so, so much more. It was just beautiful and a great way to end the day.

Not far from the gardens, we went to Sunspot, one of the restaurants recommended by the server at The Tomato Head. Parking was a challenge because of a bunch of construction going on there, and it seemed like a favorite of the college crowd, but we didn't have any trouble getting a table. Shaun ordered a loaded mac & cheese with Beyond Beef chili, black beans, and vegan cheese, while Shannon got a local beef burger with sweet potato waffle fries. Shaun said hers was a little one-note and could have benefited from some sauteed onions and peppers, but Shannon's was good.

We had intended on going to see Uncharted after dinner, but we didn't have enough time to finish dinner and get to the last showing, so we just headed back to the hotel to relax, write up our adventures for the blog, and get ready to move on to the next stage in our trip: the Great Smoky Mountain National Park!

Basically our mantra for this trip

Day 2 - Knoxville, TN

 

Sunday, May 8, 2022 (Mother's Day!)

Weather - Cloudy, high of 70F

Steps - Shaun: 16,444, Shannon: 15,108

Beignets were here and are now gone

This morning we started our day with a Mother's Day brunch at a cute restaurant called Farmacy that was only a couple of minutes from our hotel. The décor was really interesting, with plants EVERYWHERE and gallery walls with different kinds of art, baskets, and random stuff thrown together in a pleasing way. Plus, there was a mural of Dolly Parton in the bathroom, and she's always a win.

Yes, that otter is wearing a dress and red shoes
and that cat has three eyes

Farmacy didn't have a ton of vegan options, but they did have a wonderful avocado toast on nummy nummy bread, so Shaun was happy. Unfortunately, she didn't get to eat much of it because we started the meal with beignets, and those went a long way toward filling us up early. They were delicious but huge (but most especially delicious)! Shannon got what was essentially a bacon, egg, and avocado sandwich, but it was on a crispy buttermilk biscuit with smoky pimento cheese, and the avocado was fried, so it was a step above the rest. Both of us got a sweet potato hash that was tasty and savory and Shaun took hers home to eat as leftovers.

After brunch, we went on a short quest for tea and coffee, which took us to two different coffee shops. Status Donuts had good cold brew coffee for Shannon (plus a chocolate glazed donut for Shannon and a vegan snickerdoodle donut for Shaun) but no English Breakfast tea, so they sent us on to Honeybee Coffee, which had mediocre black tea for Shaun. It was decided that Shaun is just too picky in her tea preferences nowadays (oh how far we've come!), so we would bring the kettle and tea stuff in to the hotel room when we returned in the evening.

Now fully caffeinated, we drove across the city to the Knoxville Botanical Garden, a gem of a place tucked up on the hillside in a neighborhood. The only downside was that we arrived to find the visitors center closed, and we both really needed to use the restroom. So, rather than limit ourselves and be uncomfortable for the whole visit, we left again and went to an Arby's down the road. Upon our return, we took in all the beauty of the place. It was a manageable size and had a section close to the visitors center that was more manicured, while across the street was a wilder forest and wildflower meadow. 

Some of the highlights of the botanical gardens were the peony area (which was in full bloom), the bamboo maze (that was crazy!), and the secret garden with its sweet-smelling dianthus (these look like tiny carnations). It had an expansive section of five acres set aside for pollinators, which was really cool...until Shannon stepped on an ant hill and got attacked by those aggressive suckers!

We love it when we can find varieties of our favorite plant species that we've never seen before. One of our favorites was this hosta with both blue and green leaves and several other blue varieties that Shannon particularly enjoyed. There was also a children's garden, a native medicinal plant garden, and a community garden where people could rent a plot and receive plants, seeds, tools, and the water needed to grow their plants, all for free!  All in all, the botanical garden was great, and we were really glad we had the time to do it justice.

Next we went to lunch at Ale' Rae's Gastropub where Shaun got fried cauliflower and Shannon got pulled pork. It was really good, and we even got to listen to some live music for part of our meal. We've read that this is very common in Knoxville for there to be music in random places all over the city, and this guy was pretty good (especially since he started with a song from Bob Seger!).

Once we were re-fueled and Shannon was caffeinated with a cookies and cream latte, we were on our way to the Ijams Nature Center. Upon arriving, we found that a classical music concert was going on, which gave the visit some ambiance. We got to see a VERY large red-tailed hawk and a turkey vulture that had been rescued, checked out the little store and endangered species gallery, and then we were on our way to the trails.

We had been told that it was only a mile round trip to get to the river walk and back, but I (Shaun) think they lied to us. It felt like much further, and a good bit of it was uphill. There was also a scary series of steps going down to the river, but I figured if the three little kids and a pregnant woman that were in front of us could do it, so could I. It was slippery in parts though, so I was a little hesitant. It turned out to be worth it though because the river was pretty and there was a seriously cool series of caves and even a geologic fold to boot! We were good little hikers and didn't deviate from the trail, but there was a dudebro in front of us that kept climbing over the railing and poking around in the caves. Some folks just don't get it!

There were some big splashes in the water that we think were fish jumping for insects, but we couldn't see anything above the water except for the splashes. We kept looking and looking (because we'd read that we might see river otters), but we were denied!

Once we got back to the visitors center, we headed out to see Dr. Strange and the Multiverse of Madness, which Shannon gave a 6.5 and Shaun gave a 7.5.  Back at the hotel, we ate leftovers and went to bed pretty early.  Shaun's system balked at the late meal, but we both got a good night's sleep and awoke ready for a day of shopping and exploring in Knoxville!

Day 1- Wixom, MI to Knoxville, TN

 

May 7, 2022

Weather - Cloudy, scattered showers, mid 50s

Steps/Miles - Shaun: 5493, Shannon - 4508 / 522 miles traveled

Day One of our Smokies trip was spent driving from Wixom, MI to Knoxville, TN, where we'll spend a couple of days before dropping down to begin our park exploration. Shannon flew in late the night before, and Shaun had her do some physical labor moving furniture before finally letting her find her bed at 1am. We got up and packed the car the next morning, leaving the house at 9am intending to arrive at our hotel in Knoxville around 6pm.

The drive was an easy jaunt straight down I-75, with a sprinkling of rain but very little traffic. We stopped for lunch at a fast casual Italian place in Ohio and arrived at the Holiday Inn Express outside of Knoxville at 6:20pm. Perfect!

Check in went smoothly at the desk because Shaun had pre-registered, and the room will suit our needs very well. Thai for dinner (of course!), and an early night to bed. Tomorrow is Mother's Day, so we'll be having brunch at a restaurant called Farmacy, which has quite a bit of vegan food on the menu for Shaun, and then (weather permitting) we'll go explore the Knoxville botanical garden and nature preserve. More anon!

We're finally going to the Smokies!

Three years after originally planning our visit to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, we're finally hitting the road! We scheduled the trip for May 2020, but the COVID-19 pandemic nipped that in the bud. So, we're going in May 2022 instead in hopes that we'll beat the summer rush and see some pretty wildflowers, waterfalls, and baby animals. Along the way, we'll also explore Knoxville and Gatlinburg, TN, the little and not-so-little towns around the park, and Asheville, NC.

The trip will be 24 days long, including two travel days, so stay tuned for news of all our adventures!