We spent 3 nights at the Townsend, KOA, as part of our trip to the Smokies, getting there the evening of Sunday, July 12th. The place was quite crowded, but there were plenty of big trees for shade. There was a creek that went through the property. There was a lovely camp sight right on the creek that we found AFTER we were all the way set up, but we were too lazy to take down and move then, so we decided to wait until morning. We were awakened in the night with loud rain thrumming on the top of our little trailer. We were snug and dry, so all was well. When we woke up in the morning, it was still raining, and hard!! NOT a good time to move the trailer! We hung out in the trailer, feeling a bit trapped. Most of what we were planning on doing there, was hiking. We decided to drive into the Visitor's Center to find out what activities there were. During the drive, it POURED down rain!! The windshield wipers couldn't keep up! There were times that were scary as Marcus couldn't really see where he was going. The rain slowed down while we were in the Visitor's Center, so we decided to go on a short hike to Cascade Falls. It was so beautiful, hiking among the ferns, and trees, with the creek meandering and tumbling alongside the path. The boys discovered a fun trick! They found that if they shook the smaller trees as they went by, they could douse their parents with water, as we walked by. The falls were very nice and we were glad we had made the hike, though the boys bickered through most of it. Next we drove through Gatlinberg. Oh my goodness, what a bunch of cheesy tourist stuff and oh my, how many tourists walking the streets! It made Las Vegas look empty!! We decided we were VERY glad we did not stay there! We headed to Walmart for groceries and clothes for Derek. The boy seems to be growing out of his old ones. I keep threatening to stop feeding him, but he doesn't get too worried! That night, we made a fire, and prepared a nice dinner. Just as dinner was almost ready, a local Baptist Group drove in and hosted a watermelon seed spitting contest. Both our children decided to participate in this! Colin came in 3rd in his age division, and Derek came in first!! Marcus and I are SO proud of the valuable talents our children have developed!
The next morning we got up early for showers... Marcus enjoyed lucky shower # 7!! Next we headed to Laurel Falls for a hike. One of the signs said we should closely control our children as there were drop-offs along the trail. Derek thought he should reverse it, and had a great time closely controlling his father! The falls were very nice! Derek climbed up the rocks near the falls and found salamanders. He took some photos, but didn't get one of the cool looking salamander. He DID spend the next 45 minutes describing it in detail to me on the hike back!
Next we went to Clingman's Dome where there was supposed to be an amazing panoramic view of the area, but we found ourselves up in the clouds. The Smokies are named for the mist that commonly hangs over them, and we were up close and personal with it! We had been hot and sweaty, but at the Dome it was 63!! We had a quick picnic right on the curb by our car, bundled in our jackets.
As we piled back in the car, we headed to Cherokee North Carolina. We went to the Cherokee museum there. It was very interesting! Colin didn't get as much out of it, but Derek sure did! The displays were very engaging, as it told about the different time periods in the Cherokee history.
Colin had a great time at the campground. He made several friends, played basketball, rode his bike, and loved having the freedom to explore. I enjoyed the amenities. There was a clean laundry room, nice showers, and plenty for the kids to do.
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