Yummmm berries!

We ended up getting home pretty late on Tuesday, intact the kids had already fallen sleep and we had to bring them inside and put them in their beds. From all the camping and the hiking they were pretty worn out so we were able to sleep in a little bit Wednesday morning. 

A few years a go when we moved in to this house Eric and I wanted to plant some raspberry/blackberry bushes. It takes a few years to really get a good batch and we have been getting some really nice berries these last two years. It seems like every year we are able to get more and more.  

So in the late morning we were able to go out and pick some of our raspberries. The kids were really excited about this. Livvy has become to love just about any type of fruit and was trying to help pick the berries as well, so she may have eaten a few underripe ones ; ) 

After we got our big bowl we thought we might have enough to do something with, but they all ended up being eaten within 10 mins by the kids. 

Shakes n' dawgs

Last year we went to this fun little place just on the outskirts of Gatlinburg. Its called Shakes N' Dawgs.  It is a place that serves just hot dogs and milkshakes. 

They have a nice selection of all kids of different hot dogs and this year had expanded their milkshake choices. It was a big hit last year so we decided to make this our special stop before heading home. 

We were all pretty hungry after a pretty tough hike. Phillip and Thomas were not as adventuresome with the choices of hot dogs but Sup ate 4 plain hot dogs with ketchup. Thomas just had an all beef hot dog with ketchup and Livvy ate two hot dogs. Eric got the Philly cheesesteak hot dog and I got a cheese, bacon, mushroom, and onion hot dog. So between the 5 of us we had 9 hot dogs! And believe it or not we ate them all! And then we had the milkshake to help wash it down ; ) It was a fun stop for our last adventure before heading home : ) 

Rainbow Falls

After we got all packed up and had our camping gear all in the truck we headed over to Rainbow Fall. This was a nice hike to leave on because the trailhead was near Gatlinburg and was on the way home. 

Eric and I are not a huge fan of going through Galinburg but we found the trick is to hit it in the mornings. There is no one really up and around seeing the shops and the traffic is minimal compared to the later morning/ afternoon. 

This trail seemed to be pretty popular. We had to park a good distance from the trailhead but were happy to start on the trail. End had a good start time but there were still a lot of people on the trail. This was a pretty tough trial.

It was uphill the entire way and pretty rocky or had lots of roots from the trees. The boys actually did pretty good with the trail. Thomas was doing well until someone told him that the falls were only like 10 mins from the bridge that we hadn't hit yet. So then I was asked about every 2 mins if we were almost there. 

In the second picture we came across that little waterfall that was not Rainbow Falls but the boys were kinda hoping it was because they were ready to see the falls but then were not too impressed with them anyway so were a little happy that that we had not hiked all this uphill for this little falls.  

Once we turned the corner and see the falls we were all happy to see them and it was a pretty Falls. We found a nice little spot to sit and eat our snacks. After we ate we let the boys and Livvy take off their hiking boots and play in the water a little bit. 

I wasn't able to get a full picture of the falls because they were pretty high, but we were all thought it was work the hike up to see them. After playing around a little bit we were back on the trail heading back to the truck. 

It hike down was faster but still a challenge as well so we were happy to see the truck. After we unloaded we got in the truck and headed out to Galinburg for a special treat for dinner. 

Time to pack up

June 16th was our last morning camping in the Smokies. We had done a lot of fun things so we were sad to go but we had a few more adventures before we left for home. 

On our last morning we had pancakes and bacon. This is always a big hit for the boys so they were able to eat well : ) We had another 6 mile hike planned so we made sure everyone had a good breakfast. 

After breakfast we were able to pack up the rest of our things and were ready to go to Rainbow Falls. Phillip wanted to go around the campground one more time to look for bottle caps, so we took a quick walk around. He was able to find two more so he was pretty happy! 

Family campfire

After a fun day around the park we settled in to spend the rest of the night around the campfire. 

One of Thomas's activities for scouts was to learn about fire safety and learn the basics about a campfire. He was really excited to learn so with Eric's help he helped build the fire. 

He was good at listening to Eric and between the two of them we had a nice little fire. After it had burned a little the boys had put together a skit to do around the campfire. 

Again this was one of the activities Thomas had for his Wolf badge, so a few weeks before the trip Thomas and Phillip put together a little campfire show for us. It was really fun and the boys had fun entraining us with their skit. 

After the skit and the fire had gone down to the hot coals we got out the stuff for s'mores. The boys love s'mores and were ready for a treat after their show. It was a fun night for our last night at the campground : )

Tubing at Smokmont

After we got back from Clingmons the boys wanted to go tubing again in the river that goes through the campground. 

 We had brought with us one tube that we bought at home to play with in the water if we wanted. Eric had also brought some rope so they could float down the river. They went back and forth on one little part of river and seemed to have a good time with just doing that. 

 Livvy was not a huge fan of the life jacket or the river water because it was pretty cold. But she loved sitting in the tube. She saw Daddy carrying the tube empty back to our campsite but she wanted a ride back. 

Eric put the tube down and she climbed right and Eric was able to carry her back. She was a pretty happy camper!

Back to Clingmons

After our Smokemont hike we were feeling pretty good after 6 miles. We all made it back to camp safely and were pretty hungry. 

Because it was a beautiful clear day We asked the kids if they were interested in going back to Clingmon's Dome to try to hit the visitor center. The last two time we have made it after it was closed so we were never able to get their passport books signed. 

We were all pretty hungry after the hike so we had a quick meal that filled our tummies and were off to see the top of the dome in the day light without any fog. This would be the first time that we made it up and the view was beautiful! 

We were not sure how the boys would have done with another about a mile hike to the top, but they love to come here so we didn't have any problems with them making it back up to the top. 

Here was our view! 

Smokemont Loop

After getting breakfast all cleaned up and all our hiking gear together we were off to make the loop around Smokemont. The trailhead was at the other end of the park so we had a nice little walk through the campground. 

We were not sure at first how much of the loop we were going to do. There was a discussion about just doing a few miles and head back. But we were all feeling good and we didn't have much else planned for the day we decided to go ahead and do the whole loop. 

The loop itself from this starting point was six miles. Since last year the boys did a five miles we thought they could do the extra mile this year. Eric had read a little bit about this hike in our hiking guide so we had a little bit of an idea what it was going to be like but we didn't come to realize that the first three miles you are gradually climbing. 

The first part of the of the hike we were hiking by the river. Like last year because the boys had their own hydration packs they were well hydrated. Because of this there were a lot of pee breaks so Eric and I were happy when we got past the river. 

After we crossed the bridge we thought it was time to take a little bit of a break and enjoy the views around us. We were in no rush so we were able to take our time and get some energy in so continue climbing up the mountain. Livvy decided that it was nap time ;)

Eric and I took turns leading with either Sup or Thomas. It was nice to be able to spend some time with them and talking with them more on a one on one basis. Sup is much more the talker where Thomas was more content just to walk. The boys did much better this year and the only concern they had was if we were going to ever make it to the down point. 

Every time we hit a little down hill or a more level spot they thought we were finally going down and then we would continue back up. When we did hit that turning point we were all pretty sweaty and we were able to take a break and have a snack before we headed back down the trail. When we were about a 1/2 mile away from the finish Sup tripped and fell. Nothing major but enough were he wasn't trilled about getting his picture taken. 

Sleeping in

Eric and I planned this camping trip a little different this year. Last year when we came to the smokies we had planned out a lot of fun things to do but we were pretty tuckered out by the end of the day. 

This year we decided to do camping and go tubing other then that we left the rest of the days opened to what we or the boys wanted to do or what sounded fun to do around the park. After tubing we hung out at the campsite had dinner and went to see the fireflies at the other end of the park. 

It was this time of year that the fireflies around elkmont were said to be like a blinking Christmas light show. It was pretty awesome but we got back pretty late so all the kids fell asleep on the way back to camp.

The kids wanted to do a hike so we decided to hike the Smokemont loop today. Because the trailhead was right here at our campground we were able to sleep in and get a good nights rest. While everyone was sleeping I was able to get our stuffed french toast made for a good breakfast before we headed out on our hike. 

Our sweet Olivia loves to be carried in her carrier so she was all smiles when we put her in and ready to  hike! She has it pretty good that she gets to carried so she never really complains about the length of the hike. 

Eric and I were kinda surprised that the boys were the ones that suggested to go on a hike. We made sure that we had all our gear anyhow because it is hard to come to the Smokies and not go hiking ; ) 

Tubing down Deep Creek

The boys were really excited about the idea of tubing. We had seen the people tubing down deep creek last year when we hiked here and they had thought it looked really fun. 

 We had picked up some life jackets before the trip because we had planned to do this so we didn't have to worry about renting them while we were down here. We had thought about getting tubes but it was easier and cheaper at this point to just rent them.

 After we got our tubes we hiked the mile up to the drop off point. It was fun with the four tubes but we successfully made it to the drop off point. 

 We had ropes that we used to keep the boys close to either Eric or myself. And Eric ended up taking Livvy with him. There were some rocky points on the trip and the river was not as smooth as we would have liked it but we did make it safely back to the truck. I did flip out of my tube once and thankfully someone up ahead grabbed the tube for me and I was able to get back on it. 

Eric was able to Livvy to fall asleep on the ride so we let her hang out and finish her nap on the tube. Sup was a huge fan of the tubing and had a blast going over all the rocks and little rapids. He would have been going the whole day if he could have. Thomas said that he had fun but was also happy with just the morning ride. 

After we got back and dried off we got out our cooler and and had our lunch. We were all pretty hungry so we were able to eat up our lunch pretty good. After we headed back to camp. 

Adventures in the morning

The next morning we had plans to drive down to deep creek and go tubing. Because we were not too far way here at Smokemont we had a more relaxed morning. 

While Olivia and I were still in the tent sleeping the boys and Eric and already gotten up and decided to let us sleep and took a little walk around the campground. 

They made their way up to the ranger station and were able to get a good look at these giant bugs. Thomas thought they were really cool because they were green. They were also able to find a few bottle caps for Sups collection. 

It was nice to be able to sleep in a little bit after and early morning the previous day and with the travel. I was able to wake up refreshed and get things going for breakfast. 

Although we used the dutch oven to cook our cinnamon rolls, I did take a short cut from the store and bought the ones in the dairy section. This way I didn't have to mess with yeast and having to let them rise. 

It was nice that Olivia decided to sleep a little longer so I was able to get most of our breakfast cooked before she was up and about. 

We had a pretty yummy breakfast : ) This was the first time that I had a chance to use my dutch oven out camping. I found it really nice to have around for different warm options that we didn't have to worry about building a fire. Just waiting 15 mins for the coals to get hot and we can have warm yummy meals! 

Night hike at Clingmons Dome

After cleaning up our dessert Thomas really wanted to see Clingmons Dome again. We were pretty sure that we were not going to make it to see much of the day light but we thought it would be a good way to end the night.

We were able to get to the trailhead just as the sun was going down. It was a little cloudy but it was fun to see the sun go down. Since we had done this "hike" last year we knew what to expect. This is paved all the way up to look out tower so with our head lamps we really didn't have any worries. 

Being higher up in the park it was pretty chilly so we were glad we were glad that we had our jackets on. Thomas was really excited to get to the top of the tower. This is is favorite place in the park. Since we were really the only ones up on the tower we had the place to ourselves which was nice : )

It was a fun perspective to see the out from the tower at night. It was a pretty clear night and we were able to see the lights of Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge. One of these cities were setting off fireworks that we were able to see in the distance as well so we were able to see a little firework show. 

It didn't take too long to get back to the truck and on our way back we were able to see a salamander and a couple of toads as well. It was a fun ending to our day!