Our first day in Smoky Mountain National Park was another that did not began begin as planned. Never trust your Garmin! That being said, we did get to see some beautiful backwoods Tennessee views of the mountains. Once we made it to the main entrance at Gatlinburg, we were amazed at the commercialism that then suddenly ended at thick woods. I have never seen so many people crammed into what seems it should be a serene place.
Thankfully we were able to find some serenity later in the day. Our first stop was in Cades Cove for the "Blue and Gray" Ranger Program. The kids had a wonderful hands on learning experience that completed their Civil War Junior Historian program. I think Eli had one of the highlights of his life when he got to be the drummer boy for their march, though he might have to work on his pacing. Not all kids move at his pace. :)
After the Junior Ranger Program, we headed out to see Abrams Falls. It was a 2.5 mile hike, but we had to hike 0.5 to the trail head. The hike itself totaled 6 miles and we were able to see an amazing waterfall. I'm so proud of my little hikers. We had a great time.
We capped off the night with our "Full Moon Hike". Unfortunately the moon chose not to make an appearance. It was very fun experience to be in the park after dark--the stillness, yet full of nature's sounds. We even saw two coyotes chase a herd of deer. Our grand total hiking mileage for the day ended at 9.2 miles.
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