After we picked my parents up at the Asheville Airport we headed to Gatlinburg, Tennessee! We had a reason for getting over there in a hurry. We had a beautiful cabin waiting for us. Yes, a place that was bigger than 300 sq feet, with actual doors and a kitchen and the kids actually had a real bed to sleep in. It was amazing! When I found out my parents were coming to visit I decided that I would look into cabins (7 in the RV for 10 days sounded a little overwhelming). So I looked at a bunch of cabins and then I saw these luxurious ones. I thought there would be no way we could splurge on one of these cabins, but why not try. I talked to the guy for a long time and negotiated a fantastic price (way lower then the junky cabins). So we all stayed in a 3 bedroom cabin with a movie room and 3 jacuzzis for 5 nights. It was beyond heavenly. It was so nice having family dinners with my parents and just sitting around the house chatting. When you live in an RV you tend to appreciate the little things (like a dishwasher, a high pressure hot shower, space to wander without bumping into someone, and a room for the kids with a sound proof door.) All in all, we loved staying at this cabin and are thinking of returning with more of our family in the future (Teri and family pack your bags, Hulsebus clan pack up too).
While in Gatlinburg we took a drive to the Great Smokey Mountain National Park. We learned that the Smokey Mountain National Park is the most visited park in the US. Once you arrive you can see why. It is absolutely gorgeous in this park. You are surrounded by green, lush trees. Shallow, bright blue, curving rivers and picturesque mountains. When the car would have a rare moment of quiet you could hear the songs of the immense amount of wildlife that live in the protected valleys of the Smokey Mountains. We were lucky to see many deer, tons of birds, squirrels and even a few salamanders (which the Smokies have the most amount of different varieties of salamanders in the world). We really wanted to see one of the many black bear that live amidst the smokies but we were seconds too late to see a mama and her cub that a few other hikers told us about as they passed her on the trail. Maybe it was actually a blessing since Peyton had only minutes earlier been practicing what the flier said to do if we ran into a bear. Stand real tall, make a lot of noise and throw rocks at the bear. That technique might scare Peyton's brothers, but pretty sure the mama bear would have scolded Peyton for that unBEARable behavior.
Along our scenic drive (with 7 people in a 5 passenger vehicle) we stopped at many historic churches, houses and graveyards. In the middle to late 1800, before the park was protected, a few adventurous people called this beautiful, wildlife preserve home.
We had such a nice time sharing the beauty of the smokies with my parents. It was so fun to have them along.
