Oct. 3, 2008Jason and I really needed a vacation!! We hadn't gotten away since before we had Ella and we really wanted to do some things that we knew Ella could not do with us. So we figured this was the best time since seperation anxiety really hasn't begun yet and Nonnie was excited to keep her!! We wanted to get outside and enjoy the beautiful weather were having!! We decided at the last minute to take a trip to Gatlinburg. I purchased a hotel room on hotwire for a fantastic rate, we packed up, took Ella to Nonnie's house, and took McKenzie to work with us, so when we left at lunch we could drop her off to be boarded. I hated to do it since she had just had a long stay at the vet, but they really love her there and she is treated well! We arrived at our Hotel around 7:00pm, checked in to a suprisingly nice room, and headed out to The Alamo Steakhouse for dinner (at traffice light 2A - just average food). Then we headed back to our room to get into bed early. We had big plans for the next day and we needed our rest.
Oct. 4, 2008 We woke up around 6:00am (sunrise is at 7:30). Flapjacks pancake house didn't open until 6:30. We were the 2nd ones to arrive. After a quick breakfast we headed out to find the Roaring Fork driving trail. By the way, there are no signs, turn at the space needle (light #8) and just go straight (thanks mom) and you'll come out at light #3 - I think. Anyway - it was very quiet out. No wildlife, I thought for sure this was the beginning of an uneventful trip.
Here we are at Roaring Fork Bridge in 2005.
Roaring Fork Motor Nature Trail A five-mile one-way tour that is referred to as a "motorized nature trail". From the main parkway (Hwy 441) in downtown Gatlinburg, turn at stoplight #8 onto Airport Road. At the intersection, continue straight on. You should stop at the historic Bud Ogle Farm to get an idea of life on a mountain farm. You'll also have the opportunity at stop #5 of the self-guided tour to hike 1.2 miles to Grotto Falls. When the water is up in the spring, Roaring Fork Creek, which parallels the road much of the way, is a sight to behold. Other features include a waterfall named "Place of a Thousand Drips". No trucks, RVs or trailers are allowed because the road is very narrow. In fact, in some places, trees encroach right to the edge of the road. The markings on the trees are clear evidence why anything larger than a car is ill advised. The motor trail makes a loop and ends in Gatlinburg. At the stop light, turn left on Hwy 321 and return to the Parkway. The road is closed in winter. Expect to spend about two hours on this tour (three if you hike to grotto Falls), depending on what features you stop to explore. http://www.gatlinburg-tennessee.org/roaring_fork.htm
After we left Roaring Fork, we headed to the sugarlands visitor center (which opened at 7:00am) to get some trail maps for day hikes. We decided to hike Chimney tops first, we were told by a ranger that this was considered one of the most strenuous hikes in the park. We decided to go anyway. It was tough! 2 Miles uphill, over rocks and roots. It was like climbing 2 miles of uneven stairs. It was totally worth it though. When we got to the top, it was pretty narrow. Jason was nervous about us orphaning Ella. It definately wasn't a easy decision. But there were some other hikers there that had climbed it before and they gave us the confidence to climb up.
Geology Chimney Tops is one of the few instances of a bare rock summit in the Smokies.[1] Over the centuries, the bedrock atop the mountain has been exposed through natural weathering of the upper layers of soil strata. This rock is mostly Anakeesta Formation metamorphic rock, especially slate, phyllite, and metasiltsone.[2] The grainy, contorted capstones offer excellent footholds and handholds for climbing. Like most of the Appalachian Mountains, Chimney Tops was formed 200 million years ago when the North American and African plates collided during the Appalachian orogeny.
Aerial Veiw of Chimney Tops