Vacation - Smoky Mountains in Tennessee -

We stayed in a nice cabin in Pigeon Forge–so much nicer than being crammed in one hotel room with 8 people! Each of us had our own bed, except for the two little ones. We brought a pack-n-play for the baby, and my 3 yo likes to sleep on the floor in our room.

On Tuesday we went on a long drive through the Smoky Mountains in the morning/early afternoon. It was a scenic drive called Cades Cove. We saw some wildlife, like turkeys, deer, a baby bear (in the far distance), and lots of butterflies! At one point we stopped to have a picnic lunch in the meadow.

Then we went on a little walk through the woods to view an old homestead. There was a barn, cabin, spring house, chicken coop, and another outbuilding.

See the deer right behind her? :

We also saw a working grist mill. I thought that was so neat since I grind my own wheat to make bread at home.

After a rest back at the cabin, we went on a hike to see Laurel Falls. I was told it was stroller accessible, so I didn’t expect it to be as difficult as it was! It was paved all the way, but the pavement was very broken. (Dangerous, actually. They really should fix it.) And it was uphill all the way–for 1.3 miles! My husband carried the baby on his back and pushed my 5 yo in the stroller. I was planning on pushing the 3 yo in a stroller, but with carrying my other child (7 months in utero), I could hardly do it! So, my other 3 kids took turns pushing him. At one point we let him out to walk, and he got a little crazy running around. There were signs posted that said, “Caution. Falling Deaths Have Occurred.” He got too close to the edge, and lost all freedom at that point! I grabbed onto his hand and didn’t let go of him until we were back at the car! I’m so glad that our whole family was able to do this hike. It really was beautiful up at the top where the waterfall was.