Gatlinburg Babymoon

Destination: Gatlinburg, TN

Dates: June 7-9, 2019

Reason: “Babymoon”

Day 1 June 7th, 2019

Since Julia was 6 months pregnant, and I needed to save up all my vacation days for when the baby came, we decided to take a short trip while she was still mobile.  We narrowed the trip down to either Shenandoah or Gatlinburg, and the Smokys won out.

Last night we dropped the dogs off to stay with Kat and Dylan and their two pugs, Piper and Roscoe.  Based on the pictures they sent us, it looked like they were having a blast!  As for us, we got on the road about 6:15am in the morning.  I drove most of the way, and Julia had a nice nap near Lexington.  There wasn’t anything particularly notable on the drive down.  We arrived in Pigeon Forge right around noon.

Driving down the main drag, we were struck by the tackiness and chintz of the town.  It’s astonishing.  Cruising through, we took the bypass to Great Smoky Mountains National Park.  The forecast called for thunderstorms all day, but fortunately we experienced only occasional rain with overcast skies most of the afternoon.

Our first stop was the Sugarlands Visitor Center where we picked up a couple souvenirs and our map.  Then we set off on the Cades Cove loop road.  The drive was particularly scenic and stunning.  Julia kept commenting how beautiful it was, motoring next to a creek, surrounded by forests and low mountains.

Of course, our main objective today was to see a bear.  Kat and Dylan had been in the park a week prior and saw one, but I never had seen one in the park, and Julia had never seen one in the wild at all.  Shortly after starting on the loop, we were met with standstill traffic.  As we crawled along, our hopes grew.  At last, we pulled off and were rewarded with spotting three cubs high in a tree, snoozing on a branch.  Jackpot!

We continued on and eventually came to another jam, and two more cubs up a tree.  This time, however, we got a glimpse of mama bear in the field adjacent.  We couldn’t stop, though, so we settled for photos from the car.  After the bears, we stopped at the Primitive Baptist church, then the Methodist church.  Next stop was the Cable Mill Visitor Center in Cades Cove.  We popped inside and then toured the mill and outbuildings, including the original log cabin on the side.  The mill still grinds corn and wheat, using the same wheel since the 1880’s.

I forgot to mention the young coyote we saw just as we got on the loop road.  He was sauntering on the side of the road, casual as can be.

Once we finished at the mill we headed back out on the loop road and left the park the way we came in.  We had a short stop at the Sinks, but the heavy rain finally caught up to us and we hurried out.

A quick trip through downtown Gatlinburg got us to our AirBnB, a clean, small cabin near Roaring Fork.  It was storming when we arrived, about 5:00pm, so we took a nap.

About 8:00pm, we headed to the town for dinner.  We ate seafood at a place called Crawdaddy’s, then went through Ripley’s Museum.  Julia went as a kid and had fond memories; she was excited to do it again.  She wasn’t disappointed!

Post-Ripley’s we returned to our cabin and got some sleep.

Day 2 June 8th, 2019

We started off the day with a trip to Cataloochee, back in the National Park.  It took about an hour to get to the entrance, then we wound our way in on a steep, windy, gravel road with sharp drop-offs and no guardrails.  Julia was the perfect passenger and handled it calmly.  I very much enjoyed the drive up and down the mountain.

In Cataloochee, we kept our eyes on the meadows for elk, but had no luck.  On the return trip we stopped at an old schoolhouse, built in 1903.  We saw some turkeys in a field, and left the way we came in.  This time, Julia captured the crazy trek on camera.

Heading to the southern entrance of the park, we passed Santa’s Land and the tourist district of Cherokee, North Carolina.  Someday we’ll have to come back.

Our first stop back in the park was at Mingus Mill, where the rainy weather caught up to us.  An old-time miller spoke with us and we had a pleasant visit.  The next stop was Clingman’s Dome.  The rain was really coming down now, and with Julia being pregnant our climb was slow but steady.  The temperature was noticeably cooler, but we were also in the clouds and visibility off the mountain was negligible.  We reached the top and were whipped by the wind and pelted with ice and snow.  With no view to enjoy, we retreated quickly back down to the car.

Coming down out of the mountains on Newfound Gap road, we could see where the wildfires of a few years prior scarred the forest.  The trip was quick, and we were back in Gatlinburg about 4:00pm.  The first order of business was to change into dry clothes, followed by a short nap.

After waking up we showered and went to the main strip.  We had burgers at Tom & Earl’s Back Alley Grill, then walked them off while we popped into shops.  We bought my dad some socks for Father’s Day and Julia got some Ben & Jerry’s ice cream and souvenirs from the Old Smoky distillery.  Since the shops all closed up at 10:00pm, and the rain began again, we called it a night.  Just before bed Julia re-injured her back a little.

Day 3 June 9th, 2019

Julia’s back was much better in the morning.  We packed up our stuff and checked out of the cabin.  First stop was Flapjack’s Pancake Cabin for breakfast, right next to where we stayed.  I had French toast and Julia had blueberry banana pancakes.  The restaurant was situated adjacent to the “world famous” Salt and Pepper Shaker Museum, so we made the trip across the parking lot to it.

The museum contains over 20,000 examples of shakers, all started and collected by the curator’s mom.  At $3 a head, it was well worth it.  Julia’s favorites were all pig themed; mine were the international ones.

After leaving the museum we decided on one more dip into the park, so we drove the Roaring Fork Motor Trail.  It gave impressive views of the dense, old-growth forest, and occasional scenic overlooks too.  We stopped at one cabin, which I explored on my own, since Julia’s feet were swollen and hurting.  Exiting the Motor Trail, we hit a restroom then turned toward home.

Our only true stop on the way back was at the very familiar Berea Arts and Crafts center.  Julia took over driving and brought us all the way back home.  We picked up the dogs from Kat and Dylan’s, picked up our customary Skyline, and ended our trip.