6-14 A slow start - The Great Smoky Mountain

It has been a while since I start writing in my blog. The blog started as a place keeper for the memories of my journey and a way for Mimi to know that I'm not lost. There is so much to much to write about, but laziness seems to triumph over all. This journey starts pretty anti-climatic. What was suppose to be a ride out to the smokies and continue on turns into a minivan drive with the scooter sitting safely in the back. Matt, a Mississippi paddler/friend, set us up with a cabin right by the park. The cabin was a beautiful 3 bedrooms with a gorgeous view of the smokies from the balcony. Mimi made a comment that she would be content just staying in the cabin the the entire trip. Of course, i make sure that we at least hit the motor trail during the day. I did manage to pull out the scooter, strip her of her luggage and ride two up on some of the forest roads. Did some hiking and hang around after dark to see the fireflies. We decided that even though we are pretty lazy, we need to at least hike one of the trails. The Ramsey Cascade trail which leads up to the falls is as good as any. What seems like a simple 8 miles hike turns into a five hour work. But it was worth it in the end to see the falls. I decided that i will drive mimi back during the night so she could spend the day in the smokies. I left my scooter with matt to continue my trip next week. Maybe hang out at home for the weekend, then head off to "who knows".




A view from the cabin balcony




The ruckus is made for the forest service roads




I wonder why they call it the "smokies"




This 75 feet falls is more impressive in real life, as oppose to photo.