Fall in the Smokies

Danny had a meeting of the Tennessee Academy of Family Physicians last week. Conventions can be so much fun- especially during October, in the Great Smokey Mountains. Tuesday was a miserable rainy day, perfect for a trip to the aquarium. The coolest thing- homeschool rates. This family of five got in for under one regular adult admission price. Whoo-hoo. Jax wasn't too keen about the fish that were bigger than him. He would hide behind Danny's legs to watch them. He also wasn't sure about those funny looking Stone Crabs. Otherwise, we couldn't keep up with him.

Wednesday was a gorgeous fall day and the foliage was breathtaking. We loaded up the car and went for a ride in the mountains to the top of Clingman's Dome. It is the highest point in Tennessee and the second highest east of the Mississippi. On this clear, sunny day you could see for hundreds of miles and into seven states. This picture was the first pull-off along the road. We had been under a canopy of trees until this point. We had just rounded the curve to this view of the mountains. From the backseat we heard Jax say, "Oh, wow." Followed by Calen's, "That is fantastic."

Here is the view from the lookout.

This is the top of Clingman's Dome.

Our views along the way...






Not a road sign you see everyday. BTW 20 MPH is too fast for this loop!

Thursday brought us an afternoon of Trick or Treating in the convention hall. We have Optimus Prime, a cowboy, and a little ladybug. After our candy raid we headed to Cades Cove. We saw lots of deer (around 100), a couple dozen turkeys, several horses and no bear.




The bandit is making his getaway with his loot.




The most magnificent deer we saw was this massive 10 pointer.

Friday morning the kids and I headed out for a stroll and enjoy God's handy work. That afternoon before we headed back home we went out for another drive. Calen had mentioned maybe seeing a bear. I told him that most likely not because most were down for the winter except for maybe a few stranglers, but even then most likely not. Not three minutes later...