As the days rolled forth we dreaded our departure. Our cabin was seemingly perfect, we had zero obligations and it was bliss. We decided to go past the Cherokee Reservation, the Parkway to get to Gatlinburg to ride the Mountain Coaster we had passed days before. We decided to stop by all the best spots for our last bit of pictures during our drive. Waterfalls, rivers, mountain ranges- how are there so many gorgeous things in one place?
As we were around 10 miles from town, we drove along the winding road as our Harry Potter audiobook kept us entertained. Suddenly we realized that we were just getting into heavy, thick fog. We had viewed it from our cabin in the morning, but hadn't encountered it anywhere else. It made everything around us appear beautiful and strange. At last it struck us why this place was given the name "Smoky."
The Mountain Coaster was an experience. I've included a link for anyone who wishes to see what it was. Graham and I waited in line for an hour in the frigid weather before getting on the ride (in our defense we completely underestimated the wait time), The first go around was a big disappointment, the lady in front of me kept braking, forcing me to brake and that made me miss thrill of the big turns. An Indian named Running Bear worked the end of the ride, then jokingly blamed ME for slowing Graham down (as he was behind me) and the chain reaction that came with it. We got off the ride and I was so aggravated. It was pretty expensive ($28 for the two of us to go once) and that coupled with the wait left me unsatisfied. Graham went back to Running Bear and explained the situation, he allowed us to ride again, but together. Boy! The weight of the two of us let our little cart fly. We went as fast as it would let us go on every curve. We had tears that slid out the side of our eyes from the speed and cold. Towards the end we were going so fast that workers yelled out, "hey! slooooooow down!" We enjoyed it so much more!
Afterwards we had more Bar B Que, this area is filled with the best kind; what makes it so delicious? It was nearing sunset and we decided to drive through the Parkway for the last time before the sun set. I'd say that was the best move throughout the trip. We stopped no less than 4 times in awe of the beauty that God had created. Of course, my camera and tripod were used continually because we couldn't get over it (hence alllll the many pictures underneath this). The sky was painted in bright cotton candy colors with the full spread of the mountains at one rest stop, a small Asian man looked at us and said, "So beautiful. right?" We could only nod our heads.
Graham wasn't completely sold on our hats buuuuuuuut I'm a fan :)
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