Day 5 – Smoky Mountains & Asheville, NC

Today we where up early to spend the day in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Top on my list was to see a bear. Well, I did get to see a momma and 3 cubs, but they where in the thick forest so I couldn’t get a good picture of them. Oh well, I did have plenty of other animal encounters, such as this one right when we got into the park.

Turkey’s are EVERYWHERE! I swear we didn’t go more then 10 minutes without seeing one all day.

We did the Cades Cove Scenic Loop. I recommend picking up one of those books at the ranger post for $1 so you know what the buildings are that you are looking at.  We where lucky to see a bunch of deer along the room close enough to take pictures of.

One hike we did was Laurel Falls, it’s 300 foot elevation climb and 1 1/4 mile hike to the falls with the paved trail so it’s not so bad. The falls are 80 foot high and named for mountain Laurel.

Next driving loop we did was Roaring Fork. It’s right outside of Gatlinburg and is about 5 miles long. I recommend doing this in the evening so you can see some wild life. Since we where limited on time today we did this about lunch time and it’s a 1 lane road 1 way so you can’t get around someone who wants to go 2 miles an hour the whole time.

After lunch we drove down towards Clingmans Dome which is the highest peak in the Smokies and third highest mountain east of the Mississippi at 6,643 feet. If you do the hike, I warn you now it’s paved, but it’s super steep! Took us a while to do the .5 mile trail that leads to an observation tower. We even saw some guys who where hiking the Appalachian Trail starting in Georgia and ending in Maine. More power to them I’ll stick to my little .5 miles hikes that’s enough for me! When you’re up at the top you can actually have one foot in Tennessee and one in North Carolina.

We rested up before hitting our next hike to Mingo Falls. This is totally worth the stop it’s an easy hike .4 miles (mainly stairs), but the falls are 120 feet tall.

Then we where off to Cataloochee for sunset and a little picnic of peanut butter sandwiches haha. There’s some more historic buildings and this is where the elk are supposed to be. The worst part is the trip getting there. Basically it’s a one way in one way out kind of place. There’s at least 3 miles on gravel road and is 11 miles long to get down to the valley area. We where stuck behind these 2 campers which had a really hard time on the switch back roads. One area took a good 20 minutes for both of them to get around. The trip down to see the elk is worth it. We stalked them in the valley area watching them come out of the wooded area and walk in front of us. It was still at a little of a distance because the stick to the tree line, but still pretty neat.

Like others we moved our car down the road to watch them walk our way. Well this time they took a turn and headed straight for our car. I’ve never been so freaked out. They are huge! I wouldn’t have been so freaked out if it wasn’t the one elk that had horns starring me down through my window. It was a very cool experience despite my heart racing.

After our wildlife adventure we drove down to Asheville, for dinner and to check in our room for the night.

I had seen an article in Southern Living about this well known place Tupelo Honey Café that is known for partnering with local farmers and I wanted to give it a shot. We had a long wait, but once we got to our table we where greeted with Tupelo honey and some homemade blueberry jam to use on the biscuits.

Rosemary Peach Lemonade $2.50 (no refills), I really wanted to like this, but wow there was so much rosemary infused I couldn’t taste anything else. As much as I love to try new things, I didn’t enjoy this. The Margarita $7 (A generous pour of Margaritaville silver tequila, a splash of Cointreau, our house-made signature sour mix) on the other hand was excellent and one of the best we’ve had in a long time.

We started with the Appalachian Egg Rolls $7.25 (Pulled pork tossed in smoked jalapeno BBQ sauce rolled with braised greens, pickled onions & shredded carrots served with Dijon dippin’ sauce and with a garnish of seasonal greens). They where good, but I had to ask for extra BBQ sauce because I couldn’t taste it. I really liked the sauce the best.

For dinner we ordered the Stroganoff, Y’all $18.95 (Our Southern riff on classic creamy stroganoff featuring pork tenderloin in our cremini mushroom gravy. Served over Goat Cheese Grits and topped with jalapeno cilantro pesto and sour cream). I was mostly interested in trying the jalapeno cilantro pesto. The dish while looked nasty was good. They had more onions in there then meat, and some of the meat was over cooked and chewy. I loved the mushrooms they where the best part. We also got the  Petite Tender Medallions of Beef $19.95 (A juicy, sliced shoulder tender topped with  gorgonzola butter and a rich bordelaise sauce, it’s one of the most flavorful entrees we’ve ever tasted. Served medium rare with cheesy smashed  cauliflower and a seasonal garnish). Out of the two dishes this one was really good and I have to say the best. To pair we got a Malbec for $7 a glass.

Princess Anne Hotel B&B $167. My pictures weren't that great, but I was worn out by this time. They have several different floor plans, but ours had a living room, kitchen area, bathroom and bedroom. This was our first B&B we ever stayed in and I loved it!! The staff is so sweet and I loved the charm of this place. We’re social people, but not the type that likes to be grouped with others and on a schedule, it’s not like that here, they have appetizers and wine in the evening and breakfast in the morning, but you’re not forced to sit with the same people over and over.

Day 4–Knoxville, TN & Gatlinburg, TN

It’s Easter Sunday, but we’re spending the day in the car. The drive from Memphis to Knoxville, TN is about 5 1/2 hours then another hour to Gatlinburg, TN where we would be staying the night.

We stopped for lunch at White Castle. We don’t have these down in Texas so I had to see what all the hype was about. We got two $3.80 combo and onion ring $1.69. The burgers look nasty, but they taste ok. They’re simple and to me a little wasteful with all the cardboard we had when we where done. I felt like I was eating a happy meal the whole time. Another been there done that moment and don’t think I’ll be back.

Next stop was in Knoxville, TN at the Sunsphere Tower which is a 300 foot observation deck and free to enter. The hardest part is figuring out where to park and how to get in the damn thing. We ended up just driving around it several times and leaving. This structure was built for the 1982 World’s Fair and represents the sun (source for energy), and reflecting the energy theme of the fair.

Right outside of Gatlinburg around the Dollywood area you will find the tourist destination of any tourist trap I’ve ever seen. There was so much to look at I just sat there with my mouth open. It’s like Vegas out of no where!

Finally we made it to Gatlinburg, TN. Our hotel was the The Park Vista (part of the Hilton family hotels) we only paid $116 using AAA discount. I really enjoyed this hotel. They have a nice fire pit outside to watch the sunset over the mountains. They even give you hot fresh cookies when you check in. Since the hotel is round every room has a view and when you look up and down fast towards the elevators it plays mind tricks on you.

We drove down to the main town part which is touristy, but non the less a place to eat and walk around. We went to the Space Needle $17.68 for 2 people. Little hokey, but it was pretty.

For dinner we stopped at Smokey Mountain Brewery. We ordered 1 sampler platter of their beer for $7.35, now normally I’m not a beer expert, but it seemed like all of their flavors tasted the same and they all tasted like Miller Lite. The porter was one of the lightest porter have ever had. I you enjoy craft beers, this isn’t the place for you. We also ordered the Medium Buffalo Chicken Pizza $17.50 (four-cheese blend “white” pie with blue cheese crumbles, onions and roasted chicken tossed in our Sweet & Spicy thunder road wing sauce). While it may look nasty it was pretty good.

The other choice I had on my list was The Peddler Steakhouse, which later we heard from several people was a much better place to eat at.

After eating we walked around a little more and stopped in to The Smoky Moonshine Holler to take the “tour”, which is just a walk along the fenced in area and read about it, but afterwards you get free samples. I’m not a moonshine fan, but I am now. I loved the apple pie, grape and lemon drop flavors. They pour as much as you want so taste them all and you’ll walk away with a buzz afterwards!