Grandfather Mountain

One of the places everyone told us to visit was Grandfather Mountain, home to the mile high suspension bridge.  We decided to "swing by" on our way home from church on Sunday.  We found a Harvest Bible Chapel in Hickory, NC....a little more than an hour from Asheville.  

What we didn't realize was that storms were rolling in that day, and the drive would become one we would not soon forget.  

Google maps took us on two lane backroads to the Blueridge Parkway.  These backroads would have been beautiful on a clear day.  However, the low clouds and thick fog made it quite trecherous.  There were times, when we would roll around a curve, and it would white out in front of us.  Thankkfully, the maps on my phone helped us know how sharp a curve was.  It was extremely intense!

All of a sudden, my map said "Arrived", however we were still in the middle of the Parkway.  Apparently, it took us to "Grandfather Mountain", but not the park :/  We had driven about 10 miles too far...which meant we had to go back.  Ugh.

Finally making our way to the bottom of the check in center, we decided that since we had come this far, we would head up the mountain. There is a fee to enter (a quite high fee if you ask me), and switchback roads to the top.  This made me nervous, however it was much easier than the other roads we had traveled.  

We made it to the top though.  Not really the view we originally hoping for....but this was it.  The mile high suspension bridge.

So, the bridge is really over an 80-something feet gorge...but it is one mile above sea level.  It was rebuilt in the late 1990s.  

I believe it is always windy as you walk across the bridge, however it had very high winds as the storm was moving in.  

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This was our view, right smack in the middle of the gorge.  I bet it's beautiful on a clear day.

We made it across to the other side.  

Which means...we had to walk across again.  

We are all about the experiences.  Check those boxes people! 

Nicole hung with me as I lingered behind to take pictures.

We then went down the mountain a bit and explored their little educational center.  Their displays were quite neat. "Minerals of North Carolina"

This is a sliver of a tree and they pinpointed major events that took place in the lifeline of that tree.  Everything from the Revolutionary war to the invention of the light bulb.

Grandfather Mountain also has a display of animals.  At this point, it was drizzly and very cold.  The workers told us not to go look because none of the animals would be out.  

We went anyway.

They were wrong.

Jeremy waited all trip to see a black bear...here it was :)

They are looking at the otter, which was taking shelter in its log.

At this point, they had closed up Grandfather Mountain due to high winds and bad weather.  But, we did it!

These photos are from our morning at Harvest Bible Chapel in Hickory, NC.  

It was neat to attend a Harvest that has been around for a while.  The message was fantastic, and so were the baptism testimonies that day as well.  

Father's Day

This year for Father's Day, Jeremy asked us to updated his picture frame in his office.  I'm not sure what the problem was...his pictures were only like 5 years old :) haha.

So, the kids and I did a photo shoot in front of a big banyan tree.

I think they came out pretty well!  I'm just going to let these be random.

I loved this one, but she didn't like that the wind was blowing her hair.

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THIS....This is a real life photo of my little man.  Such a cutie!

The heart was for her daddy

The kids made up the heart idea themselves.

Great Smoky Mountain National Park

While zip lining, our guide pointed out our view of the highest peak in the Great Smoky Mountain National Park.  When he mentioned that we could go there, of course, we wanted to.  So, after zipping through the woods, we decided to spend the rest of the day in the smokey mountains, looking for hiking trails.

I was really proud of Jeremy, because he very randomly pulled over at a lookout point on our way to Clingman's dome.  This is not his nature....so, it was super cool.  And, it was a beautiful view!

Until the girls found this path...and started walking down it.  There is not even a trail name!

Of course, Jeremy followed and so did Nathan, until I was standing, alone at the lookout, as my family hikes down an unknown path.  I was not a happy camper.

Once they disappeared from my sight, I decided that I probably should follow after them.  

The four of them were happy and having a great time (Nicole was in her glory!)

I, on the other hand, was teriffied.  Like, I was actually quite scared.  These photos don't show it, but this was quite a steep trail, and between wondering if a snake was hiding under every crevice, root, and rock we stepped on, and worried we wouldn't make it back up as easily as we were going down....I was just a big ball of whinning mess.  I admit, I made everyone else miserable and nervous.

But- I tried to put on a "happy face".  In fact, it was here that I kept saying "fun mom....you are suppose to be fun mom on the trip."  Then I would reply (to myself) "NOPE, not fun mom anymore.  Scared mom.  Freaked out mom, Worried mom.  NO MORE FUN MOM!!!!!"

It was a pretty view though.

So, I sucked it up, and we took a family photo.  

Thankfully, we made it back up the trail to the overlook.  Hopping in the car, we enjoyed the rest of the drive to the parking area of Clingman's Dome, where we encountered dandilions.  These Florida kids would have stood there and blown these weeds for hours.  We gave them about 15 minutes :)

The kids were over the moon excited about this giant area of rocks and boulders to climb all over.  My mama heart was conflicted here.  Of course, I want my kids to be safe...but I also want them to explore and learn.  

Unfortunately, our culture has swapped life for safety.  Parents are looked down upon or shamed for allowing their children to do natural, childhood things, like climb.  Things that children have done for centuries.  Because....it's not safe.  They *could* get hurt.  They *could* fall down.  The *might* get scared.  

But guess what, growth comes in times of challenge.  Growth happens when we fall and get back up.  Growth happens when we push past our fears.  So, I let them climb, even amongst the "what ifs".

What if- they succeed?  What if they face their fears?  What if they become stronger?  What if we let them grow?  What if they rise to the challenge.  

So, they climbed, they played, they made memories.  And- surprise- no one got hurt!

The hike up to Clingman's Dome is surprisingly difficult.  It's about .6 miles of paved, steep uphill climb.  We had to stop at every bench and rest...it really was a challenging hike with beautiful views.  

We finally made it!  YAY!!!

It's hard to see....but in the middle of the photo is Gatlinburg, and in the far background we can see Pigeon Forge, TN.  

Beautiful view of the sloping ramp to get to the top of Clingman's Dome

The North Carolina/TN state line is basically right down the middle of this photo (actually, a smidgen to the left of the middle.)

On our way back to the parking area, we found the coveted sign which read "Appalachian Trail".  Nicole has talking about hiking this trail when she is 12 years old since she was about 5.  She has one year left to plan....I wonder if it will really happen.

 I thought this photo may inspire her to train and prepare this year though.  If not...at least we got the picture to prove we were here.

I am the chicken of the family, but I am also the planner.  Which means, I knew this trail was here and I planned on hiking a portion of it with the family.  By "a portion", I meant just far enough to take a picture and move on.  However, that did not satisfy anyone.  

We went further and further and further.

Can you even find Jeremy and Nicole in this picture?  No, I bet you can't.  I stopped here and din't want to go any further.  I thought for sure we had walked at least 5 miles down this trail. 

In reality, it was probably about 10 minutes.  But, I was done.  D.O.N.E.

However, these kids look pretty awesome, don't they?  Man...why am I such a chicken?!?

We were getting hungry and it was getting late, so we decided to head back towards the house.  However, I had heard a rumor that we may see some Elk on the trail behind the welcoming center.  Of course, the scarty-cat mom would intentionally plan a hike down that path, wouldn't she?

First, we got to walk past a replica of an old Appalachian village.  I love these old fences.

Looking back on the village before we disappear into the forest.

I'm going to write a whole blog post on this photo one day.  For now, I find it quite fascinating.  

I was first to spot it...a wild elk!  I was so thrilled and perfectly content to see this beautiful animal from a nice safe distance.  The elk had its space....I had my space....everyone was happy.

Except Jeremy.  Of course, he wanted to get closer.  

Which made me freak out....which made him want to get closer...which made me freak out more....yeah- this is why we are a good match :)

We finally parted ways with the Elk and I reluctantly continued down the trail.  I mean...the ONLY reason I wanted to hike down the trail was to see the elk.  Checked that off my list, got the picture...let's go!  haha- not the way the rest of my family think.  

I'll tell ya what though, completing that little trail was a treat.  There was a beautiful little ending to the path.  Apparently, something really cool happened that I missed, and Jeremy wasn't able to photograph. Hannah bent over to look at something in a bush, and hundreds of butterflies flew up from that bush, all around here and flew away. Jeremy said it was quite amazing.  

We made it back to the little Appalachian village, and look what we found!  The Elk.  Sheesh....we didn't even have to walk down that crazy trail to see the elk!

Although these guys are wild, they are clearly quite used to humans.  

In my eyes, this was the most adventurous day we had, followed closely by our visit to Grandfather Mountain....which will have a post all of its own :)

I'm glad we hiked.  I'm glad my kids have a dad who is adventurous and fun.  I'm glad that we saw some elk.  I'm glad we hiked until our legs hurt.  I'm glad we had a great day together, full of memories...even if my heart was racing just re-living them again to write it out.