Smoky Mountains National Park

We arrived in the Smoky Mountains and the rains stopped.....blue sky and fluffy clouds!  Fall color in full glory and the creeks and streams overflowing as they crashed down the waterfalls...all just perfect for our 5 days of adventure.









For most of this time, we camped at Cades Cove.  Not the prettiest campground, but convenient to the "loop" which we biked twice; checking out he homesteads of the locals from the 1800s, and hiking some awesome trails.  We even had a park ranger demo how to react to a bear encounter!

Car traffic on the loop was a little ugly as the car tourers made the obligatory stops along the way, but we cycled through the traffic and enjoyed the history and the beautiful Autumn days.  A hike to Abrams Falls was our highlight for this segment.

For our final night we moved to Elkmont Campground; nicer sites with the river in view.  And another 6+ mile hike along Little RIver and Cucumber Gap.  Only 7 miles from Gatlinburg, but we did only a drive through, as no RV parking.  Next time, we'll have to stop in town and purchase a genuine Cherokee tomahawk, now made in China.  (When I was a kid visiting, they were made in Japan....how the world changes)