It's been four years since I have blogged and I will try to revive it.  Since then we have both retired, had two grand daughters and Marty is now entered into the Medicare system.  I will be following in January.  But today I am excited about an upcoming trip.  We will be leaving Sept 8 for Colorado and Utah where we will visit Rocky Mountain National Park, Canyonlands National Park and Arches National Park.  Should be a great trip with lots of photo ops.  So till then it's a packing frenzy.

Fantastic Fall Foliage

We left Gatlinburg around 9:00 this morning and went over the mountains of the Great Smoky Mtn Park and entered the Blue Ridge Parkway at 10:00. We drove the 87 miles to Asheville and it was so pretty. I don't think I've ever seen such beautiful colors of foliage. We made lots of stops and took lots of pics. It started out sunny and nice but when we got to Asheville it was cloudy and kind of chilly.

A beautiful day in the Smokies

We got an early start this morning to get to Clingman's Dome before it got too crowded. We were successful. Took the .5 mi trek to the top and the observation deck. WOW!! what a sight. Even walked for a bit on the Appalachian Trail so we can say we did it. By the time we left the parking lot was full and we enjoyed a leisurely drive down the mountain. The rest of the day was spent touring though the crafters area of Gatlinburg, eating a small lunch, and going back to The Christmas shop for a few little things. Back to the room for a nap and then figure out what to do for dinner. Tomorrow morning it's off to the Blue Ridge Parkway.

One year later

Tomorrow we will be leaving for Gatlinburg TN to go to the Crafters' Festival and see the sites of town. It's been almost a year ago that we were there. This year we will be leaving Sunday morning to hook up with the Blue Ridge Parkway and head to Asheville NC. Will stay there on Sunday night. Hoping to see some great Fall foliage.

A day in the Smokies

Today was a beautiful day in Gatlinburg. We went to some of the local crafters and their different shops. Very quaint shops and lots of pretty things. For the afternoon we drove into Great Smoky Mtn National Park. Ended up going the whole way over the mountain to Cherokee SC. There was lots of traffic and people along the way and we didn't get to even stop at Clingman's Dome. Had to do a drive through. The parking lot was full. It was just a beautiful day with not a cloud in the sky. Will be leaving early tomorrow for Eureka.

In the Smokies

We arrived yesterday around 7:00 p.m. at our hotel in the center of Gatlinburg TN. The town is really crowded. This morning after breakfast and taking a walk downtown we got to the Crafters Festival at the Convention Center and took a couple of hours going through the whole thing. You have never seen a craft show like this. Lots of great items and very reasonable prices. We bought several things. Then it was time to grab a soda and get in the car for awhile. We drove to Townsend TN which was a beautiful drive through part of The Great Smoky Mtn National Park via the Little River Rd. The trees had some good color but a lot of leaves were falling. It was such a pretty day. Our destination was the Smoky Mountain Woodcarvers store. Marty had a great time looking through the store and managed to come out with some goodies. Went back another route and ended up at Wood Grill Buffet by 3:00 for a GREAT buffet lunch. We are going to rest for awhile and then go walk along the streets of Gatlinburg this evening.

Back Home

Got back to St Louis last night and had a heck of a welcome. STORMS almost all night long with lots of rain. I was thinking I was glad that our doggies were back inside. They would NOT have liked being out in that stuff. We had a great time celebrating Marty's birthday, visiting with all of his brothers and sisters and going to Bar Harbor and doing a lighthouse tour. I will put up pictures of Portland Headlight and Nubble Light. They were so beautiful.