We spent last week camping in the Smokies. The Great Smoky Mountains National Park is our favorite national park and we spend a lot of time there.
We got to Smokemont Campground on a Monday afternoon. It was so easy to set up our campsite (Site D38). This is our favorite campsite. It is across from the group campsite which was closed. The bathrooms were right across the road and this building has outlets. Since I get up so early, I can plug in my iPad and charge it up if needed. I can get it all charged up before most people are even awake.
We like to go to the Oconoluftee River Trail which is about a 3.2-mile roundtrip hike that starts at the Visitor Center and goes to the town of Cherokee. Every day, we came across elk under the shade trees. On one day, there were several people who were extremely close to the elk to take photos and the male elk gave a bugle warning a couple of times, but the people didn’t move. We went an alternate way off the trail to avoid the elk and the people. For lunch each day, we ate at Subway. They did a great job of wearing masks and gloves as they fixed our sub sandwiches. On one day, we got in the river and played in the water. The water was just like bathwater! (Well, bath water in the dead of winter if you have no heat and no hot water.)
After a few days, we headed to Cades Cove Campground. We had a nice ride over Newfound Gap and stopped to see the views and take photos. We stopped in Townsend for gas and supplies (ice was $2 at the IGA) and lunch at Subway. We camped at site B37 which was a nice site. It was further away from the bathrooms and I had to use our external batteries to charge our electronics. After we set up camp, we went to the camp store and got soft serve ice cream (which we have gotten there for about 30 years when we visit!). I was surprised how much the price has increased (about $5 for a cake cone.) On the first afternoon, it poured down rain pretty heavily. I was so glad we had our Clam screen room and had the optional walls up to keep out the rain. I also had my Little Red Campfire going which made the room toasty warm while it rained. One man called it a “frog strangler” kind of rain.
Most of the trailheads were packed with cars and heavy crowds so we drove to Sevierville and went to the Tanger Outlet Stores. We both needed new tennis shoes and got some from the New Balance outlet store. Then we had a nice drive and lunch in Townsend. We found out our camper refrigerator wasn’t working so we had to put everything back into the cooler and buy ice from the camp store ($4.50). In the evening we walked around the campground and talked with other campers. When we went to bed, it was really hot, humid and miserable. We decided that we would leave in the morning and head for home.
The next morning, Don got up around 7:30 am and by 8:30 am we were packed up and heading home.
Things I Learned:
1. I really like Smokemont Campground D Loop (pull through sites).
2. Smokemont D38 is my favorite site.
3. I like playing in the river even if the water is cold.
4. It is good to have water shoes on in the river.
5. The Oconoluftee River Trail is a wonderful trail.
6. It is more crowded in the campground in the summer months.
7. People don’t wear masks even when asked that they should.
8. It is nice when people respect quiet hours in a campground.
9. There are a lot of mushrooms on the trails in August.
10. Thundershowers are expected in the afternoon during summer.
Original photo by Pat Hensley
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