Smoky Mountain Dreamin' - Congaree National Park

We woke up early on Friday, May 19th to get packed and checked out of our condo. Our time in the Smokeys was over - and even though we weren't quite ready to leave - we had more adventure waiting for us before heading home. 

However, before hitting to road, we had to enjoy this view one last time!

Once we left our condo in the Smokeys, we headed east toward Congaree National Park. Our plan for the day was to spend several hours there. But first, we had to drive through North Carolina. This time, we stopped to get a photo with the state sign.

We made it to South Carolina! 

After about four hours of driving, we arrived in Congaree National Park just after noon.

We ate lunch out of our food bin in the Harry Hampton Visitor's Center parking lot, then went to check out the visitor's center. Pretty much the first thing we saw as we approached the visitor's center was this mosquito meter. At first we thought it was a joke, but we quickly discovered that it was for real! Thankfully, the mosquitos were "moderate" on the day we visited. 

The visitor's center wasn't much to write home about, so we made our way through it fairly quickly. Then, it was on to the Boardwalk Loop to really discover what Congaree is all about!

The Boardwalk Loop is 2.4 miles long and winds through a small portion of the national park. Sometimes, parts of the boardwalk are under water, but this was not the case on the day we visited. It was, however, wet with moisture and a little bit slick in spots. 

We quickly discovered why mosquitos have such a presence in the park. There were many spots of standing water! The park is very swamp-like, but it's not a swamp.

We heard woodpeckers and many other birds while walking the boardwalk. We also saw a few lizards and other small creatures. 

The trees were so unique and pretty!

We saw many bald cypress trees with their broad base. They are able to stand in the soft earth because they have a very complex root system that helps hold them in place. 

However, the most unique part of these giant trees were the "knees" that help stabilize them. These knees - along with the fog and mist - gave parts of the boardwalk a horror movie type feel. Eeep!

The area is also known for feral hogs, and we did see one. Unfortunately, we smelled it first as it was deceased and decomposing. Blech! 

Brecklyn

Brooke

Enjoying all the giant trees and lush green!

We stooped and piddled and took our sweet time on the boardwalk. It took us several hours to walk the whole thing because we were trying to really soak it all in. 

At one point, the boardwalk follows along the bank of Weston Lake for a short period of time. While we were walking that section of the boardwalk, Bren exclaimed that he saw an alligator. I hadn't seen anything about gators in the visitor's center, so I questioned him. He insisted that he had seen one swimming in the water. 

As we continued to walk, there was no doubt that something was swimming in the water. And the more we watched it, the more it looked like it could be an alligator. Then we heard other people saying it was an alligator!

Although we were fairly certain that what we saw was an alligator, we told the kids we'd ask about it when we got back to the visitor's center. They practically ran the rest of the loop because they were anxious to find out!

At the very end of the boardwalk loop, we ran into a park ranger who confirmed that they did have alligators who live in the lake and that it was very likely what we saw. The children were excited with this information and asked to walk back to the lake to see if we could see it again. Unfortunately, the visitor's center and boardwalk loop were closing early at 4:00pm that day for a special event, and we did not have time to walk back to the lake. 

Instead, we loaded back into the van and started driving west toward Georgia. 

We had hotel reservations that night in Augusta. Once we checked into our hotel, we ate at a delicious family-style Italian place called Giuseppe's. The LeFlores had visited the Smokeys and Congaree just a few weeks before and recommended it to us. It was amazing, and we were thankful for the recommendation! We spent the remainder of the evening relaxing in our hotel and preparing for our long day of driving ahead. 

Smoky Mountain Dreamin' - Great Smoky Mountains National Park (3)

Our plan for Thursday, May 18th was to get an early start. It was our last full day in Great Smoky Mountains National Park, and up first on our agenda was a hike to Grotto Falls. I had read that this is a very popular trail with limited parking, so we needed to get to the trailhead before 8:00am. Of course, the best thing about waking up early was the incredible sunrise. It just didn't get old!

As we drove into the park toward the trailhead, we saw lots of wild turkeys and even a bear. Seeing the bears continued to be an exciting event for our crew! We arrived at the trailhead before 8:00am as we had planned, but the parking was already full. Additional parking spots are located along the one-way road near the trailhead, so we ended up parking about a 1/2 mile {downhill} from the trailhead. We got our legs all warmed up for our hike just walking to the trailhead!

Ready to take on Grotto Falls!

This trail had more rocks and shorter shrubs than the Abram's Falls trail. 

It also had several water crossings . . . no log bridges, though!

Brecklyn, Brooke, and Brenson on the Grotto Falls trail

So lovely and green!

Grotto Falls Trail

About a quarter mile before reaching Grotto Falls, we came upon several smaller waterfalls. 

The smaller waterfalls were like a teaser for the main attraction!

We made good time on the trail and reached Grotto Falls just before 9:00am. The most exciting thing about this falls (and why we chose this hike) was that the trail goes behind the falls!

The water was roaring and the rocks were slippery, so Brecklyn wasn't too sure about the situation. Chris hung back to take photos and a video of us walking behind the falls. In the video, I am pretty much pulling Brecklyn by the hand to walk, while Brooke does a fist bump in the air and says, "Whooo!" as she forged ahead. So opposite! 

Walking under the falls

Stopping to wave at Daddy

Brianna went back to take this photo of Chris and me

After making our way under the falls, we sat on the rocks for a while and just enjoyed being there.

It was a fairly busy spot, and there were lots of hikers climbing on the rocks and in the water. Of course, Brenson and Brooke wanted to climb all over everything like some of the other visitors, so I had to keep on them to just SIT DOWN. They were making momma nervous!

Brenson

Daddy and Brenson

Brooke

Brianna

Brecklyn

Chelle

Grotto Falls 💜

I really wanted a photo of the whole family under the falls, so we waited patiently for our turn and another hiker took these photos for us. I'm always grateful for others who are willing to snap our family photos. 

We spent about a half hour at the falls before heading back to the trailhead. We all felt like the hike was well worth it!

The water crossings were the kids' favorite thing about the trail!

Brianna, Brenson, Brooke, and Brecklyn crossing the water

After we made it back to our van, we continued on the one-way Roaring Fork Motor Nature Trail. We made a few stops at some gristmills and other historic structures and admired the old growth forests along the way.

Upon exiting Great Smoky Mountains National Park, we drove to Gatlinburg to enjoy the afternoon. 

Tourists in Gatlinburg!

Brianna and Brenson in Gatlinburg

When we were in Gatlinburg a few days prior to this, Chris and I both noticed several places to have "Old Time" photos taken. We thought this would be a fun venture for the family, so that was top on our list of things to do when we returned to Gatlinburg. 

Just as we suspected, the kids LOVED it. Even Brenson!

The Boys

The Girls

The Family . . . this will go perfectly with several other "Old Time" family photos we have!

As soon as we finished photos, we all decided it was time to eat. We had eaten some trail food before we arrived in Gatlinburg, but we had all worked up an appetite hiking that morning. Upon the recommendation of my friend, Kendall, we went to The Pancake Pantry for a mid-afternoon meal (it was about 2:00pm). 

Brianna, Brooke, and Brecklyn ready to dig in!

Chelle, Chris, and Bren

I knew when we walked into The Pancake Pantry that we were all hungry, but there was not one scrap of food left on the table when we finished! 

After lunch, we walked around Gatlinburg and enjoyed being tourists. In the photo below, the kids are watching taffy being made. We eventually went into this taffy shop to buy some taffy, but Chris picked up a box of "hard" taffy without realizing it. Thankfully, the cashier asked him if he meant to get the "hard" taffy or if he wanted the regular taffy and saved him from buying the taffy made with moonshine, haha!

There are several little areas along the main strip that are so cute!

The flowers were just beautiful, too.

We sat here for quite a while people watching and enjoying a coffee treat. The people watching did not disappoint!

Brooke, Momma, and Brecklyn

While Chris and I enjoyed a coffee treat, the kiddos had an ice cream treat.

So many cute and pretty parts of town!

And of course, we found an epic candy store. How fun is this?!?

It was only about 3:30pm when we finished with all we wanted to do in Gatlinburg. Our plan for the evening was to return to the condo, watch a movie, and get everything packed up and ready to leave for the next morning. However, as we were leaving Gatlinburg, Brenson mentioned that he really wanted to return to the Sugarlands Visitor's Center to purchase a Grotto Falls patch for his collection. We had visited this visitor's center earlier in the week, but it was barely out of our way to stop by there again. So, that's what we did! 

There is an easy, one mile round trip trail from the visitor's center parking lot that leads to Cataract Falls. Even though I was feeling sore from our hike to Grotto Falls earlier in the day, I agreed to take the Cataract Falls trail with the family. It only has a 30ish foot elevation gain, so I figured I could handle that! 

Brooke and Brecklyn loved this unique tree on the trail

Cataract Falls

Brianna at Cataract Falls

Brecklyn

Brooke

The kids had asked several times if they could get in the water on the various trails we had taken. Chris and I never thought it was a good idea, but we finally agreed on this trail. I think they were surprised at how cold the water was!

We all ended up putting our feet in the water, and the cold felt really good on my sore piggies!

Brenson, Brecklyn, and Brooke

Brooke with a flower she found on the trail

We finally made it back to our condo around 6:00pm. We took showers, spent some time getting packed up to leave the next morning, then sat down to watch a movie together. We ate food out of our food bin and had popcorn to go along with the movie. 

I enjoyed the evening in my favorite spot by the window as the sun set. 

It had been a wonderful few days in the Great Smoky Mountains, and I don't think any of us were ready to move on quite yet. This is definitely a place we'd love to return to in the future!