I know you parents out there feel my pain. As rich as our kids make our lives, sometimes you need a little adult time. And when you spend as much time together as we do in our roadschooling pursuits, that becomes the understatement of the decade.
I’ve alluded to my July solo trip to the Smokies in recent posts about the Great Smoky Mountains Institute at Tremont and Cades Cove but I’ve yet to give you the full rundown. Basically I spent a week camping in Cades Cove followed by a week of SANCP classes at Tremont. It was certainly a much needed respite from constantly being on mommy duty but it also gave me some time to focus on my personal pursuits, spend my time on my own terms, and get rejuvenated to jump back into the fold upon my return. I certainly missed my little camping buddies but I knew they were having adventures of a different kind that only a Gramma can provide. (Thanks Gramma!)
My original plans for this trip included lots of naturalist practice and photography on the more difficult trails that Fred and George would balk at tackling. This was my prime opportunity! Only my plans took a radical turn when a quite literal run-in with a rock in Colorado back in June left me with a very, very broken big toe. I had to scrap my backcountry bliss for roadside exploration…along with the countless other visitors that flock to the Smokies in the middle of summer. Little did I realize how educational the people-watching would be but given better circumstances, I would have stuck to my original plans.
At any rate, regardless of having to change up my plans, it was still an epic trip and I’m just now figuring out the best way to share my rare solo adventure with you. Unfortunately, sometimes an experience is almost too much to put into words. Since I can’t show you in images what this adventure meant to me in terms of personal satisfaction, I’m at least going to share with you some of the things I saw and hopefully you’ll understand why the Smokies are a fitting place to find your happy. (Just remember, it’s a zoo there in July.)
So without further ado, here’s some of the lovely that is the Great Smoky Mountains.
Cades Cove…
Tremont Road and the Middle Prong River…
Foothills Parkway…
Newfound Gap…
Clingman’s Dome…
Roaring Forks Motor Drive…
And now for your moment of green…
Lovely!! Time alone is definitely an underrated and seriously necessary commodity. I agree about it being too hard to capture in words.
One of these days I’ll have to try and share the story of my (so far only) solo trip out camping from Flamingo… canoe trip to a platform campsite.
Yes you must share that! It would make a great guest post… hint, hint…
The Smokies is one of my favorite sites 🙂 beautiful pics
You need to get up here and play in the Smokies with me!
Very nice pictures Val and I was very happy to have my grandsons all to myself for a bit. I should be thanking you for sharing them!
They have such a great time at Gramma’s and playing with their cousins, wish we could get them down there more!