Today we headed back to Smoky Mountain National Park to do some hiking. We stopped at the Sugarland Visitor Center to get some suggestions of where to go. Our plan was to go to Cades Cove and do the scenic drive but we wanted to do a hike first. We went back to the Sink and did the hike there. We hiked a total of 5 or 6 miles. We crossed the stream multiple times and even saw a water fall. We saw 5 snakes on the hike; one black snake, one garter snake, and three copperheads. It was a fun day. We only saw two other couples the entire time. We packed lunch which we ate along the stream and the kids and Dave cooled off at the waterfall. The entire trip took us about 3 1/2 hours.
After we left the trail, we drove up to Cades Cove to drive the scenic route. It was a pretty drive, but for us it was too crowded. The loop was only one way and one lane. There were multiple pull-offs but apparently people did not use them and would stop in the middle of the road to watch some deer. It was more frustrating than enjoyable.
This entire trip has been a journey of self discovery for us. We've learned that our favorite places have been those off the beaten path. They have been those places that aren't the typical destination points. We're hoping to take this realization with us as we make our plans for July and August. It is partially why we postponed going out west. We want to really check things out before we drive all that way. I don't want to go to all the typical tourist spots; I want to find the obscure.
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