So this is Grace and it's my turn to do the update again. So we left Nashville early in the morning for a 3 hour drive to the Smoky Mountains. It wasn't a horrible drive because the view was very scenic. There were mountains in the distance and my mom said her ears even popped, though none of ours did. As we got closer to our campsite we couldn't wait to see the mountains. Unfortunately, we came by way of Pigeon Forge and our only view included the Titanic and Donkey Kong among other theme park attractions; all incredibly large and all completely blocking the view of the mountains. This was not how I pictured the Smoky Mountains.
By the time we reached our campsite we changed our plans from four days to two days. While Mom, Dad, and Lauryl checked us in; Camden and I went exploring the nearby creek. I walked along the bank and watched a mother duck with 9-10 baby ducklings.
Once we set up camp we left to find some actual mountains. It was really cool! We followed this road that drove parallel to a river for most of the way. It was so amazing! The water was clear and there were tons of rapids. My dad was like a kid in a candy store. He just kept saying if the water level was a little higher it would be runnable in his kayak.
We took a stop to look at waterfall/rapid. It was so beautiful. We continued on until we found the trail we planned to hike. It was a 1.5 mile trip up to Laurel Falls. It was a great walk and at one point we passed a stream that ran out of a rock and under the trail. A man offered to take a family picture (love southern hospitality) and we accepted. We moved to stand in the stream only to hear Camden say there was a snake where we planned to stand. My dad was pretty sure it was a copperhead. The snake was real little though, and he kept twitching really weird. We stood in front of the rock and the man took our picture. My dad tried to take a picture of the snake but it didn't work. Some other hikers came up along and poked at it with a stick and when he was out from behind the rock we realized why he was twitching; he was trying to swallow a lizard! 
As we continued on the hike, there was a break through the trees where you could see the majestic mountains. We finally reached Laurel Falls and it was great. It wasn't just a straight sheet of water down, but fell in five feet increments before hitting a rock and sliding down again. Dad, Camden, Lauryl, and I climbed up beside the falls. We walked back to the car and came home as the sun set.
We drove through Gaitlinburg on the way back. I was very confused because they were selling swimsuits in stores like you see at the beach. It reminded me of either the boardwalk or an amusement park and it just seemed so out of place. We joked about it feeling like we entered the Twilight Zone.
When we got home, we had taco salads for dinner and chocolate pudding pie for dessert. Complements to the chef, my mother. It was a fun day, but my idea of the Smoky Mountains and the places around was definitely changed.
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