Home Again: Part Two

Daddy, Annie, and me walking down the trail


After our backpacking trip, we went to the airport and picked up Momma. We got settled in at the chalet, which was called Southern Exposure. Southern Exposure is a pretty nice chalet, but one of the best features (at least in my opinion) is that the National Park boundary is a few feet from the back door. The park was practically our back yard. We were all excited to look out the back door one morning and see a juvenile black bear. He was apparently attracted by the Jimmy Dean sausages Momma was cooking for Daddy's breakfast. Our rush to the window startled him, and he quickly left. Momma and I saw him one other morning, as well. On two evenings, we heard howling right outside the house. It was a pack of red wolves or perhaps coyotes. However, we didn't spend much time in our chalet. Most of our days were spent hiking, bringing Daddy, Annie, and me to a total of 42.7 miles and Momma to 20 miles.

Daddy and Annie on Charlie's Bunion

Our favorite hike for the week was Charlie's Bunion. It was 4 miles one way, thus 8 miles round-trip. We hiked out to a rocky outcrop from which one had almost a 360 degree view of the surrounding mountains. We had lunch there, and then Daddy and Annie climbed out onto the point of the rock. Momma and I, being of a more cautious temperament (and somewhat afraid of heights) took some convincing to go out there. Once we were up on the rocks, I was glad that I went. The views were amazing.

Annie and me at Charlie's Bunion

One of the views from the Bunion

Another fun hike led us to an old homesite. We were able to see the old cabin, the barn, and the springhouse. The remains of an orchard stood nearby. This cabin belonged to the Walker sisters, who stayed on in their home even after the National Park was created. I enjoyed reading about their history.

The Walker Sisters' Cabin

We also went to Chimneys picnic area and played in the stream. There are many boulders in the stream there, so many that it is possible to hop across and back without getting wet (unless you slip and fall in, like Momma did). We play in that stream every time we go to the Smokies. On our last day, we went into Gatlinburg and had dinner. We rode the skylift up and down the mountain, and we went to the top of an observation tower. It was all quite interesting. We were also able to meet up with a friend of ours who is working as a park ranger in the National Park. It was good to see her again.