To celebrate my birthday and our 8th anniversary (tomorrow!) Creed and I took a little get-a-way to Gatlinburg over the long weekend. To say we were excited Friday evening when we left would be an understatement.
Instead of driving through Pigeon Forge, we decided to bypass the horrible traffic and drive through the mountains. It was a gorgeous drive and worth the few extra miles. Fun fact...The Great Smoky Mountains National Park is the most visited National Park in the U.S.
As the road wound its way through the mountains, it followed this river bed.
Our home for the weekend...
The view from the back deck was breathtaking.
Our mornings consisted of pretty much doing nothing except for drinking coffee on the deck.
Saturday we decided to ride the aerial tram to the top of the mountain and saw three bears on the way up. We only had our phone for pictures, but you can still see them.
Once we got to the top, we rode the chair lift a little higher so we could have an "alpine slide" rematch. Creed won last year but this year I was determined...
I mentioned to the slide attendant that I really needed to beat him this year so they gave me a yellow slide, which is used for two riders. Thankfully, I blew past Creed around the third or fourth turn and finished quite a bit before him. Now he's calling for a rematch!
On Sunday we decided to ride a different set of chair lifts to get a better view of downtown Gatlinburg. Thankfully, I am not afraid of heights.
Monday morning we packed up and headed home. It was really hard to say goodbye to this view first thing in the morning. Just hoping "Mountain Glory" is available again next year...
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