Final Glimpse

Our last day arrived...after spending an evening rocking on the front porch with Kristi and Kevin. We arose to the kids today. Finally we headed out to the Smoky Mountains. We missed the visitor's center...no thanks to the GPS, so we just kept driving. Several miles down the road later we pulled over at the quietest pullout. After several cheesy photos we moved on down the road...







...to Mingus Mill. We were becoming more adept at noticing the signs in our blind tour of the Smokies. It was an old mill that the forest service had put back into operation. Of course, I needed a bag of corn meal to go with my new cookbook, so I can explore all those Southern style recipes properly!

The flume to the mill was irresistible.





The mill window...





However, as I was checking out the mill I saw a gentleman in faded blue bib overalls eating his lunch quietly in the corner by the potbelly stove, so I smiled and said hello. He responded politely, his eyes twinkling and the soft creases in his face emulated warmth, so I pursued a conversation. Then I asked him which waterfall in the park was the best, and he told me it was a falls that wasn't in the park, but if we went five miles down the road and turned left and kept an eye open for the KOA we would find it. A few stairs would take us to the top of Mingo Falls. He also told us that the mountain farm down the road was worth the stop. His easy-going, friendly manner told me he was better than all the maps of the park :)

The mountain farm was fun to explore. Some of the building were original to the site, and others had been moved from various places in the park or nearby mountains.

From the corn husk broom



to the humble hearth



and not to forget the meat house



or the apple house.



Though my personal favorite was the cooling house where they used ingenuity to divert a little of the clear mountain stream through a hollowed out log to cool the perishable food items such as eggs and milk. Equally utilitarian were the birdhouses.



A glimpse of early American life makes me more grateful...though I love the front porches.



Off to the falls we cruised, only to discover we had driven through the Smoky Mountains and had arrived in Cherokee, North Carolina! The short distance caught us by surprise! After all 35 miles only brings you to the foot of the mountains in Big Timber...though in all fairness, the Smoky Mountains are more like hills in our world :) Nonetheless, we found the falls.





Thus ends my photo tour, as my battery died. Equally frustrating, though, was our trip back through the park which required lots of patience as the traffic was backed up for miles.

However, we eventually made it back to our cabin with all the modern conveniences and enjoy perfectly grilled steaks compliments of Kevin. The kids were delighted by the fire later in the evening where smores were created! The quiet mountain setting with family was the best part of the day before tired, sticky, grimy kids called it a day...or should I say parents??