This whole week I was searching for a topic to write. But with writing, there is this issue that it comes naturally as it involves creativity. Sometimes when we setup everything to write, mind is clueless. That’s why I am avoiding this writing thing to become my job. Otherwise there would be a pressure to produce content which I believe can kill the creativity. I remembered talking about my trip to Smokey Mountains in my Instagram stories but had not blogged about that. So here is me walk you through our trip to Smokey Mountains, Indiana.
We flew to US in Feb,2020 after our India trip and just after 1 week , lockdown happened. We were left with few months in US and we had a lot of travel plans .But it was destiny. So after stuck at home in US for about 3 months , we decided to make atleast one tour before going to India. So this is how Smokey Mountains happened.
Journey
Smokey Mountains was approximately 8 hours away from Indianapolis. And we along with two of our friends started our road trip at near about 1 pm I think. We took our Ford SUV 4×4 to drive through the hilly roads. I do not know where those 8 hours went because we two girls bond well. We were busy in discussing about what things we have brought and where we will be going. All of us were very excited. While travelling, watching the greenery with the songs playing in the background is love. Also the weather was cloudy adding to the beauty. I remember we had some snack from “Dairy Queen” and a chai tea latte from Starbucks.
Things to carry
Because we were travelling in Corona times, we decided to took a wooden cabin in Pigeon Forge Area so that there would be nobody else there. Our accommodation included kitchen and utensils. Before entering the cabin,we stopped at a grocery store for some potatoes, sweet potatoes, noodles, rice, fruits,frozen pizza, milk ,cheese ,avocados,garlic spread and water etc .Yes drinking water is paid in US .We brought salt, spices, sugar, oil etc. from our home only. We also brought our griller ,our speaker and some games.
Itinerary
The cabins where we were staying were of Aunt bug’s ,it was quite late when we reached their visiting centre and took off the keys.There was no outside interaction at all.And at 9 pm we were able to find our cabin. It was like we were in a haunted movie. The cabin was in the dense forest area on the hill. There were narrow hilly roads,it was dark and we were feeling like we will fall down from the hill. There were rare lights quite unusual in US. And not many people around. And this feeling continued till we reached As soon as we entered ,I immediately locked our doors because we were said to be aware of bears and because of my own fear. We were tired so we slept after some unpacking.
The next morning we decided to go for hiking. We started on the Newfound gap road from Gatlinburg towards the Cherokee with 1.Alum cave buff trail.There is a cave with rounded stairs midway on the trail and it was a beautiful spot for photography. It was the most beautiful trail I have ever seen. The track was 2.3 miles one-way which further led to Mt Leconte .But we were good with hiking that trail only as 4.6 mile roundtrip was enough for us.
We had water,some nutribars and avocado sandwiches for our lunch.We spent some time in nature where the trail ended . Here some squirrel came to eat our sandwiches.It was inclined with mountains peaks on the front covered with greenery. I loved hiking that trail. After the hike, we were tired and we decided to go for the cabin. We wanted to enjoy the stay in the cabin as well. We prepared the hot tub, cooked some noodles and grilled some sweet potatoes for the dinner. After a hike, sitting in the jacuzzi is the best feeling. It completely relaxes the muscles. This was how we spent the night talking, eating and enjoying the hot tub.
Next day we had plans for some adventures. We went to a place called “Jayell Ranch”for UTV rentals. Those UTVs can be taken in the whole Smokey mountains area. But there we did not find any owner and it was not available online. It is ok to not able to do everything you planned. Enjoy whatever you can.
We were not interested in hiking large trails as we were tired from the previous day. I had checked online about an amazing waterfall named 2.“Grotto Falls”. It was also on a trail but the roundtrip was only 2.6 miles. So we changed our plan and went for that small trail. We had packed our lunch that we enjoyed eating near the waterfall. It was a short trail but more inclined. It was a little cold there due to waterfalls. We clicked some awesome pictures as it was perfect site for photography. It was not tiring at all.
Then we went for the 3. Scenic Chairlift in Pigeon Forge which again was one of my favorite things of the trip. That chairlift thing we did in Arizona also but it was on the same straight road .However this time it was flying higher and higher to reach the Mt. Harris. It is the longest chairlift in US. You can experience the breathtaking views of Smokies from there.
Guys I am not complete here that skylift leads to a suspension 4.skybridge with glass bottomin the centre .Many of the people walking on the bridge were scared from looking down. That night in the Gatlinburg with lights was a memorable experience for us.We also visited the famous 5.Moonshine distillery as it was part of our itinerary.
The area gave a city vibe full of lights with beautiful vintage cars on the road. We purchased some homegrown chocolates and take out pizza from Dominos. In the cabins, we again enjoyed that hot tub with food and music. That night we also played pool on the table provided by the cabin owners and some cards.The cabins were clean , we enjoyed the vintage wooden vibe of those.
Trip endings are sad. It was our departure day but we somehow managed to visit the buildings in our list including 6.Titanic museum and 7.Beyond the lens. But we just stopped there and clicked pictures. We were short of timings. Also we love nature more than watching those buildings .If you love to see the city vibes, you can spend more time in Gatlinburg.
