North Carolina {Day 4}

We spent the last day of our trip hiking in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park before starting the drive back to Florida. Read about days 1, 2, and 3 of our trip here - North Carolina {Day 1}, North Carolina {Day 2} and North Carolina {Day 3}.

Sunday, July 7

We picked a random trail off the map that was close by and decided to hike it. Bad idea. Actually, one of the park rangers recommended it to me. I guess I appear to know a lot more about hiking in the mountains than I actually do. Word to the wise...when hiking in the mountains, don't use a regular trail map. Use a topographic trail map so that you can see the change in elevation. This way, you won't be surprised when you end up hiking 1,400 feet straight up-hill for 2 hours. This Florida girl definitely learned her lesson.  

Smokemount Loop Trail in Great Smoky Mountains National Park

Yes, I am hiking in a tank top from Nantahala Brewing Company. Yes, I actually bought a tank top from a brewery. The best part is the back of the shirt which reads, "Water is for quitters". I definitely got some interesting looks from the other hikers.

The best part of the trail was this awesome bridge. The worst part was what lay beyond this bridge. 

I loved this log bridge crossing the river. Once you got out to the middle of it, it swayed a lot which was a little freaky but still super cool. Standing out there in the middle of the rushing river on a log less than a foot in width was a surreal feeling.

After crossing the bridge, the up-hill climb began. And when I say up-hill, I mean straight up. This treacherous vertical climb then continued for the next 2 hours. My legs were burning. Literally on fire. Actually, that description doesn't even do it justice. I felt like I was going to die. By the time we made it to the highest point in our climb, I wanted to hurl myself off of that mountain. I was so exhausted. If a black bear would have emerged from the woods in that moment,  I probably would have just stood there and let it eat me. I would not have had the energy to do anything else. Oh and it rained. And there were giant bugs swarming around me the entire time. Gotta love the outdoors. Eventually, we made it to the down-hill portion of the hike, thank you Jesus.

We did manage to complete the entire hike, over 6 miles! I know that 6 miles doesn't really sound that impressive, but I learned the hard way that hiking 6 miles on virtually flat land at sea level (Florida-style) is absolutely in no way comparable to hiking 6 miles on a steep incline at an elevation over 3,000 feet. Needless to say, I was a little winded when we got done. I will say that I was pretty proud of myself when I actually finished this hike since it was so challenging. Go me!

Despite all the rain and the part where I thought I was going to keel over and die while hiking, we had an amazing time on our trip. I can't wait to go back to the cabin again soon! 

North Carolina {Day 3}

Our journey in North Carolina continues on Day 3 with some more exploring in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, as well as visiting the towns surrounding the cabin. Read about days 1 and 2 of our trip here - North Carolina {Day 1} and North Carolina {Day 2}.

Saturday, July 6

The towns of Sylva and Dillsboro lie just at the bottom of the mountain down from the cabin.

The favorite store of the Roche family is Dogwood Crafters. Everything in this store is hand-crafted or home-made by the locals.

We visited a local brewery in Sylva to try some of their beers - Heinzelmannchen Brewery

 Back into the mountains for another day of hiking!

As we were getting ready to hike up the mountain, we ran into this little guy. 

This was my first time ever seeing an elk in person and it was really cool. 

We hiked the Mingus Creek Trail along the Oconaluftee River

 This trail was a nice, easy hike compared to our adventures on the Appalachian Trail the day before. 

All of the recent rain was causing the river levels to rise and flood some of the trails. We were only able to hike a little over 2.5 miles on this trail before we had to take a detour due to flooding.

Our hike did lead us to this historic grist mill right along the river. 

 Mingus Mill in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park

After completing this hike, we decided to head back to Bryson City for a little happy hour.

We returned to Nantahala Brewing Company because we enjoyed it so much the first time. Rather than go out to dinner, we grabbed a pizza and some growlers from Nantahala and headed back to the cabin.

We spent the remainder of our evening relaxing on the porch swing enjoying the mountain air.  

North Carolina {Day 2}

Our journey in North Carolina continues on Day 2 with some exploring in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, the Cherokee Indian Reservation and me getting to check an item off of my bucket list! Read about the first day of our trip here - North Carolina {Day 1}.

On to Day 2...warning: this blog post is going to be quite lengthy and photo heavy. On the bright side, it does contain the only photos (two of them to be exact) that Jared and I managed to take together on the entire trip.

Friday, July 5

Friday morning we headed into the Great Smoky Mountains National Park for some hiking and exploring. Jared made fun of me for wanting to pose with the National Park sign. I feel like he should have expected nothing less.

 And here is the first of 2 pictures of us together on this trip. 

I'm in two states at once, wooo! Getting ready to check the item off my bucket list! 

One thing that has always been on my lifelong bucket list is to hike a portion of the Appalachian Trail. Let's be honest, there is no way that I'm going to hike all the way from Georgia to Maine, so a small portion of it will have to do.

Here we go! This portion of the Appalachian Trail through the Smoky Mountains is the most challenging section of the entire 2,200 mile trail.

I really enjoyed hiking this trail and getting to check it off my bucket list! 

 Hiking the portion of the Appalachian Trail up to Clingman's Dome

Standing in the observation tower at Clingman's Dome. This is the highest point on the Appalachian Trail at an elevation of 6,643 feet!

Here is photo 2 of 2 of us together. And such a lovely photo of us indeed. Raining, 55 degrees and zero visibility at 6,643 feet. This was definitely not an ideal day for hiking, but we drove all this way up the mountain to get to the trail and there was no way that I was going to back out on completing my bucket list item now. 

 We did it! Maybe next time I'll hike the 1,972 miles to Maine? Yeah, not likely. 

Next item on the agenda, hiking up to Mingo Falls in Cherokee. I love watching the other tourists who come to see these sites. We had to hike up a muddy trail in the rain on the side of a mountain and the family in front of us has their small children in shorts and flip flops, freezing and sliding in the mud almost off the side of the mountain. Seriously? If you are going on vacation in the mountains, invest in boots. 

Mingo Falls, Cherokee, NC

The town of Cherokee is located right down the highway from the cabin, so we passed through there a few times on our trip. One thing I really wanted to do on this vacation was visit the Cherokee Indian Reservation. I know, educational activities on vacation? I'm such a nerd. The real reason I wanted to visit the reservation is because it is part of my heritage. My ancestors on my dad's side of the family were Cherokee Indian.

All throughout the reservation, there are these black bear statues painted with symbols that represent the Cherokee culture.

Look! Jared let me take a picture of him. Bwahaha

We visited the Indian Village where we got to see how the Cherokee people lived long ago and how they preserve their culture in today's modern society. I absolutely loved learning about my heritage.

We had some time before our plans for the evening, so we decided to check out some of the local craft beers. Western North Carolina has quite a few craft breweries, majority of them being in Asheville (we will have to check those out on our next trip), but some of them are in the towns around the cabin. We found a great one in Bryson City, Nantahala Brewing Company. This one may have jumped to the very top of my brewery list as a favorite.

That night, we went to a performance of "Unto These Hills". This drama is performed in an outdoor theater and it tells the story of the Cherokee people. It has been performed in the Smokies every summer for over 60 years and it is a must see if you ever visit this area of North Carolina. The show is very entertaining and heart-wrenching at the same time. I really enjoyed it, especially because I got to learn so much about the Cherokee culture. Overall, it was an amazing day of vacation.  

North Carolina {Day 1}

Jared and I went on a little mini-vacation last week for the 4th of July. We stayed at a cabin that his family owns in northwest North Carolina. They have owned the cabin since he was an infant and it is definitely a little rustic, but full of character and good memories. I have only been to the cabin one other time and that was when Jared and I first started dating in 2006. It was so nice to be back in the mountains again, I had forgotten how much I really enjoyed this place. I will definitely not let another 7 years pass by before we go back.

Now, onto the trip recap...I am going to split this trip up into multiple posts because I obviously took a lot of pictures. I know, shocker. Jared refused to pose for any pictures for me, so all of the pictures from our trip are of me. Only me. Also, it rained the entire time we were there so you are going to have to look at a bunch of pictures of ugly, frizzy hair me. Sorry in advance. I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday!

Thursday, July 4

Jared and I actually left Florida on Wednesday afternoon and drove up to Asheville, about 1 hour from the cabin. On Thursday morning, we went to the Biltmore Estate in Asheville to celebrate the 4th.

Jared and I had both been to the Biltmore years ago when we were little and neither of us had been back since. I love visiting historical sites, especially big, pretty mansions. First, we went on a tour inside the house which was absolutely beautiful.

Unfortunately, it was raining on and off all day, but I was not about to let that stop me from dressing festive for the holiday. Just had to add rain boots :)

We spent the afternoon frolicking around the gardens and grounds of the estate.

  

I know Jared just loves it when I make him pull the car over so I can pose in front of something. He's such a wonderful husband.

We were eager to finish our house tour, escape the crowds and get on over to the winery. First, we went on a tour of the winery and learned all about how they make their wines on the property. After the tour, it was time for a tasting!

They make 25 different wines on the property at the Biltmore and at the tasting they invited us to try and many as we wanted. Wait, you are actually allowing people to sample 25 glasses of wine for free? That sounds like a challenge that I will gladly accept. Ok, so I didn't actually try all 25 of them. We decided to divide and conquer. We split the list in half, Jared tried the reds and I tried the whites. It was a glorious afternoon.

Of course, I now see that this "try 25 wines" promotion is just a way to get you drunk enough to buy all of their wine. Well, it totally worked. Well played Biltmore, well played.

We left Asheville and made our way up to the Smoky Mountains. Once we hit the mountain road that takes us up to the cabin, we ride with the windows down to take in that mountain air. Rain or shine. It's a family tradition.

We finally arrived at the cabin and I was so ready for a relaxing weekend with no distractions. Yes, the cabin has electricity and running water, but that is about it. No air conditioning. No television. No internet. No cell phone signal. Surrounded by nature, it is so quiet and wonderful.

I told you it was rustic. I may have forgotten how rustic. After a little sweeping, dusting and some Clorox, it was ready to be inhabited by this girl for the next 4 days. 

I love the country, mountain decor inside the cabin. It makes it feel so cozy and it looks pretty much the same as it has for the past 27 years.

My favorite part of the cabin is relaxing in this swing on the porch with a beverage listening to the creek.