Cumberland Gap National Historic Park

Trips home always need a good detour. Detour number one for this trip was the Applewood Farmhouse Restaurant.  This place was amazing, though maybe a little over indulgent before a long drive.  I was sad that during breakfast I had to try and restrain myself knowing we were planning detour two at another national park.  This place GIVES you (as in no extra charge) apple fritters, apple muffins, and an apple julep.  After that your breakfast includes unlimited biscuits, gravy, grits, potatoes, and spiced apples.  I would move to the south just for their breakfasts.  This place was seriously fantastic.  All that food does kind of sits like lead in your stomach, but it tastes so good. 

So after the 3000 calorie breakfast we went about an hour out of the way to see Cumberland Gap National Historic Park.  This park is on the far eastern side of Kentucky.  It is pretty much opposite of where Lake Cumberland is located.  I wish we’d had more time at this park.  Unlike the bigger parks, which sometimes feel overwhelming with the crowds, this place was quiet and simply beautiful.  Cumberland Gap does not apparently attract the spring breakers.  We were able to walk on a trail that took us to the point where Kentucky, Tennessee and Virginia meet.  We earned a serious nerd badge here for taking lots of pictures of us laying across three states.  Hopefully this will help my kids have a better sense of geography than I do.  After we walked we drove to a higher point in the park where we could look out over the states again and look down on the trail we just finished.  I’d love to go back for the guided tours of a cave located on the opposite side of the park.  When we went to have the girls sworn in as junior rangers we were told about festivals and summer programs.  It would definitely be worth a trip back.

The three girls in all three states.

You have to go here!!!!

Isn't there a way to go over not through?

Wish I could remember what state is behind them.

More pictures with signs.

Gabby in three states.

Lottie in three states.

Posing on the Daniel Boone Memorial.

There may have been something significant about this spot, but I don't see a sign?

Genius

Second badge for a two day trip!

Heading to Maine on the AT

We only had one full day in Gatlinburg and intended to make the most of it.  We got up early and had some leftover Tombstone pizza, which my kids may not have ever had before and may never have again.  We made it to the Newfound Gap before 900am and it wasn’t too crowded yet.  We were going to hike the Appalachian Trail, or at least a couple of miles of it.  We took obligatory pictures in front of the sign that said how far it would be to Maine and the plaque for the Rockefellers.  We hiked about an hour out towards Maine, which meant we were about 1970 miles short of the end.  At that point we were taking too many risks with the youngest member of our party who was suffering some intestinal distress and claiming to need a bathroom.  I wasn't trying to call her bluff.  By the time we made it back to the facilities the foot traffic was picking up.  It is kind of odd to me that people start their hikes so late in the morning. 
From Newfound Gap we headed down to Oconaluftee Visitor Center.  We wanted to see the old buildings and say we made it into North Carolina.  The ranger in the visitor center scared Gabby by drawing lots of attention to the kid in there being sworn in as a junior ranger.  She made him stand in front of everyone and then yelled for everyone’s attention as she made him say the pledge.  Lottie was in awe and Gabby wanted to puke.  We strolled around the little village and finished the junior ranger books.  Gabby at first refused to turn her’s in.  The ranger got her to say that she’d prefer a more minimalist swearing in.  Lottie requested as much attention as she could get.  We checked another badge off our list. 
We tried to rush over to the Cherokee Reservation and fit in a trip to the museum, but by the time we got there we realized it probably wouldn’t be worth paying to get in for the brief time we had left.  We had to get home in time for dinner in downtown Gatlinburg, which is of course a whole different kind of cultural experience. 
I wasn’t quite sure we were going to make it to dinner after we had to back out of a parking lot that would only take cash, but luckily we found street parking behind the main drag.  Dinner at Smoky Mountain Brewery was fair.  Ice cream at Kilwin’s was delicious.  Free tastes of moonshine was totally Gatlinburg.  We once again crammed everything in.  The Grizwold spirit is alive within us. 

Time to get up!!!!

We like a two-for

We are really holding him back from his dreams of completing the whole thing.

We must take pictures with EVERY sign or plaque.

Holding their own.

A simple ceremony

LOOK AT ME!!!!!!

Kilwin's selfies

Kilwin's selfie #2

This is as close as these kids are getting to Ripley's.

Gatlinburg By Way of Keeneland

Since we were leaving bright and early, but couldn't check into our "chalet" until 4:00pm, we made a small pit stop in Keeneland.  I've never been there for actual races, but according to a list of free things to do in Lexington we could see the horses practicing from 6:00am until 10:00am.  Had it been about 15 degrees warmer I really think the girls would've been interested in this, but sadly it was freezing.  Luckily any disappointment over the horses races was washed away by a super cheap breakfast at the Track Kitchen which included grits and biscuits and gravy!
Even with our brief stop, we still got to the Great Smoky Mountain National Park in time to purchase junior ranger books and hike a couple miles.  It's hard to complain about paying $3 for the ranger books when the whole park is free.  We watched the movie about how the park came to be.  We stared at the taxidermy in the museum.  Finally, we set off for Cataract Falls.  We opted for the long way to the falls so we could check out one of the historic buildings on the trail.  This gave Dan and Lottie an opportunity to scare the living daylights out of Gabby and me.  This particular waterfall wasn't super impressive, but the walk was lovely.  We tried to go a little past the falls but not everyone was really on board for that plan.  We accepted defeat and turned around.  The next stop was Food City to stock up on junk food for dinner.  Our rental property, the Sugar Shack, was a pretty standard a-frame. It was delightfully easy to find from town.  The drive up the hill to the property was far less treacherous than some in the area.  All major pluses since we were completely exhausted.

Waiting for the horses to come by.

They had to be still for a while so I could get a horse in the background.

Grits, eggs, biscuits and gravy.  Southern breakfasts are AMAZING!

She loves grits too!

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Thank goodness for those tumbling lessons.

Dan still laughing about jumping out from behind the door and scaring us.

Lottie only runs up hill.  Walking on flat land she does nothing but complain.  RIDICULOUS!

Warm and cozy

Sugar shack.

The Journey through Nevada and Idaho with a Craters of the Moon Pit Stop

The next morning we were of course running behind schedule for what would be the longest drive of our trip.  We left Reno around 630am and didn’t end up at our resting place for the night until probably close to 800pm, although that may have been with some sort of time change.  Either way it was a LONG day.  Nevada is a fascinating state for the first couple hours and then you just kind of start to go crazy.  The speed limit needs to be about 100mph (then maybe we wouldn’t have gotten that wretched speeding ticket).  We made it through safely and avoided my worst fear of this trip which was breaking down in the desert with no water, so speeding ticket aside we’ll say it was a success.  Once we got into Idaho the scenery began to change.  Despite being behind schedule we still decided to go to Craters of the Moon National Monument “on our way” to Idaho Falls where we’d be staying for the night.  We were all glad we did.  The girls got their first junior ranger books although we have to mail them in because we didn’t have time to finish them in the park.  They also got their first stamp in their National Park Passport Book.  We also got to hike through lava fields where the temperature was easily in the 90s and then climb down into caves where there was still ice on the ground.  It was the first of many dramatic temperature differences we experienced on this trip.  I don’t know that I’d make a trip just to see this park, but if it’s “on your way” to somewhere it is well worth it!

After our quick visit we went to stay in what was according to Gabby the nicest hotel of the trip.  Compared to the gambling towns I’d have to say I agree.  It definitely had the freshest air.  Idaho Falls is clearly where lots of people start and end their journey to Yellowstone.  I can’t really think of another reason to be there, although the people were nice and they have a lot of impressive monuments in the town.  Staying here put us a few hours from Yellowstone, so we could get there shortly after “check-in” (I feel like there should be a term specific to campgrounds) even with getting stuck in traffic and stopping in a West Yellowstone liquor store.  Normal people probably hang out there and eat or shop at touristy shops, but we needed to set up camp so none of that for us.

The steps leading down into the first cave.  This was was pretty open and everyone was happier. 

Posing in the cave of course

Some of us had an easier time than others squeezing through these openings.

Ice!!!!!

Gabby doesn't like dark or enclosed spaces and was about reaching her limit in the caves.

Some person behind us had to point out that we were matching :(  It was totally not intentional...at least not this time.

Crazy looking place.

The Beginning

On day one of what may be the craziest trip we’ve taken yet the girls and I set out for the airport at 330am.  By some miracle both of our flights were running early and we got to San Francisco about an hour ahead of schedule.  We picked up our Chevy Impala and headed to our friends’ house.  These are the friends who made the camping portion of this trip possible. 
We started off considering a visit to San Francisco and then possibly camping at Yosemite.  At some point we considered driving across the country and stopping in places like the Badlands and Mt. Rushmore.  Because I didn’t want to risk my van dying or pay the exorbitant fees to return a car to a different state the cross country drive got the axe.  Yosemite also got crossed off the list because you can’t reserve campsites in advance and it seemed slightly less little kid friendly.  So instead we (maybe just this half of we) decided to still start in San Francisco to take advantage of our friends’ kind offer and then make a loop through the west stopping at as many national parks as we could.  At the end we would stay for a few days in San Francisco, so I could balance out all the time in nature.  We would do all this over two weeks with an estimated 2200 miles of driving. 
Our first day in San Francisco consisted of trying to shop for groceries and supplies and organize a U-Hauls worth of gear and luggage into a standard size car.  Again thank goodness for amazing friends, because I don’t know that Gabby and Lottie would’ve really been able to see me through this process.  In the end we made it work since thankfully the people in the back of the car didn’t require as much leg room. 
After a fantastic dinner and some time spent catching up we headed to bed so we could be up bright and early for our first destination.

This totally looks reasonable.  Right?

Traveling superstars!

Unflattering pictures of mom = airport entertainment

Miracle!

This one didn't last long, but points for a catnap.

These kids can step it up when they have to!!!