On our way to Gatlinburg, we drove through the Great Smokey Mountain National Park. The drive through the park is beautiful and offers a lot of places to pull over and enjoy the view. That is if you are privileged with a view. As we drove more and thicker clouds moved in to the area. We didn't have much rain, but we were IN the clouds.
My main destination in the park to visit was Clingmans Dome. This is the highest point in the park and also the spot of an awesome look-out tower. As I drove higher, the view grew shorter. We went anyway because we were on a tight schedule and wouldn't be able to back this year.
Surprisingly, we weren't the only ones willing to fight the uphill hike to the tower submerged in fog. The hike is fairly short but very steep. This did not make my children happy. There was much complaining and claims of broken legs as I forced them up the hill. Along the way, we passed a father and two children coming down the hill. His kids were equipped with hiking poles and backpacks. They were smiling as they followed the path. Why does his kids enjoy hiking so much that they will carry packs with a smile, yet mine declare hiking equal to torture?
Eventually, we made it to the top and climbed the spiral path to the top of the tower. Of course the view from up here was white and grey. It was still a beautiful place to be and someday I will return to see the mountains that follow below this point.
On the way down, I asked the kids if the hike was worth getting to the top. The boy shot a look back at me like I had lost my mind. "I didn't see anything.", he declared.
"Smokey Mountains", I informed him.
"They sure had that name right", he answered.
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