https://youtu.be/cpNjcd2NnNE
The sun shone through the windshield that morning with a perfection that can only be seen through the eyes of someone desperately needing a break after a long work week. The moment my tires hit the pavement of the Smoky Mountain National Park was the moment I felt a ton of bricks lift off of me and I knew ADVENTURE was just around every corner. The first thing I noticed was how GREEN the trees were that day. There is little more soothing than the smell of the forest including the whiffs of lavender that are usually constant in the air.
From the main entrance to the National Park in Gatlinburg, it took us a good 45 minutes to drive to Cades Cove- all the while we got to embellish in the scenery as well as my favorite downloaded song list- if you have never driven in the mountains to the perfect soundtrack, you are surely missing out!
Once at the end of the drive we went straight to the registration office to sign in and off to the campsite we went! I have been dreaming a lot about pop-up campers lately and it was all my pleasure to be surrounded by them while camping. Our neighbors at the site next to us were very friendly and even gave us home grown tomatoes YUM!
We hit the famous 11-mile loop- although safety is our number one priority always in the park, we felt a sense of freedom you can't get at home or in even a small-town driving with the windows down and the kids standing up in the van peeking out of the windows. The wide-open mountain range is very inviting, and I swear on the edge of the wind I can hear it call my name. Although you can't legally stay there forever - the time that is spent there, within the moment, is forever to me.
While there we saw cabins, horses and black bears and by the time we got done with lunch and hiking it was 7:00 PM and time to wind it down. We all got cozy in the van and slept- and then went home the next morning, not that we wanted to.
Living so close to the mountains gives us almost a daily advantage of experiencing nature at its best. Everything we did in the park cost 24 dollars- that was 1 night camping fee. Everything else as far as food and Gas goes - we brough the food from home and Gas is a given regardless.
Dreamy camping vacation 24 dollars.
Travel On The Cheap People! Keeping watching for more fun cheap adventures.
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