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2020 Vacation Day Eleven

July 23, 2020

2020 Vacation Day Eleven Adventure: Appalachian Trail to Laurel Falls. Roan Mountain State Park: Peg Leg Mine Trail and Cloudland Nature Loop.

This is also part of the Appalachian Trail to Laurel Falls.
The trail went by a creek.
There were several spots where we could get close.
Luna does not like us to be separated.
Friends help friends 😊.
The rock features were nice in a few sections of the trail.
A few bridges too.
A nice place to relax!
A steep climb up.
↙️ Laurel Falls.
A steep and long climb down.
To this beautiful waterfall!!
Happy 💕.
Fun!
Building a cairn is relaxing.
Luna was relaxing too after that long steep climb.
One last look!
Back up…
Lizzy took the lead up.
Luna did great!
Very nice adventure!
Adventure #2.
We will start with the Peg Leg Trail.
At the observation deck first, but the foliage was too overgrown to see any of the mining paths.
Lizzy ran ahead to the mine.
The entrance is open, but the mine inside was blocked off.
We made our way in.
Inside the mine.
Heading back to go to the next trail.
Off to Cloudland Nature Loop.
This is supposed to be an interpretive trail, however the brochure for the trail is at the visitors center which is closed. So we had to do our own interpreting.
A couple of obstacles along the way.
It had been raining so it was a little muddy.
Then we got caught in the rain! Dad went and got our umbrellas and escorted each of us to the car.
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2020 Vacation Day Ten

July 22, 2020

2020 Vacation Day Ten Adventure: Appalachian Trail – US 19E to Hump Mountain. 12.3 miles!

Back on the Appalachian Trail 😊.
Beautiful trail on a beautiful day!
The A.T.
Unnecessary (at least today) bridge.
Pretty.
Great place to take a break.
And explore.
The trail was a steady incline the entire way with some interesting features.
We went from Tennessee into North Carolina on the way up (vice versa on the way back).
Mountain views!
Beautiful!!
Flowers too!
Friendly bee.
Gorgeous!
Along the trail.
More flowers too enjoy!
Out onto the open climb up the mountain.
Just beautiful!
That top peak is our destination!
The views were amazing!
Mom ran up to the top and Luna caught up to her.
Spectacular! Mom said it literally brought tears to her eyes.
Mountains in every direction.
Happy is an understatement!
Enjoying the wild flowers on the way back down.
Rest break!
We hiked over 12 miles!!
A fantastic adventure on the Appalachian Trail!
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2020 Vacation Day Nine

July 21, 2020

2020 Vacation Day Nine Adventure: Appalachian Trail – Oliver Hallow Road to Watauga Dam (5.5 miles).

First hike on the Appalachian Trail.
Mom has been rather obsessed with the Appalachian Trail for a few years now with plans to someday section hike (not through hike) the entire 2,190 mile trail. She was super excited to be hiking on this trail with it’s iconic white blazes.
The Watauga lake was visible (and accessible) for a large portion of this hike.
We suspect there is usually more water in this section. We took the bridge regardless. As I have previously stated, Mom really likes bridges.
More beautiful views.
Exploring.
Rachel loves the mountains.
Our first sight of the dam.
First we had to take the road up.
Mom HAD to stop to take a pic at this sign.
Beautiful!
Enjoying the view!
The girls saw this rope swing on the way up so we had to stop and try it out on the way back. Lizzy was super brave!
Rachel’s turn!
Diving in!
Swinging and jumping in too!
The swimming area had a clay bottom and Patricia liked this spot for relaxing.
We had some visitors.
They were not shy.
We decided to get back on the trail. We stopped along the way back here for a rest break.
Bear warning (from 2017).
Super fun adventure and everyone was happy!!

Off to our AirBnb:

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2020 Vacation Day Eight

July 20, 2020

2020 Vacation Day Eight Adventure: Rattlesnake Ridge Trail to Dick Creek Falls, Cherokee National Forest, TN. – 7 1/2 miles!

This is our second hike right from our campground! This time we will take Rattlesnake Ridge Trail up to Dick Creek Falls.
Off we go!
The creek was a little less present throughout this hike (only a few crossings).
Up we went to . . .
This beautiful view!
Through the mostly quiet woods (buzzing bees).
Onto a rocky road.
Passed a very large mushroom.
Back by the stream.
Easy river crossings.
Passed a large toad.
To the top of the first waterfall.
A climb down and here she is!
Beautiful!
Happy 💕.
The happy explorer!
Now that’s a big snail!
We came upon a campsite that was unfortunately left a mess with trash.
It became obvious that some hunters were here previously because there was a board with bullet holes and we found bullet casings.
No shell on this snail.
We made it to the top of the second waterfall.
We had quite a climb across the edge of the top of the waterfall and down this crevice to get to the waterfall.
Well worth the effort!
The explorers!
The happy couple 💕.
A view from the side.
Friendly caterpillar.
Lizzy acting out her dramatic experience of nearly falling at the downed tree crossing.
Blackberries galore!
This was a 7 1/2 mile adventure today! The longest so far.
*Mom and Dad were a little annoyed at one of the girls who decided to go too far ahead on the way down the trail out of eye and earshot (hence a few less smiles).

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2020 Vacation Day Seven

July 19, 2020

2020 Vacation Day Seven Adventure: Rock Creek Falls, Cherokee National Forest, TN.

Rock Creek Trail. The trail was right in our campground!
Looks like she’s ready to go!!
Nice looking trail.
Very big snail!
Looks like a pretty old sign.
We had several creek crossings today.
We got this down now!
Beautiful creek along the trail.
This is off trail – she is really enjoying climbing!
Beautiful.
Sliding down the cascades is fun too.
We made it to the first waterfall!
A great place to kick back and relax.
Or climb!
A little bit further up the trail to waterfall #2
Beautiful!
Mom and Dad went off on an adventure and climbed to the top of the waterfall. They said it was quite challenging. Happy parents.
We had a good little hike with two nice waterfalls!
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2020 Vacation Day Six

July 18, 2020

2020 Vacation Day Six Adventure: Sill Branch Falls and Pineridge Falls on the Long Arm Branch Trail Cherokee National Forest, TN.

Looking forward to a short easy hike to a waterfall.
Trailhead was easy to find and the trail looks good so far.
Nice creek run along the trail.
Very easy creek crossings.
Waterfall!
The welcoming butterfly.
Up close and personal with the waterfall.
Ready to head back.
That was a very easy hike and nice little but tall waterfall.
Ready for another hike!
Easy trail.
Short hike to the waterfall.
Climbing on top of the falls is fun.
Very nice place to relax.
Climber #2.
Swinging vines right at the waterfall.
Salamander! We also saw a snake on the trail out (this makes five snakes total so far on our vacation adventures).
Easy hikes, nice waterfalls, everyone is happy!
We will camp here for the next three nights.
Setting up camp was fun.
Everyone pitched in.
Even the rookie camper gave it a whack.
We had it set up in no time!
So we had time to go to the swimming hole.
Fun day!!
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2020 Vacation Day Five

July 17, 2020

2020 Vacation Day Five Adventure: Conasauga Falls, Bald River Falls and Panther Branch Trail Cherokee National Forest, TN.

Ready for the 1.3 mile Conasauga Falls trail.
Looks very inviting!
Easy down hill all the way.
Beautiful cascades along the way.
The falls!!
Time to cool off . . .
and explore!
Mom saw an otter!
Time to relax and enjoy the view.
Very happy 😊.
These were in the area at the falls.
There were plenty of blackberries too!
Uphill climb all the way back.
Nice hike and beautiful falls!
We happened upon this place on our drive to the next trail.
Wow! Right on the side of the road!
Waterfall joy.
Standing in the sun for our next trail pic 
The Panther Branch trailhead is across the bridge,
and then a short distance down the creek.
This 4.1 mile trail had quite a few little creek crossings.
A lot of overgrown foliage.
Some pretty flowers.
Down trees.
More down trees.
We almost gave up on finding the waterfall. We were on our way back when we heard the waterfall but we couldn’t see it and there was no path to it. So we made our own path and found this!
Not a huge waterfall, but still nice.
We enjoyed the reprieve from the overgrown trail at the waterfall.
When Mom and Dad went down (before they brought us) to check out the waterfall Dad stepped in a very deep mud bath. We decided to purposely go in the mud!
We were happy to have actually found a waterfall for all the effort this trail required. That was quite an adventure!
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2020 Vacation Day Four

July 16, 2020

2020 Vacation Day Four Adventure: Coker Creek Falls, Cherokee National Forest, TN:

All rested and ready for an adventure!
This is a 6 mile round trip today.
Snake!
A quarter mile later a snake skin.
This downed tree was a challenge. The trail was narrow with a cliff drop on one side and rock wall on the other for the majority of the hike. With the tree down it was impossible to see the trail. Dad cleared a bit of the debris so we could all climb up and over and then under to the trail on the other side. We all made it safely!
A small portion of the hike was out in the open sun and it was hot today!!
Portions were steep and tiring.
We took some breaks along the way 😊.
Then we came to the first set of waterfalls. Beautiful!
We played, explored and cooled off in the water!
One last look at this beauty.
Then it was just a short hike up to this waterfall!!
A little further to this waterfall!!!
Finally to this waterfall!!!!
Relaxing together 💕
We tackled the down tree again on the way back.
We had a wonderful adventure today!
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2020 Vacation Day Three

July 15, 2020

2020 Vacation Day Three Adventure: Lowery Falls and Gee Creek Falls, Cherokee National Forest, TN.

We found the trailhead and everybody is happy 😊.
This is a short hike (less than a mile) but it is supposed to be steep and rocky.
We found a nice rock formation right away.
We jumped off the trail onto the little cascades.
Lots of little cascades along the way.
There was a little bit of work here and there with some branches and trees down.
Luna wasn’t so sure about climbing up here.
This hike turned out to be a little challenging with steep climbs and lots of rocks. We made it back down and ready to go for some more adventures.
We stopped here for some wading.
It was a beautiful spot and we had it all to ourselves.
I was poised with the camera waiting for a splash 💦.
Now for hike #2 at Gee Creek Trail.
A nice bridge to cross (although we had several river crossing along this trail with no other bridges to assist with crossing).
Our happy hiking Patricia!
Beautiful cascades along the entire trail.
Our first of several waterfalls.
Climbing is a must.
We made it to the top!
Another beautiful waterfall with an awesome swimming hole (we will go in on our way back).
This bug is looking at you! We also saw a baby rattlesnake!
Conquering fears crossing the water on a big log.
Pretty little waterfall.
Is that a snake behind you mom?! Nope false alarm just a stick.
More climbing!
Back at the swimming hole!
The water is cool . . .
But refreshing!!
Lots of rock hopping water crossings.
Jump!!
One last look at this beautiful double waterfall!
We definitely had adventurous experiences on this hike!
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2020 Vacation Day Two

July 14, 2020

2020 Vacation Day Two Adventure: Rock Creek Falls and Benton Falls, Cherokee National Forest.

Ready for the first hike of the day to Rock Creek Falls.
We will stick with the 1.7 mile trail.
Easy trail and not too hot yet.
The creek was along the trail at various points.
Our first creek crossing! Luna is not so sure about this because she is not a big fan of water 😟.
No problem. We didn’t even have to take off our shoes and no one got wet!

Beautiful Rock Creek Falls.
We climbed down to explore.
We really enjoyed exploring here.
Conquered some climbing fears.
Luna kept a watchful eye on them.
There was a smaller waterfall down below.
We had a bit of a hike so we decided to eat lunch, rest up, and drive to our next hike.
Along the way we stopped at an overlook on a (small) mountain. The girls were so excited to have cell service!!
Beautiful view.
Ready for hike #2 of the day.
Off to Benton Falls.
A 1.5 mile easy hike brought us here!
A great place to explore.
Happy Mom!

A full day of adventure!
Yup, they are all knocked out 😴💤.