Spring Break 2022- Great Smoky Mountains National Park (Part 1)

For the first weekend of Spring Break we rented a cabin in the Smoky Mountains with the Dunn's. We didn't plan this until a day before we left! There was a lot of snow expected in Nashville early on Saturday morning. We thought it would be a mess to try and drive in the snow with everyone else leaving for spring break, so we quickly packed on Friday morning and headed out after school. We arrived pretty late in Sevierville. The kids were excited to see the cabin. I think they counted 90 bears throughout the whole cabin!

We were pretty snowed in on Saturday so we just played in the house and spent a lot of time in the hot tub. 

 

Conor participated in some kind of ice challenge. It looked like an awful idea to me! 

On Sunday we hiked Laurel Falls with the Dunn's and Brumfield's. The trail was fine for most of the way, but as we got towards the top it became very icy. A lot of people turned around but we attempted it. There were definitely a few falls from the younger ones. It was really crowded at the top and pure ice, so we snapped a very quick picture and tried to make our way back down. Caitie was pretty nervous about the ice and was in no mood to smile. 

We enjoyed a delicious lunch by the fire after a pretty cold hike! After lunch we made it to our usual spot at the Gatlinburg Trail. I love seeing these pictures over the years of my littles! 

We hung out in the hot tub for the rest of the night and then roasted s'mores by the fire. 

The next morning as we were packing up the car we heard a neighbor yell that there was a bear really close. It was just steps away from us! Since we were packing up food, we threw it in the car and ran inside. Unfortunately, I left my phone in the car with the food so I didn't get any great pictures. The bear was right outside on our porch and was a little bit scary! 

Michael took this picture of the bear right as he crossed back over the driveway to the cabin. 

It was such a fun weekend and I am so glad we decided to make it work last minute!