Last drive through the Great Smokey Mountains

A mother black bear with two cubs.

There were several tunnels.

While it was 99 degrees Fahrenheit (37 Celsius) at home in south Arkansas, we mostly had 75 degrees Fahrenheit (24 Celsius) while camping, with lows near 60 degrees Fahrenheit (16 Celsius).

Clingmans Dome, North Carolina

Another place we went to was called, 'Clingmans Dome'. This is the second highest elevation in the eastern half of the United States. Our home town, Camden, Arkansas, is at 200 feet above sea level. Our campsite in the Great Smokey Mountains, is at 2,100 feet above sea level. Clingmans Dome is at 6,900 feet above sea level. Most the elevation change can be done be car, leaving only about a half mile hike to the overlook. The hike is paved, but fairly steep. I started out, but realized quickly that I wasn't going to make it, so Destiny went to the top. Unfortunately, she deleted the pictures she took at the top.

While she was hiking to the top to take pictures, all the tourist at the parking area were treated to a visit by a black bear. Black bears are extremely common in the Great Smoky Mountains, and most tourist hope to see at least one on their visit.

The biggest problem with bears, isn't bears at all; it's the visitors. Visitors leave food or trash out, which the bears smell. That by itself still isn't much of a problem, except that when bears get used to human food, or even human trash, they continue to come around. And then when people get too close to the bears, or try to make them go away, this leads to either people getting hurt, or the bears having to be moved to a different location they aren't familiar with, which can lead to the bears dying. In the worst case, bears attack people because the bears are scared, and then the bears are destroyed.

Cades Cove

One of the places we visited is called, 'Cades Cove'.

It is about an 11 mile loop nestled in the Great Smokey Mountains, and dotted along the drive, are many historical old buildings. The Ephraim Bales cabin was the only one we stopped at. It was very interesting.

Driving through the Great Smokey Mountains.

Driving through the Great Smokey Mountains always provided incredible views of nature: mountains, valleys, creeks, waterfalls, and forest.

Laurel Falls

Laurel Falls trail was only about 15 minutes from our camp. The trail itself was not too steep or difficult, and the temperature and humidity weren't bad. I am not used to doing very much activity in my daily life now, and keeping in mind that I am in my mid 50's, plus being quite heavy, this 1.25 mile hike was about the limit of what I can do. Although, I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Both sides of the mountain road, in either direction from this trail, were very congested with tourist parking. And we must have seen at least a couple of thousand people along the trail, including many people visiting the United States from other countries.

Great Smokey Mountains, Elkmont Campground, Tennessee

We loaded up the trailer with our camping gear, and also took our bikes, for a week long vacation in the Great Smokey Mountains, in Tennessee.

We split the long drive into two days by staying in a hotel the first night in Jackson, Tennessee, about halfway. We arrived at Elkmont Campground the second day, and setup camp.

HERE is a link to another video, done by a YouTuber, with more information about this area of the Great Smokey Mountains.