So Sweet Sweet and I left Coldiz Cove and were on our way to our final destination, the Great Smokey Mountains. Although there were plenty of interesting things to comment about along the way, perhaps the most interesting thing was a town called Pigeon Forge, which is just 5 miles or so out of Gatlinburg, which is were we were staying (Gatlinburg is right next to the park). Without sounding like an ass, Pigeon Forge has more crap per square inch than any place I’ve ever seen. It is a bastion of restaurants and shows and putt-putt and go-kart rides and stuff. It was amazing and Sweet Sweet and I promised that we would take pictures of all of the crap on our way back through town. Unfortunately, that didn’t happy because we got up so early when we eventually left, but trust me, it’s awful.
So we made our way to Gatinburg and due to traffic just getting from Pigeon Forge, it added another hour to our trip. We kept hoping that once we got to the Great Smokey Mountains (GSM) there’d be fewer people.
Sweet Sweet and I drive through town, past our motel, and decide that we need to get out of the car and do something. Thus, we decide to take the Cade’s Cove driving loop, and although we’re still in our car we enjoyed ourselves.
Perhaps the most interesting thing was the fences and although I didn’t take pictures of it, someone had recently baled hay.
Sweet Sweet walking up to some cabin where we were told there was a black bear.
Wait, do you see it?
Is it Bigfoot?
There he is.
Pretty amazing views:
So, there’s this old mill that’s a fairly major stop along the way and wanting to walk around a bit, Sweet Sweet and I stop to look around. So there’s this old barn and Sweet Sweet thought it would be funny (and it was) to do a yearbook pose:
Part of the mill:
It was getting to be dusk and there were lots of deer out and about:
Here’s the only problem with Cades Cove loop. You can’t pass people, so if some one wants to watch a deer, that’s right, a freaking deer for 10 minutes, there’s nothing you can do to pass them. Thus, you end up with these people, who I assume are all from the city and have never seen a deer, pointing and staring at a deer. It was frustrating to say the least.
After finishing Cades Cove we headed to the motel to shower-up, grab some dinner and a few beers. It was a good way to end the day.
Seek The Substantial 
Hey Miranda, it’s Jenn. I ran across this somehow searching for something else. How have you been? From the looks of your pictures, it looks like you have been traveling. Are you still teaching in Quinlan?
I’ve been great! How about you? I will actually be teaching at the high school in Kaufman next year. Are you still teaching in Kaufman? At the junior high?
I am still at the junior high teaching Math. That is awesome that you will be back in Kaufman. What are you going to be teaching? We need to get together sometime. We really do not do anything with anyone other than family. It is so nice to talk to you. I haven’t talked to anyone in so long. Do you email addresses for anyone by any chance?
I’m really excited about the new job…I’ll be teaching Chemistry. I would love to get together sometime. My email is miranda_jungman@yahoo.com. Shoot me and email and I’ll forward you all of the email addresses I have and we can also talk about getting together soon.