The mountains are calling...

The ocean is our first love, but the mountains, they run a close second.  After several months apart the pull is there, the need to go.  And so we did...

After a wonderful night's sleep in Cherokee (hehe), we headed off to spend the day in the Smoky Mountains.  But first, food...  Upon the recommendations of a good friend (thanks B.!), we drove over to Bryson City to pick up a picnic lunch to take with us.  Ya'll, seriously, The Filling Station Deli is worth going out of your way for.  Cuban sandwiches, sweet tater fries, and the biggest richest brownies evah.  Mmm...

We set Cades Cove (one of our all time favorite spots) as the destination for the day, but we didn't rush the drive over.  We took our time, enjoying the scenery and several stops along the way...

their "look, i'm in two states at one time" pose ;)

The kids had wanted to play in a mountain stream.  We found the perfect one...

the boys...always wandering farther and farther away...

When they'd had their fill of the rocks and water, we got back on the road.  We drove and drove and drove, Cades Cove is way on the other side of the mountains.  Just before we got to the cove, we came to a group of cars parked along the highway with people standing and staring into the trees.  Ya'll know in the mountains that means one thing:  wildlife sighting.  Of course we had to check it out :).  We had to park up the road a little ways and walk back...and then we saw them...

Baby bears all snuggled up in a tree!

There was a Park Ranger there, keeping everything safe, and she was happy to fill us in on the details.  What she told us was that there was a momma bear just out of our sight at the bottom of the hill.  The momma bear had her three little baby bears with her...two up in the tree and one down below that she was feeding.  The Ranger said that the momma had been feeding one baby at a time while the other two hung out in the tree, then she'd call them down and they'd swap turns. 

We stayed there for a while, hoping to see them climb down/up, but they never did.  Oh well, that's ok.  They sure were cute little things :)...

There's a campground just outside of the cove.  We've never stayed there, so we pulled in to check it out.  Wow!  It was beautiful...definitely one to come back to someday...

Ok, finally, we pulled into the cove.  There is a one-way road that loops around and takes you to quite a few old structures that have been preserved.  I recommend getting the little tour booklet at the beginning.  It's worth the small fee and it gives a great history of each stop along the drive.

This place is just super special.  When you visit, it really feels like you have taken a step back in time...

i <3 honeysuckle

We've been coming here for many years and it never fails to impress...

can you still spot the deer in this picture?...

...they could :).  My little photographers :)

By the time we got all the way around the loop (and stopped about 100 times), it was getting dark.  We made it out of the park just ahead of what looked to be a big storm that was heading our way.  Hoping to stay ahead of it (driving at night in the rain is the worst), we spotted a Sonic and pulled in to grab a quick something to go.  While the kids all hopped out to use the facilities, I stayed behind to order our food.  The kids all still had full drinks, so I just ordered one Route 44 Diet Dr. Pepper (yep, the giant soda) for me and then two corn dogs a piece for each of us.  One giant drink and a dozen corn dogs.  Annnd, I was still the only person sitting in the car when it was delivered.  Ha ha, kids.  Sooo funny ;)!  (actually, it was pretty funny...hehehe...)