Poor Austiner barely kept a-stand his shed,
Then one day he was nappin' and a-dreaming,
Said come on hon' let's do a little streamin'
Airstreamin' that is,
Bambi style, Eastcoast bound
So we loaded up the Ford F-150 pretty much exactly like the Clampetts except with the Bambi in tow instead of Granny and headed out east not so much to check out hillbillies per se just some actual hills, like the Smokies and the Adirondacks. The truly sad part about comparing myself to the Clampetts is that I now realize I am probably closer in age to Granny than Ellie Mae.
But first, we made an overnight stop right outside Little Rock, Ark. at an RV spot right next to the Arkansas River. Nothing special about the place except that it was within walking distance of the Clinton Presidential Library and downtown Little Rock.
Just gettin' started, look how sparkly, shiny the Bambi is
A quick jog over the Arkansas River to the Presidential Library
The library was definitely worth a visit but Fred and I were scratching our heads over the dinosaur exhibit. I mean nothing defines the Clinton administration quite like the Mesozoic Era???
Any Monica exhibits inside? Hey, settle down now
Touring libraries without books can really work up an appetite so we went in search of dinner. A quick tour of a two block area yielded fried pickles, fried catfish, fried grits, fried hushpuppies, fried pies and......wait for it.
Fried Salad
Don't ever change Arkansas
Arkansas to Huntsville, Alabama
We spent three lovely days with my sister and her family touring around Huntsville visiting the botanical gardens and space museum and provisioning for the upcoming Smoky Mountain National Park portion of the trip.
Botanical Garden was bursting with field of wildflowers
They were having a lego exhibit with some pretty over the top projects like life sized buffalo and giant hummingbirds and butterflies but these were my favorite.
Huge lilly pads with koi and frog
Fred visited the Space Museum while I shopped for antiques with my sister. This was his favorite of all the rockets, space shuttles, jet engines, etc.
Airstream mobile quarantine facility
Enjoyed the hell out of our visit with the fam, well until I found this on my sister's bookshelf.
Very funny, sister dear
Huntsville to Great Smoky Mountains National Park - Day 1
Vacation 2015 is on in earnest and with that comes the most awesome responsibility of the trip.
The photographing of Fred in front of signs
Our first order of business was to buy a tee shirt, pick a campsite, make dinner and pick a hike for early the next morning. Not too early though, because despite what you might have learned in Biology class it isn't language that separates us from the lower vertebrates, it's a tidy camper and a well-made bed.
Cowboy casserole for dinner
Easy hike to Laurel Falls
Laurel Falls
I have a theory about waterfalls. Recent finds in the fossil record indicate that human beings are patently incapable of not photographing water tumbling down rock slopes. Even if you have photos of hundreds of waterfalls and don't plan on taking another one you will do it anyway. You'll look at it and think nah it's not that impressive but then the waterfall will whisper to you and you will slowly raise your camera, every. single. time.
Here is further proof, these girls were photographing a small rivulet of water pouring out of what was basically a large culvert. Resistance is futile.
Fred, thinking to himself do I really need another waterfall photo. Yup you do.
Day 2
The most important thing about hiking in any National Park is get up and go as early as you can stumble out of bed and stagger to the trail head otherwise you will be cursing the lack of a parking space and dealing with crying kiddos and exasperated parents trying to force them to enjoy the great outdoors dammit.
So Fred dragged me up the Chimney Tops trail which pretty much looked like this for a thousand steps straight up.
Fred scrambled like a goat up to the tippy top but I chickened out on the last part and sat on a log instead eating cheez-its and taking pictures of birds and flowers.
Uh, no not happening
That's the north end of a south bound goat
This is what I'm told the view looks like on top
Some random, unsuspecting birds and flowers I was able to sneak up on while Fred was crawling over rocks.
Bluets
Chestnut-sided Warbler
Canada Warbler
Day 3
Our last day in the park we took a walk along a nature trail that winds through some of the old farms that the government bought up in the 1930s to make the park.
Jed says come and sit a spell
I can picture myself by this fireplace, in a rocking chair with a cozy fire, dinner cooked from crops that I planted out back. Of course, I can also picture myself freezing to death in winter because I probably couldn't start that fire without a butane lighter and if that rocking chair didn't come from Pottery Barn and the dinner didn't arrive by delivery, starvation and sitting on the floor might also be in that picture.
These are tiger and pipevine swallowtail butterflies sucking up salt on a river bank
No way Fred, I insist that we start at the beginning of the trail
I guess Atmospheric Haze National Park was already taken or didn't have the same ring to it.
We loved the Smokies and I wish we had more time here, but we have countless waterfalls to photograph and miles to go before we head back home.
Next up, Asheville, North Carolina.
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