How This Trip Came to Be, How It Took Shape, and What May Be Left Ahead
When Cindy started her current job we kind of figured that she'd probably come home once(we opted to meet up in San Francisco for a friends wedding instead) and that Skye and I would come out and visit. I got the notion that it would make for a great home school educational experience to drive out, and that if we took the Prius and camped out or crashed at friends and family houses along the way the cost difference between that and flying would be close enough to justify.
Well I haven't worked out the finances, but the trip has been priceless, so I guess that we struck a pretty good bargain, all things considered. That being said, we still had duties and obligations back home; house and garden, pets; demanding hobbies and interests; ie juijitsu, aerial arts, capoiera, girl scouts, just to name a few and then of course all of our friends we would be missing, so the trip couldn't go on indefinitely. Our date to leave was settled on roughly how soon after the SDSA Emmy party I could have the house in order and us ready for the road and then our arrival and departure to and from Cindy and Atlanta, took the form of a race, that I signed us up for weeks and weeks ago, cause I thought it would be fun, the Great Urban Race in Dallas on Oct. 3.
Our return revolved around getting to the Albuquerque Hot Air Balloon Festival before it was over on Oct. 11. Other than that we had no schedule or itinerary.
Along the way, namely when we veered of course to tag Florida and then further of course to see it's highest point, we took on a new hobby/distraction, that of reaching the highest point in elevation in each of the 50 states. (Not all on this trip of course)
Wednesday, Sept 30--Some High Points Along the Way
With more than a little sadness, we left Atlanta and Cindy on Wednesday morning, but in an attempt not to dwell on it too much and get us down, we turned our sights to Brasstown Bald, Georgia's highest point at 4,784 ft. On the map it didn't look very far from Atlanta and not really that far out of the way.
Skye was back asleep after less than an hour into the drive. I was soon winding my way through some amazing mountains and not making nearly the time I had hoped to, but what an incredible drive it was.
A view of the summit from the parking lot.
Skye woke up a little before we got to the parking lot and was a little groggy for the 1/2 mile climb up. When we got to the summit, I was ready to get a quick photo, take in the view, and turn around straight away and hit the road, but one of the rangers liked to talk, and talk and talk, and I didn't want to be rude. So we ended up burning more time than I anticipated.
Peaked another summit.
The views were incredible, well worth the climb.
We practically ran down the mountain, attempting to make up for lost time.
Family Here We Come
Cindy's mom, as well as her sister Amy and her family live in Nashville which is pretty much on the way to Dallas from Atlanta, or at least close enough that there would be no way we would miss the opportunity to swing by and see them, as brief as a visit as it may be.
As long as we were headed that way, we might as well grab another high point, this one would be in Tennesse, Clingman's Dome, 6,643 ft, right on the border of North Carolina and in the middle of the Great Smoky Mountain National Park.
I'd never been to the park, but had read, heard, seen pictures, etc and knew we couldn't go wrong with the detour. I also read about its high concentration of black bears and told Skye we might see one. She didn't believe me.
You can sort of make out the bear. Skye took the picture, from like 30 ft away. There was a traffic jam of tourist snapping photos, so Skye jumped out and took some shots as well. It was her first wild bear sighting ever, so she was more than a bit excited, actually crazy jazzed by it. So needless to say, getting a great photo was not the biggest priority.
My own wildlife sighting less than a 1/2 mile after we saw the bear. Not nearly as impressive, I know.
It's a bird, it's a plane, oh, it is a bird, but a bald eagle, mind you. We actually saw him from atop Clingman's Dome. He was catching a thermal, taking him far and quickly away from us. Skye at least has a bird in her shot, mine was nothing but blue sky.
There you have it, another amazing view and another "High Point"
"Proof" we were both actually there, even if it does look like we photo shopped ourselves in. C'mon if we did that, don't you think I would have kept Skye's beautiful smile in.
Skye way up high in the sky!!!
We also hiked a portion of the Appalacian Trail, something I have always wanted to do, granted I wanted to hike more than a tenth of a mile of it. Gotta save that for another trip.
Speaking of saving it for another trip; we're going to have to come back and give the Great Smoky Mountains the time it truly deserves. It is an amazing national park that we sped through.
This trip is becoming a sampler platter for discovering America. One day we're immersed in the Civil War or the Civil Rights Movement or the Western Expansion, then we're exploring our National Parks and all the while trying to take in regional flavors. Add to that trying to see friends and family.
Yes, I know I take on way too much.
Viva Las Vegas?
When did the entrance to the Great Smoky Mountains become Appalacian Vegas? I was in shock at how built up and "glitzy" it was as we left the park and start towards Nashville.
Just a few of the dozens of "attraction" vying for tourist dollars.
We had to pass on "High Points" in North Carolina and Kentucky. They were very close, very tempting and would have been nice to add to our list, but as it was we got to Nashville with just enough time to briefly visit with Cindy's mom and then crash her sister Amy's family dinner, hang out and briefly bond, lay down our heads for the night and then leave with them in the morning. They headed of to school as did we, just a different kind of school.
When Cindy started her current job we kind of figured that she'd probably come home once(we opted to meet up in San Francisco for a friends wedding instead) and that Skye and I would come out and visit. I got the notion that it would make for a great home school educational experience to drive out, and that if we took the Prius and camped out or crashed at friends and family houses along the way the cost difference between that and flying would be close enough to justify.
Well I haven't worked out the finances, but the trip has been priceless, so I guess that we struck a pretty good bargain, all things considered. That being said, we still had duties and obligations back home; house and garden, pets; demanding hobbies and interests; ie juijitsu, aerial arts, capoiera, girl scouts, just to name a few and then of course all of our friends we would be missing, so the trip couldn't go on indefinitely. Our date to leave was settled on roughly how soon after the SDSA Emmy party I could have the house in order and us ready for the road and then our arrival and departure to and from Cindy and Atlanta, took the form of a race, that I signed us up for weeks and weeks ago, cause I thought it would be fun, the Great Urban Race in Dallas on Oct. 3.
Our return revolved around getting to the Albuquerque Hot Air Balloon Festival before it was over on Oct. 11. Other than that we had no schedule or itinerary.
Along the way, namely when we veered of course to tag Florida and then further of course to see it's highest point, we took on a new hobby/distraction, that of reaching the highest point in elevation in each of the 50 states. (Not all on this trip of course)
Wednesday, Sept 30--Some High Points Along the Way
With more than a little sadness, we left Atlanta and Cindy on Wednesday morning, but in an attempt not to dwell on it too much and get us down, we turned our sights to Brasstown Bald, Georgia's highest point at 4,784 ft. On the map it didn't look very far from Atlanta and not really that far out of the way.
Skye was back asleep after less than an hour into the drive. I was soon winding my way through some amazing mountains and not making nearly the time I had hoped to, but what an incredible drive it was.
A view of the summit from the parking lot.
Skye woke up a little before we got to the parking lot and was a little groggy for the 1/2 mile climb up. When we got to the summit, I was ready to get a quick photo, take in the view, and turn around straight away and hit the road, but one of the rangers liked to talk, and talk and talk, and I didn't want to be rude. So we ended up burning more time than I anticipated.
Peaked another summit.
The views were incredible, well worth the climb.
We practically ran down the mountain, attempting to make up for lost time.
Family Here We Come
Cindy's mom, as well as her sister Amy and her family live in Nashville which is pretty much on the way to Dallas from Atlanta, or at least close enough that there would be no way we would miss the opportunity to swing by and see them, as brief as a visit as it may be.
As long as we were headed that way, we might as well grab another high point, this one would be in Tennesse, Clingman's Dome, 6,643 ft, right on the border of North Carolina and in the middle of the Great Smoky Mountain National Park.
I'd never been to the park, but had read, heard, seen pictures, etc and knew we couldn't go wrong with the detour. I also read about its high concentration of black bears and told Skye we might see one. She didn't believe me.
You can sort of make out the bear. Skye took the picture, from like 30 ft away. There was a traffic jam of tourist snapping photos, so Skye jumped out and took some shots as well. It was her first wild bear sighting ever, so she was more than a bit excited, actually crazy jazzed by it. So needless to say, getting a great photo was not the biggest priority.
My own wildlife sighting less than a 1/2 mile after we saw the bear. Not nearly as impressive, I know.
It's a bird, it's a plane, oh, it is a bird, but a bald eagle, mind you. We actually saw him from atop Clingman's Dome. He was catching a thermal, taking him far and quickly away from us. Skye at least has a bird in her shot, mine was nothing but blue sky.
There you have it, another amazing view and another "High Point"
"Proof" we were both actually there, even if it does look like we photo shopped ourselves in. C'mon if we did that, don't you think I would have kept Skye's beautiful smile in.
Skye way up high in the sky!!!
We also hiked a portion of the Appalacian Trail, something I have always wanted to do, granted I wanted to hike more than a tenth of a mile of it. Gotta save that for another trip.
Speaking of saving it for another trip; we're going to have to come back and give the Great Smoky Mountains the time it truly deserves. It is an amazing national park that we sped through.
This trip is becoming a sampler platter for discovering America. One day we're immersed in the Civil War or the Civil Rights Movement or the Western Expansion, then we're exploring our National Parks and all the while trying to take in regional flavors. Add to that trying to see friends and family.
Yes, I know I take on way too much.
Viva Las Vegas?
When did the entrance to the Great Smoky Mountains become Appalacian Vegas? I was in shock at how built up and "glitzy" it was as we left the park and start towards Nashville.
Just a few of the dozens of "attraction" vying for tourist dollars.
We had to pass on "High Points" in North Carolina and Kentucky. They were very close, very tempting and would have been nice to add to our list, but as it was we got to Nashville with just enough time to briefly visit with Cindy's mom and then crash her sister Amy's family dinner, hang out and briefly bond, lay down our heads for the night and then leave with them in the morning. They headed of to school as did we, just a different kind of school.
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