On our final day of vacation we decided to drive the Newfoundland Gap Road through the Smokey Mountain National Park. It is a pretty drive that winds you up to Clingman's Dome Road AKA On Top of Old Smokey. We haven't made the drive up to Clingman's Dome yet, because my nerves are shot after the Newfoundland Gap Road. I'm not a fan of heights and the road is curvy with many steep drop offs along the side. This being said when we returned from our adventure up this road, this is the sign we saw:
During our drive up, we realized that it had snowed in the mountains, over night and earlier that morning. It was gorgeous, and the views on the drive were simply amazing. I like this picture because it shows how we switched seasons as we traveled up the mountain road. We began with a brisk fall day and ended with a cold wintry view.
Someone took advantage and built a snowman at the top of the pass. We also saw families having snowball fights at different pull offs on our way up.
We were unprepared for such activities. We left with long sleeve shirts and jackets, Kevin didn't even have a jacket. Here he and Madelynn are carefully navigating the very slick parking lot at the overlook.
Mommy and Maddy snuggling to keep warm for a quick picture. This was a first for both Madelynn and Kevin. Neither had ever seen snow in the mountains before. It was truly beautiful, and completely unexpected for a mid October vacation.
This was a sign along the road, and it was no joke. The last two miles up to the overlook were slow because of the conditions of the road. The rangers were spreading salt, but as we were driving back down the mountain it looked like another round of snow was moving in. Hence the road being closed for additional traffic by the time we reached the bottom.
The overlook of the gap, marks the Tennessee and North Carolina state lines. Notice the ice on the ground around the sign. The parking lot was pretty close to a skating rink in some areas.
But the views on the drive were breath taking. They made me eager for Christmas. Preferably a White Christmas.
This is the last of my vacation posts, sorry if they bored you, but I know some of you were eager to see them and to hear about the trip. It was a memorable first family vacation for us. I know some people complain about traveling with kids, and it is admittedly more work, but I think the memories are well worth it. We'll see if I am still saying this once we are traveling with more than one kiddo:).
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