Smoky Mountain Trip

Sunday afternoon, we took a trip to the Smoky Mountains to see the gorgeous fall colors. We decided to forgo the Cades Cove Loop with the other millions of visitors and hit the equally gorgeous place, Foothills Parkway. The Foothills Parkway is a road up over a mountain that overlooks the Smokies on one side and the city of Maryville (just south of Knoxville) on the other. We were all split on which side was better. Some of us loved the mountain view and others loved seeing the lakes and small city neighborhoods far below us.

We hiked a half mile up to a tower called Look Rock to see the views. It was quite high. To my surprise, Hannah was scared of the height and Ethan wasn't. Ethan boldly stated that he had gotten over his fear of heights through Cub Scouts. Two separate times, Ethan has been forced to face this fear. He went to an indoor rock climbing event and also a rode a zipline with his Scout pack and he thinks that cured him. It did seem to help him so I guess it's time we send Hannah on a zipline and climbing a rock wall.

The fall leaves are in peak color right now. It was beautiful! I'm so thankful we have this in our "backyard". After the hike and tour, we completed the night by stopping for pizza. That was a big hit with the kids too.