Look Out Smokies, Here We Come

June 26, 2025

Look Out Smokies, Here We Come

If the Michael bag comes out, you know that we are starting another adventure.

Making our first planned stop doesn't take long. Breakfast at the Zimmermans' favorite coffee shop in Lexington, KY... North Lime Coffee and Donuts.

Square donuts are the best, and their coffee ain't too bad either.

The photo wall.

Ahhhh, the Smokies!

Our first elk hiney sighting.

My favorite stop!!!

The first of many strawberry Dream Whips! I love supporting this business. Farmer Nate loves his community with all of his heart. The area was hit by a HUGE flood. The fields of this farm were underwater. The area was devastated. Before he really tried to 'fix' the farm, he was loving on the families in the community by being a drop-off location for food and clothing. He loves kids and wants them to have a safe place to come and play. Check out darnellfarmsnc on Instagram.

Our home away from home for the week...Kirklands Creek Campground and Cabins in Bryson City, NC. I can not even explain how calming this little slice of heaven is. When you drive up, all the weight that I have been carrying just melts off my shoulders once I cross that bridge.

Our first campfire!

Two sights down from us is a Little Free Library.

One of our favorite spots on Deep Creek is Tom Branch Falls. We watch tubers as they float down the creek.

Jeremy gets to flyfish. Amanda strains to listen to the birds over the roar of the waterfall. Jase wet his feet and contemplated how he was going to climb to the top of the falls. Pappy parks his chair on the trail and makes new friends, and Adi and I try our hand at watercolor.

A picnic lunch at the trailhead parking lot.

A quick refreshing stop at Darnell Farms for a banana pudding Dream Whip this time around.

Google Lens and I can't figure out what these are, but they are so pretty.

We ate very well, thanks to the master chef Jeremy.

Amazing colors in our fire, thanks to our neighbor and his little bag of chemicals.

Watercolor by headlamp.

If there was a campfire, you could surely find Jase in his chair, fast asleep.

Pappy is getting ready for bed.

A day on the lake with a pontoon boat took me back to my childhood once again on Dale Hollow Lake. We never had a houseboat, but we had a fishing boat and permission to go to the first island...and maybe a little more.

She loved it!

Capt. Jeremy and his first mate, Pappy.

We might have pulled this giant, really nice raft off of a log in the middle of the lake. They must have had a storm because there was LOTS of debris in the lake.

Amanda likes it too.

He's ready to jump in as soon as we come to a stop.

And they are in!

Boat lunches on the lake are the best!

student driver

Are you sure we are going the right way?

She is not to be outdone.

I think he is fading fast.

He's gone.

Swimming and fishing on the raft.

The veteran driver.

Rhododendron

I think JAse sees something, and Jeremy has decided to lie back and enjoy the scenery.

We made it back, and now for one of my favorite camp dinners.

Pie making at its finest.

It was a Wammy and Pappy adventure day with Jase and Adi.

Newfound Gap

We saw a wild turkey.

Had another picnic before playing in the water.

Remember sharing Vienna Sausage with Mark's dad.

We listened and laughed through two of my favorite authors' books, while on our adventure.

We checked license plates.

And then we made it to our destination...Cade's Cove! It has been on my bucket list for as long as I can remember. And we saw what we came to see... a black bear. If you look really closely, you can see one of the cubs looking through the tall grass. There was a mother with two cubs. This was the best I could get.

Best day ever ending with an apple whomp 'em!

Someone looks sleepy.

The crazies.

A chilly breakfast.

And then we were off to one of our favorite spots at the Oconaluftee Visitors Center.

And this happened just as we were walking up.

That is one big and amazing rainbow trout!

I have never seen someone so excited.

Catching any size trout is a good day.

Jase swam. Amanda was the lifeguard. Pappy checked things on his phone, Jeremy fished, and Adi and I had a little creativity. Time.

We had a beautiful little visitor,

His perfect spot. He can watch Jase swim, Jeremy fish, us ain't and Amanda watch.

Not to mention, he can always gaze at the scenery.

A picnic on the side of the road by another amazing stream.

fresh peaches

This NEVER gets old!

And then there was this! The Bruces dropped by on their way to Hilton Head. Pappy was the only one who knew they were coming.

They left this note at our campsite. Sneaky Pappy told me, and we went back to the campsite to show them the way to the river where we were 'camped out' for the rest of the day.

Another of our favorite spots. Pappy really enjoys this one because he can sit in his chair in the water and let the fish nibble on his toes.

Look how strong Avery is. And looks like someone took a tumble.

What a great surprise!

The rest of the way it will be a quiet ride.

I think this was lunch, but it could have been dinner. But looks more like lunch. Pappy is chopping strawberries for our dessert.

And there she is...strawberry shortcakes made with fresh strawberries from Darnell Farms. THE BEST in so many ways!

I got a bear puzzle with only 300 pieces, thought we could do it one evening. Ha! It has to be the most challenging puzzle I have ever attempted.

It is a round bear's head, and it has jagged fur. It could be a hot minute before it is finished. Maybe Alire and I can work on it when we go back to the Smokies.

No campfire tonight.

It is such a shame that it was pouring this morning, and we decided to go into Bryson City to this amazingly, heavenly, delicious bakery and coffee shop.

My mouth still waters when I look at these pics.

The interior is so unique. I like their style.

That cinnamon roll was a big as his head.

Adi wanted to share with me.

Two girls were just sitting on a step, waiting in between the storms for the others to finish shopping.

He loves a good stuffed animal.

This one and her little band of animals. I think she was able to stuff 24 of them in a bag!

And this is one of my favorite spots in Bryson City. I can watch kayakers, tubers, go under the bridge, and AT thruhikers cross the bridge. It is cool, refreshing, and calming.