Smoky Mountains and Pisgah View Ranch

On Saturday morning, we checked out the breakfast provided by the hotel but we weren't impressed. It was crowded and hot and all I could eat was Cheerios! So we found the Smokey Mountain Pancake House which was on our route (and the correct side of the road!). It was very tasty and filled us up for most of the day.
After breakfast we headed into the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Once again we hit some serious traffic. We were thinking about stopping in Gatlinburg as there looked like some really nice shops but we figured if we did, the odds of getting back onto the road were slim, assuming we could find somewhere to park. It's on the list for the next time. I have also never seen so many places to play mini-golf in one place!

Davy Crochett mini-golf

Gatlinburg Main street

No idea but sounds ... interesting.

 Eventually we got the Sugarlands visitors centre inside the park and after a little shopping (for fleeces as it was pretty cold!) decided to head to Deep Creek where there were 3 waterfalls within an easy walk (and one had such a great name it was hard to resist). They were on the North Carolina side so we had to drive right through the park. I split my time between Caroline's and Cissi's car on the 2 hr drive. We stopped a few places to take photos as the views were amazing!

Near Campbell overlook

Smoky mountains.

At Campbell overlook 

We had picked the right (and busiest) time to visit the Park as the trees were starting to turn. It was a little cloudy during the drive but it was so pretty. And the colors got more dramatic the further into the mountains we went.

Starting fall colors

Once we got through the park, we had to drive to Bryson City (more of a town really) and then back into the park. The direction sighs weren't very helpful but we got there surprisingly without getting lost. :-)

After a quick snack of Kettle Crisps and fresh pineapple, we set off to the first waterfall. It was a fairly small one but had a great name!

Sign to the falls

Juney Whank falls.

All at Juney Whank

Then we decided to go to the other two in the area as it was only a short walk and the weather had brighten up too. (You can take a loop but the waterfalls were close on one side so we just did the short part.) The walks were easy which was good and there weren't that many people around.

Tom branch 

Indian creek

 On Saturday night, we were staying at Pisgah View Ranch which I found on Groupon. We got there a little late as we were supposed to be there for dinner at 5.30pm. But thankfully they still fed us! It was a cookout style dinner in a barn and they had a bluegrass band playing. So after dinner and a quick trip to our cabin, we went to listen to the music for a while with a cup of hot coco. :-)

Drive to Pisgah View Ranch 

Live bluegrass music

Yummy

 One thing we were all really looking forward to was the bonfire. We had brought S'mores makings. :-) For those who don't know, to make a S'more you toast a marshmallow over a fire on a stick until it is golden and gooey, and then put it on a cracker with a piece of chocolate. Then eat it very quickly as it makes a mess. I preferred the toasted marshmallows on their own though.
We meet a couple with their daughter at the fire and chatted. The girl was really sweet and took a likely to Cissi, chattering away (apparently she was usually very quiet). We spilt a bottle of wine with couple while watching the fire.

Camp fire

Toasting marshmallows for S'mores 

Full moon

We ended up back at the cabin relatively early as we were all really tired and we had to be up early next morning. They were quite strict on the time breakfast starts!