There's something about nature that makes me happy.
I guess it's not just me because I Googled it and found that
"Exposure to nature not only makes you feel better emotionally, it contributes to your physical wellbeing, reducing blood pressure, heart rate, muscle tension, and the production of stress hormones. It may even reduce mortality, according to scientists such as public health researchers Stamatakis and Mitchell."
Science! Gotta love it!
Someday I want to live out where there is more nature and less people. Someday I will!!
Last Mother's Day we went to Pigeon Forge, TN. That's where DollyWood is located. It's a strip full of attractions. We spent a whole day at Dollywood, went on go carts and visited a Christmas store in May. It's a very cool town but my absolute favorite part of our trip was the day we spent in the Great Smoky Mountains and our visit to Cades Cove.
We live in Florida where the Earth is flat and the air is HOT and HUMID 90% of the year. I was in AWE when we drove into the mountains. The smell of the air was refreshing... invigorating! We drove with the windows down so we could take it all in. Being so high made me feel so small.
I make him take selfies with me. :-D There is very limited cell phone service so it's a great place to spend quality time.
When you get inside the Great Smoky Mountains National Park there are places where you can pull off and walk down to the water. Is it a creek? A river? I'm not sure. When you first step in it's so cold it hurts! And this was May. The sound of the water running over the rocks was relaxing.
The boys loved exploring.
It was nice to let them play in the water and not have to worry about alligators! (Florida life, ha!)
Cades Cove
Cades Cove is an 11 mile loop that you can drive at a leisurely pace.
There are old structures from the 1800's that you can explore. It's hard to imagine that people lived in this valley long ago and managed to be self-reliant. We didn't get to do any hiking or exploring because the boys fell asleep so we had to stay near the truck. Next time for sure!
There's wildlife. We saw a turkey and a deer.
And horses, but I doubt that they are wild. They were galloping across the valley. Just gorgeous!
I got out and picked wild flowers AKA weeds. They smelled nice.
I'm hopeful that we can go back this summer and hike! There are places nearby that you can tube down the river (creek?) I'll have to make sure I have a waterproof camera for that!
Thanks for checking out my blog!!
<3 justjessica
I live in Knoxville (about an hour from the Smokies) and I’ve heard great things about Cades Cove. It looks so tranquil.
It’s silly to think that I need an escape from such a small city, but with sooo many trucks using the I-640, I-40, I-75 exchanges, there are times when we have road warnings stating to carpool due to high smog and humidity.
I’ll have to venture there once we thaw :-) to escape for a breath of fresh air sometime soon!
Yes, when it thaws ☺️ I highly recommend it! You should plan to spend at least 2-4 hours there, if not the whole day. It's a great place to clear your head. That's awesome that you live so close! Maybe I'll see your blog when you go! 👍
That park looks really incredible. I love every opportunity I get to make a trip into the mountains -- the air definitely seems fresher.
Seems like you had a great trip!
So far I have limited experience in the mountains, but I plan to change that :-D
Looks like you had a great time! Fantastic scenery and photos and the boys in the stream are too cute!! Look out trouble :)
Thank you! I loved it there. I was literally checking property prices on our ride home and dreaming of a future home in the mountains. Maybe someday.