Ingredients:

For the Dressing:

- 1 medium orange

- 1 lemon

- 3 Tbs olive oil

- 1 Tbs raw honey

- 1/4 tsp. salt

- 1/4 tsp. pepper

For the Salad:

- 3 cups shaved brussels sprouts

- 1/2 cup pomegranate seeds

- 1 chopped apple

- 1/4 cup torn fresh mint leaves

- 1/4 cup torn fresh basil leaves

- 1/4 cup raw walnut pieces

For the Chicken:

- 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar 

- 1 Tbs raw honey

- 1 Tbs whole-grain mustard

- 1 tsp. finely chopped fresh rosemary

- 1 lb chicken breast tenders

- 1/4 tsp. salt

- 1/4 tsp. pepper

- 1 1/2 Tbs avocado oil

To make dressing for the salad: 

Finely grate orange peel, for orange zest, and place in a large bowl. Juice the orange and add to the bowl. Do the same with the lemon. Add oil, honey, salt, pepper, and whisk to blend. Add brussels sprouts, pomegranate seeds, apple, mint, basil, and walnuts. Toss to blend.

To make Rosemary Balsamic Chicken:

Combine vinegar, honey, mustard, and rosemary in a small bowl. Blend and set aside. Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper. Heat avocado oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken and cook for a few minutes on both sides until chicken is browned. Reduce heat to medium and add vinegar mixture. Cook until chicken is cooked through and sauce starts to reduce and thicken. 

Add chicken to the salad and enjoy! 

"Be thankful for the nights that turned into mornings, friends that turned into family, and dreams that turned into reality." - Anonymous 

Ingredients:

For the Dressing:

- 1 medium orange

- 1 lemon

- 3 Tbs olive oil

- 1 Tbs raw honey

- 1/4 tsp. salt

- 1/4 tsp. pepper

For the Salad:

- 3 cups shaved brussels sprouts

- 1/2 cup pomegranate seeds

- 1 chopped apple

- 1/4 cup torn fresh mint leaves

- 1/4 cup torn fresh basil leaves

- 1/4 cup raw walnut pieces

For the Chicken:

- 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar 

- 1 Tbs raw honey

- 1 Tbs whole-grain mustard

- 1 tsp. finely chopped fresh rosemary

- 1 lb chicken breast tenders

- 1/4 tsp. salt

- 1/4 tsp. pepper

- 1 1/2 Tbs avocado oil

To make dressing for the salad: 

Finely grate orange peel, for orange zest, and place in a large bowl. Juice the orange and add to the bowl. Do the same with the lemon. Add oil, honey, salt, pepper, and whisk to blend. Add brussels sprouts, pomegranate seeds, apple, mint, basil, and walnuts. Toss to blend.

To make Rosemary Balsamic Chicken:

Combine vinegar, honey, mustard, and rosemary in a small bowl. Blend and set aside. Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper. Heat avocado oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken and cook for a few minutes on both sides until chicken is browned. Reduce heat to medium and add vinegar mixture. Cook until chicken is cooked through and sauce starts to reduce and thicken. 

Add chicken to the salad and enjoy! 

"Be thankful for the nights that turned into mornings, friends that turned into family, and dreams that turned into reality." - Anonymous 

Ingredients:

For the Dressing:

- 1 medium orange

- 1 lemon

- 3 Tbs olive oil

- 1 Tbs raw honey

- 1/4 tsp. salt

- 1/4 tsp. pepper

For the Salad:

- 3 cups shaved brussels sprouts

- 1/2 cup pomegranate seeds

- 1 chopped apple

- 1/4 cup torn fresh mint leaves

- 1/4 cup torn fresh basil leaves

- 1/4 cup raw walnut pieces

For the Chicken:

- 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar 

- 1 Tbs raw honey

- 1 Tbs whole-grain mustard

- 1 tsp. finely chopped fresh rosemary

- 1 lb chicken breast tenders

- 1/4 tsp. salt

- 1/4 tsp. pepper

- 1 1/2 Tbs avocado oil

To make dressing for the salad: 

Finely grate orange peel, for orange zest, and place in a large bowl. Juice the orange and add to the bowl. Do the same with the lemon. Add oil, honey, salt, pepper, and whisk to blend. Add brussels sprouts, pomegranate seeds, apple, mint, basil, and walnuts. Toss to blend.

To make Rosemary Balsamic Chicken:

Combine vinegar, honey, mustard, and rosemary in a small bowl. Blend and set aside. Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper. Heat avocado oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken and cook for a few minutes on both sides until chicken is browned. Reduce heat to medium and add vinegar mixture. Cook until chicken is cooked through and sauce starts to reduce and thicken. 

Add chicken to the salad and enjoy! 

"Be thankful for the nights that turned into mornings, friends that turned into family, and dreams that turned into reality." - Anonymous 

I took a couple of days off last week to make a 4-day weekend out of a trip to Breaks Interstate Park. I needed 4 days because it’s a 7-hour drive from Richmond. Which means it would be 9 hours from VA Beach. You never think of VA being that large, but the state extends way west. The park is basically due north of Knoxville, TN. The drive there takes you through the heart of Virginia coal country, which was not a part of the state I had visited in my 20+ years there. We did see this on the drive though.

I did not know there was an open Radio Shack left. In truth, I suspect it’s not actually selling Radio Shack type stuff, but they just left the sign. But I’m going to maintain the fantasy by assuming that had I really needed a 500 ohm resister, they would have had it for me.

The park is really remote - it’s a good 15-minute drive to the nearest gas station and two hours from an interstate highway, coming from the east. In fact, I think this is the first time I’ve ever spent a weekend camping without leaving the park. Yet I still had a T-Mobile signal. I did not expect that.

The park is right on the VA-KY border, with a 1700-foot deep canyon with a river at the button as the primary feature. It’s billed as the Grand Canyon of the South.

On Friday we hiked, We did about 7.2 miles down the river and back in a lollipop. Don’t do that. The hike down to the river isn’t worth it as you only are on the river for about 50-100 yards, then it starts climbing again. And the trails are not well groomed. We took Laurel Branch down, and it’s basically a straight shot ¾ miles down the side of a cliff. There are a few switchbacks, but not enough. It had rained the previous day and the steepness and wetness made it treacherous. In many places it’s so narrow you are walking one foot in front of the other, and for large stretches you are right on a ledge with a multi-hundred foot fall one stumble away. It was a lot of fun in that “what the hell are we doing” way. Then at the bottom you get about 1 minute on the water and then the river trail starts a 1700-foot climb back up in one mile. That’s a 32% grade friends. The river trail at least is a series of short switchbacks.

Nice view for lunch but I'm not sure it was really worth the effort.

The Prospector Trail that run between the two trails is fabulous though. It runs at the base of some huge and amazing rock formations. It’s steep in places but not consistently, and rocky as all hell, but loads of fun.

They really don't want to rescue clueless tourists from the trail

I'm not kidding about the rocks

After the hike, we drove around the park and checked out the view from several overlooks that are the top of the rocks we were hiking along earlier in the day.

Sunday was kind of a repeat, except that after the Prospector trail we turned right instead of left on the Laurel Branch trail, staying above the river and among the rocks for about a 4-mile loop. There is a 2/3 mile out and back trail called the Geological Trail here that has a bunch of markers and a trail guide explaining the science behind all these huge rock formations. It was really interesting and I learned some stuff.

This was a natural arch many, many years ago.

After lunch, we lazied away the day lounging at the campsite reading and relaxing under postcard perfect blue skies and 72F temperatures. After grilling steaks for dinner on Saturday night we met up with a few other small camper folks that were there for an impromptu campfire party. Sitting around a campfire drinking with newly met friends was something I took for granted when camping prior to last year. But after camping about 30 nights last year barely speaking to another person other than my wife, I won’t take it for granted anymore. It’s the best part of camping.

Breaks is a neat park. They’ve got lodges, a swimming pool and ziplines (both closed, presumably due to COVID or maybe staffing issues), cabins, and a decent bathhouse in Campground D at least. But as I said at the top, getting there is a hike from just about anywhere.

I took a couple of days off last week to make a 4-day weekend out of a trip to Breaks Interstate Park. I needed 4 days because it’s a 7-hour drive from Richmond. Which means it would be 9 hours from VA Beach. You never think of VA being that large, but the state extends way west. The park is basically due north of Knoxville, TN. The drive there takes you through the heart of Virginia coal country, which was not a part of the state I had visited in my 20+ years there. We did see this on the drive though.

I did not know there was an open Radio Shack left. In truth, I suspect it’s not actually selling Radio Shack type stuff, but they just left the sign. But I’m going to maintain the fantasy by assuming that had I really needed a 500 ohm resister, they would have had it for me.

The park is really remote - it’s a good 15-minute drive to the nearest gas station and two hours from an interstate highway, coming from the east. In fact, I think this is the first time I’ve ever spent a weekend camping without leaving the park. Yet I still had a T-Mobile signal. I did not expect that.

The park is right on the VA-KY border, with a 1700-foot deep canyon with a river at the button as the primary feature. It’s billed as the Grand Canyon of the South.

On Friday we hiked, We did about 7.2 miles down the river and back in a lollipop. Don’t do that. The hike down to the river isn’t worth it as you only are on the river for about 50-100 yards, then it starts climbing again. And the trails are not well groomed. We took Laurel Branch down, and it’s basically a straight shot ¾ miles down the side of a cliff. There are a few switchbacks, but not enough. It had rained the previous day and the steepness and wetness made it treacherous. In many places it’s so narrow you are walking one foot in front of the other, and for large stretches you are right on a ledge with a multi-hundred foot fall one stumble away. It was a lot of fun in that “what the hell are we doing” way. Then at the bottom you get about 1 minute on the water and then the river trail starts a 1700-foot climb back up in one mile. That’s a 32% grade friends. The river trail at least is a series of short switchbacks.

Nice view for lunch but I'm not sure it was really worth the effort.

The Prospector Trail that run between the two trails is fabulous though. It runs at the base of some huge and amazing rock formations. It’s steep in places but not consistently, and rocky as all hell, but loads of fun.

They really don't want to rescue clueless tourists from the trail

I'm not kidding about the rocks

After the hike, we drove around the park and checked out the view from several overlooks that are the top of the rocks we were hiking along earlier in the day.

Sunday was kind of a repeat, except that after the Prospector trail we turned right instead of left on the Laurel Branch trail, staying above the river and among the rocks for about a 4-mile loop. There is a 2/3 mile out and back trail called the Geological Trail here that has a bunch of markers and a trail guide explaining the science behind all these huge rock formations. It was really interesting and I learned some stuff.

This was a natural arch many, many years ago.

After lunch, we lazied away the day lounging at the campsite reading and relaxing under postcard perfect blue skies and 72F temperatures. After grilling steaks for dinner on Saturday night we met up with a few other small camper folks that were there for an impromptu campfire party. Sitting around a campfire drinking with newly met friends was something I took for granted when camping prior to last year. But after camping about 30 nights last year barely speaking to another person other than my wife, I won’t take it for granted anymore. It’s the best part of camping.

Breaks is a neat park. They’ve got lodges, a swimming pool and ziplines (both closed, presumably due to COVID or maybe staffing issues), cabins, and a decent bathhouse in Campground D at least. But as I said at the top, getting there is a hike from just about anywhere.

It's been a while since I added to these Musings. That's not because nothing's been happening. Or, truth be told, it's more like because nothing has been happening. When I'm not working, we've been doing just that — nothing.

Nothing, as in relaxing and enjoying the down time. Some of that has been necessitated by a long period of dull and wet weather. I skipped shooting last weekend for lack of desire to be running through water. Fortunately the screen porch is fit for other activities.

Rocky Patel Sun Grown Maduro, a humidor staple

Fratello DMV Maduro Selection (Maryland)

Fratello DMV Maduro Selection (Delaware)

Montecristo Open, a Cuban brought back from Ireland a few years back

Liga Sun Grown Maduro

We are pleased to announce the winner of the Spring 2021 Andrew Flusche Scholarship: Amy George!

Here’s a little bit about Amy:

I’m Amy George, and I’m from Bothell, Washington. I’m studying at DigiPen: Institute of Technology to become a professional digital artist and animator. I love storytelling through comics and animations, but outside of drawing I enjoy crafting and building with Legos. My dream job would be working as a toy designer.

The post Spring 2021 – Andrew Flusche Scholarship Winner appeared first on Andrew Flusche.

On Wednesday we packed up and made the one-hour drive to Gatlinburg. We stayed at the Greenbriar Campground, wedged between two Class A RVs. It makes for a funny picture, but I really don’t get why somebody spends $385,000 (base price of the RV on the right) to basically never come out of the RV. No campfires, no cookouts, nothing. He had adult kids also at the campground, and we saw him drive the John Deer over to them once or twice. The campground wasn’t large enough to need a golf cart for anything. I circled the entire campground on a walk in about 10 minutes. We were right on the river, the bath house was quite nice, and the wifi was usable. So not the worst campground to use as a home base to explore the National Park, but it was probably the least friendly campground I’ve been to. It just had a vibe that I did not like. Michelle overhead two moms with 15 kids between them (not a typo) complaining that the bath house was insufficient for their needs, and they were late getting to Dollywood while they tried to get 15 kids showered. You can imagine just how little sympathy I felt upon hearing that story. I also did the math on 15 kids and 4 adults at Dollyworld for the day. They’ll be spending over $1000, easy.

Wednesday was kind of cool and rainy, so we didn’t do a lot. We wandered the streets of Gatlinburg, and about all I can say about Gatlinburg is that if I had to pick between Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge I’d pick Gatlinburg. Gatlinburg is at least walkable, although you are walking from a tacky t-shirt shop to a taffy shop to an “old tyme” photo shop to a candy shop to a restaurant, then back to another t-shirt shop to repeat the cycle, for about 10 blocks on both sides of the road. It kind of reminded me of Panama City Beach circa 1979. Most of the hotels are locally owned non chain places, which is cool. 1979 me would love 2021 Gatlinburg. 2021 me is over it. We planned to go to the Salt and Pepper Museum (over 20,000 salt and pepper shakers!), because why the hell would you not go there? Alas, it is only open 10-2 during the week, and we stopped by at 3 PM.

Earlier in week while watching some bad movie we downloaded from Netflix at night in the camper there was a photo booth scene and I mentioned that I had never actually done a photo booth photo. So when we walked by a photo booth in Gatlinburg we knew what we had to do.

On Thursday we headed back into the park and made our way to Clingmans Dome and then all the way to Cherokee, NC, where we visited the Museum of the Cherokee Indian. Along the way we stopped at various scenic overlooks and did a couple of short hikes. It was low 60s and comfy when we left the campground and about 41 and windy at Clingmans Dome. The ½ mile paved walk to the observation tower at the peak is a real leg burner, as the pitch is pretty steep. Michelle has been nursing a sore hip, so she hung out at the car and chilled while I made a workout of the trip up by attempting to walk it at a normal walking pace with no breaks. I needed one break, and my legs were feeling it when I made it to the top. The view was worth the effort.

The museum in Cherokee was interesting, but it’s an old school museum with no interactive elements, just a bunch of static displays and a lot of reading to learn the history of the Cherokee people. I was there to learn, so I was fine, but I could see kids being bored sick there. In fact, we did see kids, causing trouble because they were bored, and their parents weren’t paying attention. It’s interesting to see businesses using wigwam in their name or totem poles in their imagery in Cherokee, as none of that has anything to do with the Cherokee people. They didn’t wear big feathered headdresses either.

Friday we hit the Roaring Fork Motor Trail, which is similar to Cades Cove. It’s a six mile one lane one way road weaving through the mountains exploring the history of the area, with a few scenic overviews. We didn’t see any bears, or really any wildlife. Then we met local friends for lunch at a BBQ joint in Gatlinburg, where we ended up lingering for 3 hours. Late afternoon I hit a trailhead about 15 minutes from a campground for a nice 4-mile hike to a waterfall that I couldn’t really see because the foliage was so thick. Oh well, it was a nice hike and I got to cross this sketchy bridge about 20-30 feet above the rocky river. Falling would have probably been certain death. (Hyperbole. Maybe)

We spent our last evening of vacation chilling at the campground. Saturday AM we headed home. The lunch / gas stop in Bristol TN was a little sketchy as two of the three gas stations at the exit were dry, and the third only had 87 octane, which was what I needed, so it was fine. That made me a little nervous based on the news about gas shortages in VA but the gas stations along I-81 in VA were fine.

So, the Smokey Mountains vacation is in the books. I love the Smokies, and I could spend weeks there hiking. Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge I’ll be fine with if I never visit again. 2021 camping season is off to a good start. Next up, Breaks Interstate park on the VA - KY border in early June, for a weekend of hiking.

On Wednesday we packed up and made the one-hour drive to Gatlinburg. We stayed at the Greenbriar Campground, wedged between two Class A RVs. It makes for a funny picture, but I really don’t get why somebody spends $385,000 (base price of the RV on the right) to basically never come out of the RV. No campfires, no cookouts, nothing. He had adult kids also at the campground, and we saw him drive the John Deere over to them once or twice. The campground wasn’t large enough to need a golf cart for anything. I circled the entire campground on a walk in about 10 minutes. We were right on the river, the bath house was quite nice, and the wifi was usable. So not the worst campground to use as a home base to explore the National Park, but it was probably the least friendly campground I’ve been to. It just had a vibe that I did not like. Michelle overhead two moms with 15 kids between them (not a typo) complaining that the bath house was insufficient for their needs, and they were late getting to Dollywood while they tried to get 15 kids showered. You can imagine just how little sympathy I felt upon hearing that story. I also did the math on 15 kids and 4 adults at Dollyworld for the day. They’ll be spending over $1000, easy.

Wednesday was kind of cool and rainy, so we didn’t do a lot. We wandered the streets of Gatlinburg, and about all I can say about Gatlinburg is that if I had to pick between Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge I’d pick Gatlinburg. Gatlinburg is at least walkable, although you are walking from a tacky t-shirt shop to a taffy shop to an “old tyme” photo shop to a candy shop to a restaurant, then back to another t-shirt shop to repeat the cycle, for about 10 blocks on both sides of the road. It kind of reminded me of Panama City Beach circa 1979. Most of the hotels are locally owned non chain places, which is cool. 1979 me would love 2021 Gatlinburg. 2021 me is over it. We planned to go to the Salt and Pepper Museum (over 20,000 salt and pepper shakers!), because why the hell would you not go there? Alas, it is only open 10-2 during the week, and we stopped by at 3 PM.

Earlier in week while watching some bad movie we downloaded from Netflix at night in the camper there was a photo booth scene and I mentioned that I had never actually done a photo booth photo. So when we walked by a photo booth in Gatlinburg we knew what we had to do.

On Thursday we headed back into the park and made our way to Clingmans Dome and then all the way to Cherokee, NC, where we visited the Museum of the Cherokee Indian. Along the way we stopped at various scenic overlooks and did a couple of short hikes. It was low 60s and comfy when we left the campground and about 41 and windy at Clingmans Dome. The ½ mile paved walk to the observation tower at the peak is a real leg burner, as the pitch is pretty steep. Michelle has been nursing a sore hip, so she hung out at the car and chilled while I made a workout of the trip up by attempting to walk it at a normal walking pace with no breaks. I needed one break, and my legs were feeling it when I made it to the top. The view was worth the effort.

The museum in Cherokee was interesting, but it’s an old school museum with no interactive elements, just a bunch of static displays and a lot of reading to learn the history of the Cherokee people. I was there to learn, so I was fine, but I could see kids being bored sick there. In fact, we did see kids, causing trouble because they were bored, and their parents weren’t paying attention. It’s interesting to see businesses using wigwam in their name or totem poles in their imagery in Cherokee, as none of that has anything to do with the Cherokee people. They didn’t wear big feathered headdresses either.

Friday we hit the Roaring Fork Motor Trail, which is similar to Cades Cove. It’s a six mile one lane one way road weaving through the mountains exploring the history of the area, with a few scenic overviews. We didn’t see any bears, or really any wildlife. Then we met local friends for lunch at a BBQ joint in Gatlinburg, where we ended up lingering for 3 hours. Late afternoon I hit a trailhead about 15 minutes from a campground for a nice 4-mile hike to a waterfall that I couldn’t really see because the foliage was so thick. Oh well, it was a nice hike and I got to cross this sketchy bridge about 20-30 feet above the rocky river. Falling would have probably been certain death. (Hyperbole. Maybe)

We spent our last evening of vacation chilling at the campground. Saturday AM we headed home. The lunch / gas stop in Bristol TN was a little sketchy as two of the three gas stations at the exit were dry, and the third only had 87 octane, which was what I needed, so it was fine. That made me a little nervous based on the news about gas shortages in VA but the gas stations along I-81 in VA were fine.

So, the Smokey Mountains vacation is in the books. I love the Smokies, and I could spend weeks there hiking. Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge I’ll be fine with if I never visit again. 2021 camping season is off to a good start. Next up, Breaks Interstate park on the VA - KY border in early June, for a weekend of hiking.

On Wednesday we packed up and made the one-hour drive to Gatlinburg. We stayed at the Greenbriar Campground, wedged between two Class A RVs. It makes for a funny picture, but I really don’t get why somebody spends $385,000 (base price of the RV on the right) to basically never come out of the RV. No campfires, no cookouts, nothing. He had adult kids also at the campground, and we saw him drive the John Deer over to them once or twice. The campground wasn’t large enough to need a golf cart for anything. I circled the entire campground on a walk in about 10 minutes. We were right on the river, the bath house was quite nice, and the wifi was usable. So not the worst campground to use as a home base to explore the National Park, but it was probably the least friendly campground I’ve been to. It just had a vibe that I did not like. Michelle overhead two moms with 15 kids between them (not a typo) complaining that the bath house was insufficient for their needs, and they were late getting to Dollywood while they tried to get 15 kids showered. You can imagine just how little sympathy I felt upon hearing that story. I also did the math on 15 kids and 4 adults at Dollyworld for the day. They’ll be spending over $1000, easy.

Wednesday was kind of cool and rainy, so we didn’t do a lot. We wandered the streets of Gatlinburg, and about all I can say about Gatlinburg is that if I had to pick between Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge I’d pick Gatlinburg. Gatlinburg is at least walkable, although you are walking from a tacky t-shirt shop to a taffy shop to an “old tyme” photo shop to a candy shop to a restaurant, then back to another t-shirt shop to repeat the cycle, for about 10 blocks on both sides of the road. It kind of reminded me of Panama City Beach circa 1979. Most of the hotels are locally owned non chain places, which is cool. 1979 me would love 2021 Gatlinburg. 2021 me is over it. We planned to go to the Salt and Pepper Museum (over 20,000 salt and pepper shakers!), because why the hell would you not go there? Alas, it is only open 10-2 during the week, and we stopped by at 3 PM.

Earlier in week while watching some bad movie we downloaded from Netflix at night in the camper there was a photo booth scene and I mentioned that I had never actually done a photo booth photo. So when we walked by a photo booth in Gatlinburg we knew what we had to do.

On Thursday we headed back into the park and made our way to Clingmans Dome and then all the way to Cherokee, NC, where we visited the Museum of the Cherokee Indian. Along the way we stopped at various scenic overlooks and did a couple of short hikes. It was low 60s and comfy when we left the campground and about 41 and windy at Clingmans Dome. The ½ mile paved walk to the observation tower at the peak is a real leg burner, as the pitch is pretty steep. Michelle has been nursing a sore hip, so she hung out at the car and chilled while I made a workout of the trip up by attempting to walk it at a normal walking pace with no breaks. I needed one break, and my legs were feeling it when I made it to the top. The view was worth the effort.

The museum in Cherokee was interesting, but it’s an old school museum with no interactive elements, just a bunch of static displays and a lot of reading to learn the history of the Cherokee people. I was there to learn, so I was fine, but I could see kids being bored sick there. In fact, we did see kids, causing trouble because they were bored, and their parents weren’t paying attention. It’s interesting to see businesses using wigwam in their name or totem poles in their imagery in Cherokee, as none of that has anything to do with the Cherokee people. They didn’t wear big feathered headdresses either.

Friday we hit the Roaring Fork Motor Trail, which is similar to Cades Cove. It’s a six mile one lane one way road weaving through the mountains exploring the history of the area, with a few scenic overviews. We didn’t see any bears, or really any wildlife. Then we met local friends for lunch at a BBQ joint in Gatlinburg, where we ended up lingering for 3 hours. Late afternoon I hit a trailhead about 15 minutes from a campground for a nice 4-mile hike to a waterfall that I couldn’t really see because the foliage was so thick. Oh well, it was a nice hike and I got to cross this sketchy bridge about 20-30 feet above the rocky river. Falling would have probably been certain death. (Hyperbole. Maybe)

We spent our last evening of vacation chilling at the campground. Saturday AM we headed home. The lunch / gas stop in Bristol TN was a little sketchy as two of the three gas stations at the exit were dry, and the third only had 87 octane, which was what I needed, so it was fine. That made me a little nervous based on the news about gas shortages in VA but the gas stations along I-81 in VA were fine.

So, the Smokey Mountains vacation is in the books. I love the Smokies, and I could spend weeks there hiking. Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge I’ll be fine with if I never visit again. 2021 camping season is off to a good start. Next up, Breaks Interstate park on the VA - KY border in early June, for a weekend of hiking.