Smoky Mountain Vacation & A Giveaway

Since we went to Disney last fall, didn't make any grand summer vacation plans this year. But by the time July rolled around, we were all getting a little bored sticking close to home. We've been talking about making a road trip to Tennessee for quite some time, so we tossed around some ideas and decided we would take the girls to The Smoky Mountains. I'm so glad we had a last minute summer vacation before the girls went back to school. Even though I spent a lot of time in TN on my grandma's farm as a child, I forgot how breathtaking it is there. It's a trip my girls will definitely remember forever!

Our first morning, we did a little bike riding through the mountains. In Cades Cove you can rent comfort bikes by the hour. It is a one way road and you do have to ride along with the cars, but it's still pretty safe for all ages. The trail is 11 miles long, but since it was sooo hot out, we only did the 8 mile loop. We did the 8 miles in about 2 hours, so the bike rentals only cost around $50 for the 4 of us.

Later that afternoon, we planned an hour long horseback riding session. This activity isn't cheap, costing around $130 for the 4 of us. However, riding horses through The Great Smoky Mountains is such an amazing experience, it's well worth the cost!

As soon as we returned back to the stables, who should appear but a hungry black bear! We didn't see much wildlife, short of a few turkeys, so we were pretty excited to see a bear out in the open! He wasn't too concerned with us humans, he just wanted a little of the pony grub. The stable boys chased him off before he became a nuisance.

Honestly, I was a little disappointed we didn't see more wild life, but maybe we just weren't looking hard enough. On our way out, I somehow spotted this little beauty camouflaged in the trees and made Jason go back so I could snap a quick photo.

We were intrigued by the cabins and churches in the park because they were all leveled onto heaping piles of rocks. It looked weird, but they were all very stable.

We were only able to stay a day and a half, but we are dying to go back soon. There is so much more we want to explore, you just can't enjoy it all on such a short time frame.

Barely awake. Very early morning and the smoke/fog is just rolling through the mountains! Simply stunning views!

Have you been to The Great Smoky Mountains? Where is your dream road trip destination?

Since summer is winding down, I thought I'd host a little giveaway for my readers for their back-to-school shopping. Now through 8/8, enter to win $15 to Amazon! Giveaway is open to my readers worldwide! Winner will have 48 hours to respond to winning email before a new winner is selected.
 
*All entries are verified, so please make sure you are properly entering for the entries you claim. 
**Amazon is not a sponsor/affiliated with this giveaway.

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