Mountain Venture

Alum Cave            Potter's Creek            Abrams Waterfall             Cucumber Gap

2010! I can't believe 2009 has passed. We all stayed up until midnight to welcome the new year; toasting and discussing our thoughts of 2009 and the upcoming events in 2010. Many things to look forward to!
Back from the Smoky Mountains of Tennessee. The day right after Christmas Day, we all rose early from bed and crammed into the car; the air was cold, making it hard to get out of our warm covers.
The drive lasted nearly nine hours. We stopped little and only for gas to refuel the car. We arrived at the Deer Ridge where we stayed for the four days in the late afternoon, unloaded the car and began our survey of the maps for the next day's hike.
Everyday, we hiked at least five miles of trail between, around and up mountain sides; we followed rivers and streams with roaring rapids; and rested beside waterfalls. It was cold enough for snow and icicles (which we ate! Incredibly good-tasting) to form, but we didn't need more clothing than a sweatshirt. After each hike, we would go in search of a restaurant for a meal to replenish lost energy.
Each trail we took was different from the next; the first was snowy and icy, but yet there were many trees still with foliage lining the path; the second was less strenuous and following a swiftly flowing river; the third was more difficult, because of the many stones in our path and many hills we had to climb; and the last was the longest of the four hikes we did. The last trail at first followed a wide stream and then curved into the forest, up and down several humps and ending with a mile or two along the mountain side.
Because most of the trees had lost their leaves, we could see quite far. The neighboring mountains were clearly visible and the sky was so wide. In the morning, the sky was cloudy but as time neared noon, it cleared up and the sun shone through the leafless trees.
It is hard to depict the space of the Smoky Mountains, so I took a bit of video along with many pictures…

Sunset from the balcony of the condo we stayed at.

Out from the balcony.

Christmas…

We spent the holiday at my uncle's house, playing games (Liar's dice) and just spending time together, as we were leaving the very next day and my grandparents leave for Florida three days after the holiday. Christmas day morning, everyone gathered in the kitchen for the coffee my dad and I had made and my mom's cinnamon coffee cake.  It was a very good two days!

The Tree!!

じゃね。