anolefan

I haven’t read all the replies in detail, but I know that my activity on here has all but been eliminated. Life has been extremely busy for our household and my time spent on forums has decreased as well. I still lurk a bit, but not nearly as much as when the kids were all so much younger.

As for camping at The Fort, we are here as I type this for our annual trip, but that is the only time we are able to get here anymore. We used to visit 4-6 times a year [emoji25].


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Thanks everyone! Just saw this post.

I'm a slacker and lazy lurker nowadays. I guess that's what happens when the children all decide they want to participate in activities :)

And, we have only camped twice this year at the Fort

In what may be the biggest story of the new college football season, FSU just announced that its Heisman winning QB is going to sit out the first half of this weekend's game against Clemson for yet another instance of stupid and improper behavior: http://espn.go.com/college-football/story/_/id/11542412/florida-state-seminoles-qb-jameis-winston-suspended-first-half-game-clemson-tigers-shouting-obscene-phrase-public

What an idiot this kid turned out to be.

This is a huge game. ESPN's College Gameday is broadcasting from there on Saturday.

TCD

I'm so tired of this kids antics. I wish he would just go away. He continues to fail his family, himself, his teammates, his coaches and his university.

Suspended for a half? Wow, now that's a bold decision there.

As much talent he has he has got to be one of the most clueless individuals around. Everything FSU accomplished last season is tarnished in my opinion, and it pains me to be "anolefan".

Rant over...

Wow, I knew what this report was going to be about by reading the title. You have such a special bond with your girls that all you are doing now is entering into a new journey. Remember that the foundation you have set, with the emphasis on family time, will all come back to you many times over once they have their own families down the road. Then the Fort trips will be especially cool :)

We just took our oldest boy to his junior high open house last week and I was already getting sappy just walking him around the school. I'm amazed at how our children have grown in the short time from our very first trip to the Fort in 2009 until now. It scares me a little.

I'm in for this report, even if it is through the lurker glasses I've been wearing lately.

Made it!

Bragging rights for me, but even more for you as the Gators ran it right down our throats Saturday.

Looking forward to another great report!

Happy Thanksgiving Fiends!

I have been really busy with work and baseball lately and have been slacking on updating this report.

First, I need to brag a little. DS10 and his baseball team have been together for just over a year and won their very first baseball tournament over the past weekend. Up until this championship they have been runners up 3 times over the past year, but just could not get over the hump. This tournament was probably the best baseball they have ever played. They put together a 5-0 record over 2 days and outscored their opponents 51-11! It was awesome to watch their reaction after they recorded the final out.

Here are 2 photos showing their excitement, and mine :)

Normal pose:

Can't contain the excitement pose:

I'll try and update the report over the weekend.

Have a great day everyone!

Great pictures! Really enjoying your report. It's been awhile since we've been in the Smokies. Nice to see it again.

Thank you for reading along!

I try. ;D

Loving this report! I believe I have eaten at Applewood Farms but for some reason I thought it was called The Apple Barn. Or did they change the name? As I remember it had the section shown in your photo and an older section which was pretty cool too. Wonderful photos! The kids look like they were really having a great time!

Thanks KFK! I appreciate you following along and commenting.

I'll butt in to say, it is the same place. The Apple Barn is the store part. This is one of my favorite places to eat in Sevierville and we just ate there in the Farmhouse restaurant part in Oct. on a trip to Dollywood. In fact, to the right of the restaurant in the picture is the Orvis store and across from that is the Comfort Inn and Suites Apple Valley where we stayed in July and again in October.

I'd never heard of the Roaring Fork Auto Trail. We will have to try that the next time we're there. It's been a while since we've gone to Cades Cove because it is always so crowded, but Roaring Fork looks really nice.

Thanks for replying to that, I've been swamped lately. Roaring Fork is wonderful and you would most definitely enjoy it.

We left off driving through Roaring Fork Motor Trail and stopping off at Jim Bales Place.

Just down the road from Bales Place was Ephraim Bales Place, Jim Bales' older brother:

Ephraim owned 70 acres here in which he farmed 30 and used the other 40 for construction materials since it was naturally wooded.

Here are some shots of the cabin and the property:

I've seen this shot done on here with much greater success, but figured it was worth a try:

I'm not really digging my result.

When my wife saw this picture on the computer she asked why I took it. I thought it looked neat, lol:

Down by the stream:

DD being adventurous:

I have to admit, we did not spend nearly as much time here as we would have liked. I received a call just prior to stopping to look at this property from my brother, and they were in Pigeon Forge. We had to get going to meet them for lunch. We also missed the last two stops on the trail. I definitely encourage anyone who visits the area to be sure and take this drive. You will not regret it.

We met up with my brother and his family at Applewood Farmhouse Grill. We have eaten here on every trip to the area. We love the food here. I didn't get food pictures, but we shared Fried Chicken and it was good. And the Apple Fritters are excellent.

Here are a couple of shots of the kids outside the restaurant:

We usually spend more time here and visit the shops that are on property, but we decided to head back to Gatlinburg so we could get the cake, and get my brother situated in the cabin.

Once everyone got settled in and unpacked, the kids wanted to play miniature golf. Everyone agreed that we would be true tourists and play what other than:

Hillbilly Golf, of course.

One thing you should know if you are planning a trip to Gatlinburg is to be careful to avoid UT football weekends if possible. This was Homecoming for UT I believe and if you look at the above photo you can see the traffic. A lot of fans stay in Gatlinburg or Pigeon Forge since Knoxville is only about an hour an a half away. On my wife and I's very first visit back in the late 90's, we were stuck with all kinds of Gator fans everywhere we went. Poor planning on my part.

Hillbilly Golf, while an obvious tourist trap was actually pretty cool. You took a roller-coaster type car up to the top of the hill and the entire course was built into the side of a hill or small mountain, however you choose to describe it.

Up next, I will have a short update from my birthday celebration (very short), and then our journey home begins.

It would also be a great place to hang a Gamecock hat.

Another great update! We haven't been to the mountains for quite some time and I'm thinking we're due! Beautiful trail!

Well played on the USC hat comment. You can't go wrong with a trip to this area.

Awesome update!

I have never heard of an Auto Trail, and didn't know what to expect. What a great idea!

This TR really has me thinking about a visit to the Smoky Mountains.

TCD

Thanks! It really is a neat drive. I actually enjoy it more than Cades Cove since there it is usually less crowded.

That cabin is really gorgeous! And so area all your pics of the area!

Thank you!

I just realized I hadn't commented yet, but I have been reading!!! This looks like it was a WONDERFUL trip!!

Thanks! Have you ever camped in this area? I'm not sure if I have seen any pictures on the other campgrounds thread or not.

Now I KNOW you had to have made a trip to Cades Cove while you were there.... NO ONE, absolutely no one goes to Gatlinburg without a trip to Cades Cove....

Also, have you ever been over to Cataloochee? It's on the NC side of the park but you can get to it via a road out from Cosby... Its a mini Cades Cove with a couple of old houses and barn from where the National Parks Service stole, I mean purchased the land for the Park.

Unfortunately we did not go to Cades Cove. It was actually the only thing I wanted to make sure we did because it has been a while since visiting there, but we had to pick up my birthday cake that my wife ordered from a local bakery between 2pm-5pm Saturday, and that was really the only day we could have driven there. I was pretty disappointed, but we made up for it by visiting a very neat park in GA on our trip home.

I've never been to Cataloochee, but it is now on my list for our next visit. Thanks for the information.

late to the party but in... those pictures make me miss my sister who lives in PA.

Thanks for joining in!

Great updates!

I'm sorry you had to deal with the news of your father being ill, but glad things worked out.

You are very talented with a camera.

I admit, I laughed at the Woody sketch, only because an effort by me would be 100 times worse.

Awesome report!

I LOL at the trading card scenario. Is that the first time that the twins refused a photo opportunity? They must have been even more nerdy than you described :)

I can't believe how busy your days are. I don't last more than a couple of hours at any theme park, much less on a day trip. My hat goes off to you, maybe you should come up with a TCDRMOG award for yourself.

Thanks for the links!

When you consider what Disney charges for a cabin at Fort Wilderness, these prices look great!

TCD

Definitely and when you travel with a group and split it up three ways they are even better. You get a lot for those prices.

It is now mid morning Saturday and everyone is up and ready to go. We had plans to meet my brother in Pigeon Forge at noon for lunch so we decided to hit Roaring Fork Auto Trail. For those who are not familiar with this trail, here is a link with some information about it. I highly recommend doing this if you visit Gatlinburg. The trail is located just shy of the GSMNP entrance at stoplight #8. Seeing how we had the kids and we were on a tight schedule, we didn't get to stop at all of the cabin areas, or get all the information that goes along with each stop, but we did get some pretty good pictures.

http://www.nps.gov/g...roaringfork.htm

And here is a map of the drive in case you are interested:

Here is a shot of the beginning of the one way road that you follow through the trail. Notice how narrow the road is. This made for some interesting, stressful driving as we climbed through the trail. There are no guardrails and I was a little nervous at times:

There are many breathtaking views along the drive. If you do go, be sure to take your time and get out of the car often to enjoy the views. These were taken at both nature overlooks along the trail:

The kids and Nana:

Most everyone will be happy to see there is no Nole allegiance here:

Here is the first cabin stop we made. We chose not to stop at the Ogle Cabin at the beginning of the drive because when I asked the kids if they wanted to see it, they said "no". Well, after we saw the others on the drive they wanted to go back, but the drive is one way so they lost out :)

Here we are walking up to Jim Bale's place:

Just imagine living here around 100 years ago and having this view right outside your cabin:

Still can't picture it? How about another:

Here are some shots of the cabins and the property they sit on:

And a shot of the kids enjoying the sounds of the rushing water:

These cabins along the trail are really amazing in that they are still standing and have withstood all the elements over the years.

I'm off to work, and will finish up with another small update of Roaring Fork and the rest of Saturday later on this evening.

Great trip report... looking forward to reading "the rest of the story"...

We love Gatlinburg... The best thing about the area is that you can have all of the hustle and bustle of the town, then in a matter of minutes can be out in the middle of no where with the place all to yourself.

I'm happy to hear that you guys know about the Roaring Fork Auto Trail... In the past when I have talked to folks about Gatlinburg and asked them if they took in the trail, they didn't know anything about it. There is SOOOO much to explore around that area.

Thanks! I totally agree about Gatlinburg, and the reason we enjoy it so much also. Roaring Fork is always a must do for us when we visit. In fact, when we stay for longer periods, I will get up early and drive it myself so I can take my time and get lots of photos. When the kids get older we will try some of the hikes located along the drive.

Loving this report! I'm not fully caught up yet, but had to comment on the wonderful VIP visit, awesome. I love the behind the scenes photos!

Very cool indeed!

Loving all the pictures, and the GG looked like a wonderful time!

Can't wait for more.

That is one gorgeous place to hang your hat! I'm glad it was quiet but a little, or a lot of community noise would be a small price to pay! Very nice!

Bear and raccoon proof stuff is good. We've never had to deal with bears but growing up we had our share of raccoon issues while camping.

Great photos of the kids. I especially love the dress up one. Way to go Nana for thinking to bring that stuff.

Thanks Kim! It is a great place to hang my FSU hat on :). We have had raccoon encounters camping at Fort Desoto, down past St Petersburg, Fl and they can definitely be a nuisance. Nana always comes through with activities to keep the kids busy. They love when she visits. She also brings lots of food goodies as well, which I love.

I've found that writing up the trip report first in MS Word and then copying it into FF.net saves the frustration of having the post disappear or get stuck during the upload process. That's happened to me several times.

Lovely area. Thanks for sharing.

PS: 60 isn't so bad either as long as you pay attention to your health.

Thanks, and that is a good suggestion. I write my reports a little differently in that I prepare everything as I write them. I find that having the photo webpage open and looking at the pictures helps me put my thoughts together easier. I will try this in the future for sure.

What a beautiful cabin!

I'm pretty certain that it would be a waste of my money though. I would never get out of that bathtub!!

I'm loving everything about your trip, except for the 35 degree temps. Brrrr!

Thanks!

I can tell you that it would not be a waste of money just hanging out inside, or outside in the real hot tub. It was very relaxing. Yes the morning temperatures were a little cold for us as well.

What is one awesome "cabin"!

Thank you!

OK, Tom, would you be willing to share a link to the place where you rented that cabin?

I am very interested in knowing what something like that goes for for a week.

That view is amazing, and the inside and furnishings look really nice and fun.

If you didn't mention that you were in a development, I wouldn't have known. The view is still great. I wouldn't mind a little noise.

TCD

This is awesome! Would love some more info on the place!

The Rays gear looks so foreign in the snow!

It'd be weird taking a roady and not pulling the popup. But, I'm willing to learn!

I would be more than happy to share. We have been renting from Jackson Mountain Homes for the past several years and have stayed in a couple different areas. This was probably the one area we enjoyed the most.

http://www.jacksonmountainhomes.com/

We stayed in the pink area on the map this visit, the Arts and Crafts Loop area

http://www.jacksonmo...mes.com/map.htm

And this was our cabin

http://www.jacksonmo...tains/183/alpha

MetalDad I agree, something seems weird about seeing TB gear in snow :). There are some awesome campgrounds in the area, and I would love to take a week and pull the pup up there to camp when the weather is warmer.

I'm in as well. Looking forward to your updates!

Sorry you were ill.

Great report and I agree about the Wet Willie's comment. I have bad memories of that place when I was younger.

Great pictures!

Nice job on the hidden Mickey too. Unfortunate that someone felt the need to throw trash there though

Great updates!

It has been over a year since we had passes, so this report is really making me want to visit again.

Unbelievable! I just finished an update and with a phantom click it all went away!

I'll try this again.

We left off enjoying a nice steak and reading the boys trip highlights from the first day.

I was up early Saturday and enjoyed my coffee while taking in the views from the deck out back:

You may get a little tired of pictures from out back because I took a lot of them, I really enjoyed looking out at the mountain :)

It didn't take long for me to retreat back inside to the warmth of the cabin as it was just a little bit chilly outside:

After everyone was up and getting ready for the day I took the opportunity to finish taking photos of the cabin.

Here is a shot of the living area as you enter through the front doors:

And looking up towards the loft bedroom:

DS10 is heading downstairs to the lower level.

The view downstairs from the loft:

Here is the bed in the loft:

And this is what you would see each morning as you get out of bed:

Here is a shot of the bathroom in the loft:

Here is a shot from the main level deck:

This cabin is located in a community and is not isolated. I imagine during the peak season there could be some noise to contend with, but that would not deter us from staying here again in the future.

Here are some more shots of the kids bedroom / gameroom:

Our bedroom:

I took this picture from the deck just to give some perspective as to how high up the cabin was. Looking directly out and seeing the tops of trees is something I'm not accustomed to in FL:

Here is a shot of the raccoon / bear proof garbage can on the front porch:

And here is an interesting sign hanging directly above the garbage can:

As much as we enjoyed seeing the snow in the mountains, I'm glad I did not have to use this during our stay:

But it's good to know it is there just in case :)

Here's a shot of the boys in front of the cabin:

When I went back inside I was greeted with DD playing dress up from all the stuff that her nana brought to play with:

Up next, we head out for Roaring Fork and meet up with our brother and family for lunch.

Very cute! That's the kind of thing you hold on to.

Thanks!

I encourage them to document their trips as I think it will be really neat to read as they get older. DS7's was really neat as well, he had drawn pictures as well.

There is quite a temperature change from Cherokee to the top of the mountain. It's so cool, though to see all that snow when it's not freezing outside! I loved seeing your kids faces while they were playing in the snow! Priceless!

On the trip up the weather was pretty mild on the top of the mountain, about 43 degrees. The way back however was very cold.

It's funny how much they enjoyed it, I bet that would get old if we had to deal with it every year :) At least it would for me anyway.

great! Love that the kids are documenting it as well!!!

Thank you for reading!

First of all, Happy 40th!

We love going to the Smokies too. We have camped in the area, stayed in hotels and condos in downtown Gatlinburg, and occasionally stay with my aunt and uncle who live in the area. We have talked about renting a cabin and would be very interested to know who you deal with.

I see lots of potential Christmas card photos in this report.

Thanks! We used Jackson Mountain Homes. We have used them for years and have been happy with their cabin listings and service.

Christmas cards already on order :)

Tom,

Great report. Many fiends know my favorite place is gatlinburg and the smokies. We have always wanted to go when there was snow. We went years ago for thanksgiving but no snow back then. Keep up the great report

Thanks Starbuc! I have enjoyed your trip reports of the area! I also remember your campground and if we ever get their to camp, we will be staying there.

First, Happy 40th! I hit my 50th this past summer and I know what you mean. It just sounds so different to say, "I'm 50!" :)

Second. I'm so glad your kids got to see the snow! I just love seeing their excitement!

Third. I love that your boys are keeping a journal. BTW, he did a great job with his writing!

Fourth. I LOVE your outfit! Go Noles!

Looking forward to more!

Woot! Finally someone likes the Nole gear! Thanks for for the kind comments and for following my report.

Hey Tom-

Thanks for sharing the journal entry from your son.

It's interesting to see how kids perceive things.

It looks like the kids had a blast on this trip. That kids' room in the cabin is pretty awesome.

TCD

Thanks Andrew. I agree and was one of the highlights of the trip. I read each of their entries each night before they went to bed.

:rofl2: I was thinking the same thing.

The scenery photos are absolutely stunning! The photos of kids playing in the snow are even better!

The photo of your wife is very lovely but I don't think she was really showing support for BK.

Your son's journal is absolutely priceless! <3

Enjoying the report!

Thanks Kim! You're right, there was definitely some sarcasm in that photo :)

I forgot to ad one thing in Friday's update. Each day our boys were documenting their trip. DS7 was writing in his journal and DS10 was documenting on his iPod. I couldn't get quality photos of the handwritten entries, but here is what I got from DS10's iPod.

Pretty cool:

I'm off to work and hope to continue on later this evening.

Wow, that is some "cabin!"

That thing is sweet.

I love the views.

And the bar!

Good job on picking that cabin out.

I wouldn't want to leave there.

TCD

It was a great cabin and we were definitely not roughing it. We would stay there again should we return.

Love the snow photos... nice job with them... The one of your daughter running shows her excitement at playing in the snow... Beautiful "cabin"... and awesome looking steaks.... Oh yeah... Phineas and Ferb on the TV ... nice Disney tie in...

Thanks! I love that picture too. I LOL at the Phineas and Ferb after I took the photo.

40? You young thing!

That cabin is beautiful!! The second one, not the first one.

I forgot to mention, I was teasing you on the 40 thing. I'm over that hill. It's only a number!

Thanks! I know 40 is not really that big of a deal. I just remember when I was a kid how "old" I thought 40 was. That first cabin is what we drove by to get up to the community where our "real" cabin was located.

Great TR. I love the smokys. Mt Leconte got 3' out of that storm!

BTW, it's Newfound Gap......sorry....couldn't resist....it's a pet peeve ;-)

Thanks! My mom told me she heard that 3' of snow had fallen there. Crazy.

LOL at the road screw up. I bet that happens a lot from all the rookies traveling through the area. I thought it looked long when I typed it, but failed to do my homework. Maybe I secretly thought it was NewfoundCumberland Gap :)