Girl In The Pretty Dress

We hadn't made any firm plans (except for horse riding) for our time in the Smokies so on the second day we headed out to explore with no real destination in mind.  Taking the scenic (and somewhat slippy) route down the mountain. I'd have been a bit less nervous on this road with a driver who spent a bit less time admiring the view... ...but then again it was pretty spectacular so who can blame him? When we reached the valley floor we were greeted by this handsome chap.  Elk don't usually appear during the daytime (we were very lucky!) but they can somtimes be seen on the meadows at sunset/sunrise. After bidding adieu to the Elk we made our way to the Boogerman trail (thanks to the advice of a friendly mountain ranger we met en route).  Walking the Boogerman trail is a pretty magical experience - with all the different coloured butterflies dancing on the breeze you could be forgiven for thinking you were in a Disney movie. O...

I've been dreaming of visiting the Smoky Mountains ever since I first heard Dolly sing "In my Tennessee mountain home..." but none of the songs really do justice to their scale or beauty. We picked up our rental car and wound our way into the mountains. We headed to the highest point: Clingman's Dome It felt a little like standing on top of the world. When I could finally tear myself away from that view, we headed back down the mountain and made our way to the edge of the Smokies - to Maggie Valley and Cataloochee Ranch. When we arrived at the ranch, our lovely hosts fed us enough to put us into a food coma.  We awoke the next day to this beautiful view. After another feast for breakfast, we decide to spend the morning exploring Mingo Falls. I have been lucky enough to visit some of the most spectacular waterfalls in the world on my travels, and while these didn't quite match the scale of others, they were by f...