My husband and I spent last week in the Smoky Mountains for our 6 year wedding anniversary. We try to take a kid-free vacation every year on our anniversary.Smoky Mtns

We originally planned to stay in a cabin closer to home, but Tennessee (Pigeon Forge/Gatlinburg) is only about about 4 hours from were we live. Plus it’s a beautiful relaxing drive through the mountains.

Smoky-Mountains-cabin

Nothing works once you get into the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The radio doesn’t pick up and there’s no cell service. Nothing but quiet curvy roads and lots of beautiful views. It’s marvelous! 😉

Smoky-Creek-Cabin-_-Mallards-Nest

We stopped a few times along the way to take in the amazing mountain views and to snap some photos. The second we entered the park, there was an Elk grazing in a field. They have lots of bears there too, but we didn’t see any this time.

Mallards-Nest-Smoky-Creek-Cabin

The cabin was beautiful. It’s a studio style cabin so both the upstairs and downstairs are wide open. We decided to stay one additional night since we found out the 4th night was free.

Sky-with-Mountains

We spent most of our time playing pool and relaxing in the hot tub. My husband did a little fishing when the ducks weren’t around.

Cabin-on-the-water

The ducks were very friendly. We fed them lots of bread and we became their new favorite people. Every time we stepped outside they came running up to us.

Gatlinburg-Tennessee-Caricature

On the 11th, our actual anniversary, we drove to Gatlinburg and walked around and visited some of the shops. We bought airbrush tshirts for both the girls and had a caricature done, just like we did on our honeymoon.

Ole-Smoky-Moonshine-Tennessee

There were LOTS of free moonshine tastings in Gatlinburg… and of course we tried them all! I think I had every type of moonshine ever made before noon. We ate lunch at Blaine’s Bar and Grill to sober up before hitting some of the hiking trails.

Appalachian-Trail

We did the motor nature trail in Gatlinburg. It’s a loop through the mountains with lots of neat places to stop along the way.

Smoky-Mountains-Tennessee-Hiking-Trails

We stopped at an old cabin that was the farm of  Noah “Bud” Ogle between 1883 and 1925. The first settlers called this place “Junglebrook” after the dense growths of rhododendron and magnolia that boarded the streams.

Ogle-Farm-_-Smoky-Mountains

On the drive back home, we stopped at Clingman’s Dome.

Smoky-Mountain-National-Park

At an elevation of 6,643 feet, it is the highest mountain in the Smokies, the highest point in the state of Tennessee, and the highest point along the 2,174-mile Appalachian Trail.

Great-Smoky-Mountains

I love visiting the Smokies! I can’t wait to go back and bring the girls!