At Considerable Cost

One last stamp for the kids' National Parks Passports as we headed home: Chattanooga.   At the top of Lookout Mountain is the Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park.    We arrived in late afternoon, right before a rain storm.   Ah, lovely, beautiful rain!   The park is small, but beautiful.   It is more of a commemorative park than educational, but it is worth the tour.   There is a great visitors center.   I held on tight to the hands of Clare and Thomas because it is a long drop from the top of this mountain, with no happy ending, surely.   People have homes where their backyard just drops off.   I still get a little queasy looking at the pictures.   We did not examine any of the on-the-edge exhibits.   I am so thankful that other than the rain pouring down as we were going to the car, it was an uneventful trip! People walk down those st...

This is the way we entered downtown from our hotel.  It's the entrance to The Village, a shopping center made up of quaint shops and eateries.   View leaving Gatlinburg to head to the national park   There was a Krispy Kreme in Pigeon Forge!   Worth a drive for dessert:)                    

Our schedule was flexible, so we stayed a little longer to explore the North Carolina side of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park .   The beautiful drive led to spectacular views.   There are many places to pull over and soak in the beauty. The perfection of that tree on the left! Such an honor to set foot on such a piece of history: This overlook area was a CCC (Civilian Conversation Core) project done during the Great Depression.   Their efforts can be seen throughout the park.   We all looked forward to the tunnels.   Notice on the car: 70 degrees exterior?   Nice, and it was even cooler as we travelled higher into the mountains:)    Next, our journey took us to Clingman's Dome .    It is the highest point in the park.   I reflected on the words below for quite a while as I stood in the beautifu...