Happy 14th Birthday To This Boy!!!

 

Vaca 2020 - Day ?? - Klingmon's Dome and Driving

I've completely lost track of what happened on what days at this point on our vaca...  Don't suppose it really matters so we're not going to waste any time trying to figure it out.  Let's get right to the evidence of why my bride and I so enjoy our time in the Great Smoky Mountains!

One of the first places we stopped...  we are suckers for "brown" signs and historical markers. This one reads, "Before you lies the massive Plott Balsam Range. On one of its Eastern slopes, Henry Plott, a German immigrant's son, made his home in the early 1800's.  In this game-filled frontier, hunting dogs were a prized possession.  Here, Henry Plott and his descendants developed the famous Plott Bear Hounds.  Carefully selecting for the qualities of stamina, courage and alertness the breed possesses today".

So what does a Plott Bear hound look like, I wondered to nobody but me.  Sort of like this:

There are a good number of pics of both black and brindle colored hounds.

Wow!

A trailhead that we've never hiked. Here's a write-up by a guy who has made it a mission to hike every trail in the park, should you be interested.

We like the tunnels in this area too!  Even with a big bird poo on the windshield!

C'mon man.  This is why I'm a mountains guy more so than an ocean guy.

Is that a house in the lower right corner?

The start of the hike up to Klingmon's Dome...  obviously, the weather is NOT on our side here.  Notice the fog settling in over the trail towards the top of the picture.

That's Caleb in the bright green.  I couldn't believe how many times me fat arse had to stop and rest climbing this hill.  

Just about there...

Rob is NOT in a good mood here and you can tell by the grayish white behind us that there aren't really any good views to be had after our trek up.

This one is still happy though!

On our way back down, we decided to hike a bit of the Appalachian Trail.  It had just started raining on us when we came down off of the viewing tower and was now raining quite a bit harder as we started this trail.

My glasses were wet with rain and fogging up while we're hiking on this terrain.  Nope.  Ol' Teddy is not going any further.  I told everyone to continue on but I wasn't going any further, and I didn't.

Robby, not happy.  I am finding something humorous but I have no idea what.

Caleb was loving the whole misguided adventure.

On the way back down to civilization, we spotted this little critter.

Not sure how far Momma Bear was from this cub, we just snapped a picture fairly quickly and got on our way.

Mr. & Mrs. Schmitz with some dryer clothing.

He dresses up any scenery!

More tunnel and this time I edited out the bird poo.

A tunnel, bird poo, and a sign that says, 20 MPH right hand turn in the tunnel.  Duly noted!

Gatlinburg!

But not before the BIG tunnel!

 

And there we have it.  Another adventure in the books and just more reasons to love this area of the United States!

Another Little Project

Last August, when the storm known as the Derecho blew through, we lost a branch or two, but mostly things that fit in the back of our garden cart without needing to be cut. Our basketball hoop was not nearly as fortunate!

 

I tried my best to rig it up to get another year or two out of it,  but nearly took a serious knock on my noggin in the process...  so, she went to her final resting spot in the landfill.

That brings us current.  Here we are with Saturday's project.

For something so simple, I smile every time I look out and see it.  It won't be very long before the boys are out of the house and such decor will no longer be needed, but thankfully, we still have a few good years of this phase left!

Steve Wants A Little Love

 

I get this pose/look about 20 times per day while I'm working.  This guy is going to be a mess when I have to go back to working in the office!

A Special Bond

These two have a special kind of bond that is just cool to see!

 

4 Miles Of Bonding

These two are growing up together and it's pretty awesome to watch!  Watching them progress thru Tae Kwon Do together is cool but the coolest thing is watching them together at little family gatherings where the youthfulness of boys come out in complete silliness!!  Then when you see them do something like this or like when we went to see Sam's first track meet, and their back and forth.  Pure Gold!!

On this day, they are running a 4 mile "race" which I don't know that either boy had any intention of winning.  From Caleb's perspective, it was something cool to do with his cousin as they both love to run.  

 

A Good, Old-Fashioned Stand-off!

Juno's hour long games of fetch are no longer since the arrival of Steve.  He plays alright, but only by his own rules.  Which is to say, once he gets the ball/toy, he hoards them in his bed and protects them so Juno can't get them back, hence her helpless, pinned-back ears look in this picture.

The next step in the game is Juno going to find a different toy to play with.  Steve likes to block her path and stare her down during this phase and is also ready to pounce at a moments notice.

Juno's next move?  Get something to chew on and end Stevie's shenanigans.

Not long after, a truce has been reached and it's nap time... together.  On top of Steve's hoarded toys.