The Great Smokies!

~Monday, April 19, 2021~

Day 309 (Travel Day)

Bardstown was an absolute hit and will most certainly be back. As we left this quaint little town, heading towards the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, we continued to drive through some pretty amazing country side…….towns like Mt. Vernon, Springfield and Stanford. Hmm….could Kentucky be a possibility for new digs? Never considered Kentucky, so we shall see.

Arrived at Elkmont Campground….loop A. We tried to get Loop B on the river a few weeks ago when we made our reservation, but all were taken. This place is stunning with most of the trees starting to fill in and the Little River, which isn’t very little, giving us a nice backdrop of sound. We can definitely hear it from our campsite.

Finally, we’re back to what we really love…...mountains! There are more than 800 miles of maintained hiking trails to explore in this park and we will certainly be on some of them. We made a commitment to take 1 major hike a day while we’re here. That means 7 big hikes!-----yeh!!! The Great Smoky Mountains national park is THE most visited national park in the U.S. Most people including us, were shocked to hear this, but here’s the reason. The national park entrance is a through road, not just its own entrance into the park. This means that people, without the intention of visiting the park, are visiting the park.

After our set up, we took advantage of sunset time and took a walk around the campground and man, Loop B has some pretty amazing spots right on the river. I’m sure those have to get booked months in advance, but we’re jotting down our favorites right now for the next trip. We just booked this a few weeks ago since we knew we’d be safe in getting a spot here with it not being peak season yet. There is river access from several points in the campground, so Sadie can help herself to a swim while we enjoy some quiet reading time.