21 May 2016 Saturday Our quiet campground was invaded last night by an army of boy scouts who must have arrived after 10 pm. I must admit they set up camp very efficiently and without too much unnecessary noise. We wake in the morning after another drizzly night and are reminded of why we don’t like to camp in parks on weekends. The tent sites are all full. There are new
20 May 2016, Friday I turned on my computer last evening to try to get some typing done on my blogand discovered that we unexpectedly have free wi-fi from the parkservice that reaches to our campsite. This is quite fortuitous as it turns out, because the lawyer working for the buyers of our house happens to be quite cautious. I found an email stating that settlement, scheduled for this morning cannot
19 May 2016, Thursday We have decided to walk some of the shorter above ground trails at Mammoth today. We beginagain at the Visitor Center, this time with a ranger “Porch Talk.”The ranger encourages us to ask about ‘above ground’ things atMammoth Cave. A woman asks about his favorite places. He suggestsSloan’s Pond and Cedar Sink. He also mentions a town not far fromCedar Sink named Pig, which has a good
18 May 2016, Wednesday It rained pretty hard all night long. We finally convince ourselves atabout 6:45 am local time (7:45 for us easterners) that the patteringon the tent fly is from the trees, not the clouds. We emerge from thetent and find we are correct. We have breakfast cooked and eaten, anddishes washed and put away by 9. Off we go to the visitor center. We have tickets for the
17 May 2016, Tuesday Once again we beat the rain. We are up at 6:30 and the tent is stowedbefore the steady morning drizzle begins. We cook and eat ourchocolate chip pancakes and are on the road to Mammoth Cave by 9:30.After a slight detour to the Trader Joe’s in Knoxville we head forKentucky. We gain an hour as we cross into central time in westernTennessee. We arrive at Mammoth Cave
16 May 2016, Monday It was very cold last night. The temperature had to have dropped into thelow 30’s. We stayed warm under our down quilt, but I wouldn’t haveminded an extra blanket. During the night we heard an owl calling close by, and also some very loud coyotes around 3 or 4 am. We areup around 7:30am and warm a huge cinnamon bun from Crockett’sBreakfast Camp for today’s breakfast. I’m
15 May 2016, Sunday Our final day in Gatlinburg…we return to Crockett’s Breakfast Camp. Owants to try another waffle variety. I have a spinach-mushroomvariation on eggs benedict. After breakfast we return to our room for pre-departureshowers and then we repack the car. I text G hoping for at least a briefconversation before we again venture beyond the Verizon. We had achance to talk to S last night. There is no response
14 May 2016, Saturday Breakfast is at Crockett’s 1875 Breakfast Camp. We had to go there because itis at the intersection of Parkway and M&O street – really!Actually breakfast is quite good. I have a short stack of 2 pancakeswith fresh strawberries. Each pancake is at least an inch plus thick.O has some waffles similarly appointed. The morning is busy, and there is quite a lot of typing to do, not
13 May 2016, Friday Ahhhh, Friday the 13th. It rained practically all night long, themurmur of the Greenbrier Creek increasing to a roar during the night.Fortunately, the rising waters did not reach our tent. We sleep inuntil about 7 am because that’s when the rain finally seems to stop,the irregular platting of drops on the fly coming more from the treesoverhead. Our first debate – whether to put on the wet
12 May 2016, Thursday Despite a vigorous shower during the night, we wake to brightsunshine. We rehydrate and eat our apple-cranberry french toast andgive our tent some time to dry. By 10:21 we are on the trail. I leavemy rain cover on my pack for lack of a better place to put it. Once again we find ourselves admiring all the wildflowers. I try to takephotos with my little camera, but the