Justin, Wyatt, and I headed up to Townsend, Tennessee for a camping trip in the Great Smoky Mountains last week. We had the best vacation ever and I was sad to see it end.
One of my new favorite things to do is to decorate the chalk board fridge door and camper door when we arrive. It’s a nice way to capture our vacation destination and scribbling on the door gives Wyatt something to do while Justin and I unpack the camping gear.
We stayed at the Townsend/Great Smokies KOA. They did not disappoint! The manager was talking to Justin and said that 70 folks were leaving on Sunday so the weekend was definitely busier than the weekdays. I think next time we will go up during the week. It wasn’t unbearable, but it was a lot nicer with all of the empty camp spots and reduced traffic through the camp ground.
Wyatt was enamored by their amazing playground. That was a nice little diversion for him to let out some energy every night when Justin was firing up the grill. They also had a swimming pool that we never made it to, a disc golf course, horseshoes, basketball court, and a fenced dog run. It was a really nice facility.
The big selling point for us was the camp spots right on the river. We could sit at our picnic table and see the tubers floating right on by. It was nice to hear the running water and to let Wyatt play at the edge and toss rocks in while we were getting meals ready and hung wet clothes up to dry.
Justin skipped rocks and Wyatt tried to throw in a straight line. Most of the time, Wy would sling a rock forward and it would end up going sideways or backwards. The entire time I would try to take a picture of him I was afraid I was going to end up like those parents on America’s Funniest Home Videos with a rock crashing into my head.
I packed Wyatt’s water shoes on a whim at the last minute and they came in handy! The smooth river-worn rocks were slick with algae and these probably saved his little toes. I wasn’t as lucky. I kept my Crocs flip flips on but I wasn’t able to keep my balance and ended up falling in more than once. Thankfully I had my waterproof camera case on. I know I trip on flat surfaces so I wasn’t taking any chances on the river rocks!
Fall was just starting to show a first peep or two of its appearance. I loved seeing the pretty leaves here and there and we certainly appreciated the 60-degree mornings.
On Saturday night, Justin and I were sitting at the camp fire after Wyatt went to bed. Justin kept looking around thinking he heard something on our camper. We pulled out the flash lights and found a raccoon! We watched him hop from the camper to the pop tent, onto the tree. After a while, he braved the crazy folks shining him and crawled back down the tree and back onto our tent. He hopped down and waddled his way on down to the river. It was so neat to see wild life so close. I only wish Wyatt had been up to see it.
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