Great Smoky Mountains

This is one of the most visited national parks in the world. Yet, I was told that few people get more than 100 yards from their car. I am asking you to think about going further. Take a hike to Grotto Falls or any one of the other falls in the park. Get away from the car. Learn and explore.

I used the time hiking the Trillium Gap Trail to talk to my youngest daughter. We talked about things we saw and why things are the way the are. We even tried to figure out why we found coal on the ground along the hike back. She had lots of answers: People may have brought it to heat their homes before the park was formed. She purposed that folks may have used it to to make ink among other ideas.

When we got back a ranger station she asked ranger giving her her Junior Ranger badge why the coal was there. He told her while her ideas were good thoughts, the real reason was the stretch of trail she found the coal on was an old rail bed and the coal had fallen off the steam trains. Steam trains are just not something a girl in the 1990's would think of.

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