Year two of what I hope to be an ongoing annual visit to Bristol Rennaissance Faire. The kids were showing off their new costumes for the day, with Josh even playing in the Faire’s ’300 Tournament’. Great day, great food, great company, and great fun! Looking forward to visiting again in 2012!
Since recently becoming a big fan of Gaelic Storm, and seeing they were performing at Milwaukee’s Irish Fest, I decided to to take Cora and the kids up to Milwaukee for an ‘afternoon off’ from our typical weekend chores. It was a great decision, as Gaelic Storm now has 3 more fans…and we all enjoyed an afternoon of bagpipes, banjos, and fiddles. Not to mention that this was my first ever concert with the kids, which made it all the more fun. Here are a few photos from the day – The Outside Track and Gaelic Storm.
I’m still going through photos from my recent trip south, but decided to skip forward to one of our final (and most favorite) days in Arkansas. We drove about two hours from our hotel to tour Blanchard Caverns. Two tours, the Dripstone and the Discovery, were around $65 for all four of us. I thought it was a fantastic deal and after we finished, it was money well spent. The Dripstone Tour is an hour long and is, very simply, a teaser. When you first go in and see how massive this place is, you can’t help but get back in line and get tickets for the other tour. Fortunately, a quick tip from a book saved us the second wait in line. The Discovery Tour takes you deeper into the cavern to see more of the formations and other rooms. It’s a bit more strenuous (some 1200+ steps, I think?), but after hiking in the Smokies, we were doing fine 
. They actually offer a third tour – the ‘adventure’ one. The fee, which I can’t remember, includes overalls, kneepads, helmet, light, and gloves and you basically get down and dirty, climbing around the rocks. My boys weren’t up for it, but maybe in a future trip they’ll be a bit more adventurous…
Outside the cavern, about a 5 minute drive away, you get to see where all the water exits from the cave. It is a beautiful, quiet walk down a paved path along the spring. At the end, you see the water coming out, along with some other river beds that were dry while we were there. Definitely worth another visit to see how those look in early spring. The view of the crystal clear water flowing out in a little gully was refreshing and peaceful…very inviting. But the warnings were posted…don’t be fooled – plenty of bats are in the cavern and the water flowing through it and out is basically their sewage . But don’t let that take you away from what is an absolutely gorgeous scene.
I hope you enjoy the photos!
A quick trip to Cades Cove on our last day in the Smokies paid off quite well – deer, snakes, and bear (oh my!).
Finally, some time to build my waterfall portfolio. We hit Laurel Falls after the crowds were gone – around 7pm, believe it or not. I can see why everyone loves this – it’s an easy hike with a beautiful scene at the end of the path. Enjoy!
Today we hiked the path to Adam’s Bald, then around to Clingman’s Dome. Though the day started out partly cloudy, we ended up in a rainstorm with only a half-mile left in the hike. My camera didn’t like this too much, as the viewfinder fogged up and never cleared. Needless to say, it is on its way to Canon. But I still pulled out a few shots during the trek. This is an absolutely beautiful place and I can’t wait to revisit….in better weather .
Our first full day of fun (and it was full…). After some disappointing fishing, we hiked to Spruce Flat Falls. It was the middle of the day, so photography was not high on the list with the sun high in the sky. And it was a little busy at the falls as a bride, groom and a couple family members hiked the 1 mile, 500 foot climb in flip flops and formals to get married at the bottom of the fall – very cool! After sharing congratulations, we took off before their service, taking an off-path course down the river. This was a bad choice, as 3 of us ended up slipping and falling – one of them me, as my camera took a hit on the stone (ouch…problem #1 of the week).
We finally scaled back up to the path to take the ‘safe’ way down, and decided a horseback ride was on tap. This was a great ride, unguided and great views from the mountainside. The kids did well, considering it was their first time. The day finished up with some hot tub time, and s’mores around the campfire. (And yes, the camera still worked….for the time being.)
Day 6, our final full day, mostly spent relaxing and soaking up the scenery one last time before departure. We were up early to hit Cades Cove again – more deer, more turkey . But the highlight was a full spider web in the morning dew – an opportunity I have been waiting a long time for. A little shopping in-between, then we went to check out The Sinks. It was a little crowded, so Cora pulled out a few shots of it before we called it a day. It is sad to know we’re leaving tomorrow, but this trip is in the history books and we’re already taking notes for the next visit.
Jewels of the Morning
Morning Bath
Cropped down version to show details on the spider
The Sinks
Well, it just keeps getting better and better. Today’s trip brought us up to about 3800 feet to check out Grotto Falls. What a gorgeous, gorgeous place. Though the hike was a bit tiring, believe me when I say the payoff is well worth the effort. It is such a beautiful fall, and the amount of water pouring over the edge is fantastic. The trail brings you behind it to take in the full effect, and there are several angles to shoot from. We will definitely be going back to see this again someday…
Grotto Falls - HDR
Grotto Falls
Grotto Falls
Grotto Falls from behind
Grotto Falls - HDR
A visit on our way up to Grotto Falls trailhead
Llama train on the way down the trail
View of the trail up to Grotto Falls
Water Drop
Me at work
