The Great Smoky Mountains

Our first pitstop: Clingman's Dome

At 6,643 feet, Clingmans Dome is the highest point in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. It is the highest point in Tennessee. The observation tower on the summit of Clingmans Dome offers spectacular 360° views of the Smokies and beyond. It's just a half mile hike to the dome, but mark my words that half mile will make you take many full breaks till you reach the top. The hike is actually steep, you gain around 300 foot elevation from base to top. Once you make it, it's worth. 

Our next pitstop was Cades Cove Loop

I must say cades cove exceeded everyone's expectation. Its a one way road, so only one car can go at a time and all the cars just follow it. A scenic drive with plenty of pull off spots to look for wildlife. We stopped our car lot of times and everyone was so humble that no one honked. First we opened slide door of our cars and drove for a while, then we opened car backdoor and two people were sitting there. I must say, it was just beautiful. Also special thanks kid girl for taking the wheel and giving me sometime off to enjoy the drive.

Abrams Falls Trail

On our way back we stopped for Abrams Falls trail. As we started going in, it was getting darker and darker which is not a good sign. Also we saw a baby bear there. Considering these two points, we thought, it's better to drop off this trail and go back. 

Pizza Hut

When you are hungry, what can be better than a Pizza - 4 Pizzas, because you cannot satisfy your hunger by drawing a piece of cake. So we parked our car in paid parking and had nice pizzas.

Old Time Photos

As we were roaming around town, we checked out this amazing thing called as Old Time Photos. There are little shops where you can pose in costumes from 80s. We can transform ourselves into a Cowboy, Western Gentleman or anything else we like within a minute.

Let's Go

July Long Weekend

Whenever a long weekend is there, you have to go somewhere. It doesn't matter where, but somewhere. At the end, the destination never matters but the journey. I have always cherished it. We thought the same and visited The Great Smoky Mountains. The Smoky Mountains National Park straddles the border of North Carolina and Tennessee. The sprawling landscape encompasses lush forests and an abundance of wildflowers that bloom year-round. Streams, rivers and waterfalls appear along hiking routes that include a segment of the Appalachian Trail. An observation tower tops Clingmans Dome, the highest peak, offering scenic views of the mist-covered mountains.

On the way...@ Rest Area

Before I get lost in the greenery of Smoky, let me tell you about our plan. It was in the air, like any other plan. I always say until unless we reach the destination, plan is always in air. It can change. I was also not much excited about the plan so didn't paid much attention to it until the last. When there were few weeks left, I took my favorite coat of manager and started gathering everyone. There were 2 boys(me and Sandy) and 1 girl(Mata) in the beginning, 1 guy(Mania) was confused. Soon we got one more kid girl and silentor also joined in the end. So we had super six players ready to rock the boat. These people names depicts their identity. If you want to know more, just check out their FB profiles.

I booked a Chevy traverse-a medium suv enough for 7 people. I was showing the same to one of my colleague and he showed me a better option, it was to book a van. Since the price was almost same, in fact Dodge Grand caravan was cheaper and bigger than traverse, so I booked it. I must say that was a better car. It was roomie which is the best part, next it had sliding doors. So you can keep the doors open and roam around. Also those doors were remotely operated-just awesome. Thanks to colleague for advising such a nice car.

We packed lots of food, 6 foodie in the car and started our car towards The Great Smoky Mountains. The worst thing about driving in big states like Illinois is tolls. If you pay them or note their no, its ok. Just in case if you forget to note the plaza no.s it becomes pain. Our crew was so smart that they noted the no. but lost the paper where they note it down. I don't get the point how come today's generation still use paper/pen when they have smart phones.

Anyways we started bit late and hence reached motel by morning. Everyone was so tired that we hit the bed as soon as we can. We woke up by afternoon and then finally went to our first pitstop Clingmans Dome.

   

Night Rider

Night Rider @ 2 A.M.

Yes Night Rider, since I started my professional life, I feel like I have become a Night Rider. I was working in night shift for consecutive 2 years for a Retail client and now I have started making night trips in America, Thanks to my hirer as well as my client. There are many pros as well as cons of being a nighty, but its adventurous fun. Last long weekend (Thanks to 4^th of July) we planned a road trip to South Dakota. As I was the only driver in team of 8, I tried to have sleep for some time before the trip, but my awesome team, they didn’t allowed me. As usual we started overnight @ 2:30 AM, hence the name evolved Night Rider.

Early Morning @ Siouix Falls

Night got over early and we were submerged in Morning Fog, no visibility beyond 10 feet, dangerously cool. At our first stop, we met granddaughter of Niagra Falls-Siouix Falls. It was scenic with awful smell. We took scenic advantage with cool pics and started heading towards another cool looking place-Badlands, well name precedes its reputation. But actual definition is it’s an ancient sea floor which rose and swallowed the rolling plains. Colorful, dramatic and surreal, the sculptured pinnacles and painted gullies preserve the past in layers of colorful sediment. In lay man language, it’s a photogenic place for us and fossil place for geeks. You can spend around 2hrs here and then move on.

Getting Mixed in Nature

Our next spot is a mystery place also known as Cosmos Mystery Area. This is an awesome place which shows the power of cosmos and boggle your mind. At this place, your height can change or water can flow uphill or a boll can be stagnant on a slope. This place amazes and astonishes your mind, you may be standing straight, but your body will be inclined, how crazy it is. Words can’t describe the experience, but pictures may.

Food Food Indian Food

Group Selfie @Badland

Now all of us were hungry and wanted to have Indian Food, so we visited Kathmandu Hotel in Rapid City, but they were running houseful. We were advised to check out their new branch-Everest Cuisine, as expected it was also crowded, but since we were kind of begging they allowed us. One of their manager even asked us to stand outside and not to stand near the tables as they didn’t had any space. Those guyz were so busy that after some time we started taking things in our hands and another manager had to say “it’s your hotel, take whatever you like, and feel at home”. And yes I took it literally. Overall, it was fun to get Indian food at the end of a tiring day.

Cosmos: Believe me, I am standing straight.