A New Addition!

No, it's not a baby... it's a puppy! Meet Isabella!

Isabella is 6 months old and adopted from the Calhoun County Shelter in Iowa. They believe she is an Australian Cattle Dog/Terrier mix, but who really knows! All we know is she is adorable, and as sweet as can be! Her mom was around 40 lbs, but Isabella may end up staying around 20. Only time will tell. She is already house trained, and crate trained. She does well with "sit" "come" "leave it" and "lay down." She is a very smart girl!

So far, Isabella loves sticks and grass, and loves to be outside! She isn't a fan of playing fetch but loves to chase her rope toy and go on walks. We have yet to hear her bark, and she is very friendly with other dogs. She curious about the cats and wants to play with them... they, on the other hand, are not too sure about her. It will take some time, but it is already going better than we thought it might. Yes, hissing happens, but the cats like to keep an eye on her, so they don't go too far. They actually come up and sniff her when she's sleeping! Here are some more pictures of our sweet girl!

Fun Finds

Now that I've finally finished my posts about our National Parks trip this May, I am very excited to share some posts about our new house!

Moving from a trailer to a 3-bedroom house is a big change. We have so much more storage space, but a lot of empty space to fill, too! It's been a lot of work, but also a lot of fun! We didn't want to go out and buy matchy furniture for all of our rooms, so it has been a process of searching for and finding those one-of-a-kind pieces and making them our own! Our focus has been the main areas upstairs - living room, dining room, kitchen, bathroom, bedroom. Here are some of the fun things we've added to our new home!

This table is actually a new purchase from Slumberland, along with a coffee table and another end table from a different collection. I thought this table was particularly unique, though, and a look that could be created from a bargain find if you wanted. We love the splash of color it brings, without being too over-the-top.

Family treasures! This is my grandparent's hutch, and it fits perfectly in our new home - it is like it was made for this corner! We are considering a blue/gray stain at some point, for the time being, we are enjoying the natural wood look of it. It has such character!

Another piece from a family member, this dresser was a hand-me-down from my cousin, who bought it at a garage sale. We sanded and spray painted this one, and then I added the decorative tree! So much fun, and it really brings personality to the room!

After purchasing most of our living room furniture new, I wasn't sure what I could get for a TV stand that would match, but not be too "match-y." I saw this trunk at a consignment store and immediately knew it was right! It looks great with the darker wood of the coffee table, etc, but brings a totally different feel to the room. What to do with the DVD player is another issue, but we'll figure that out. Any ideas??

This is a Coca-Cola crate, now hung as my spice rack! I am getting glass jars with metal lids, so that they look a little nicer being "on display," but I think this is so fun! Our kitchen is one area that we've really struggled with storage space, so this keeps all of my often-used spices within arms' reach and - more importantly - out of a cupboard!

Another piece of furniture we were struggling with was what to use as a bed-stand. Just like with the trunk, when I saw this crate at an antique store, I knew it was the way to go! I clear-coated it, but left the label-remnants for a more rustic look.

These awesome hampers are finds from TJMaxx, which I love for organizational items! I was amazed at the prices I found looking at hampers online - how much does one really need to pay for a hamper?! So, I was super excited when I found these! I bought a similar one for the bathroom, as well, since that's another area that dirty laundry often ends up.

So far, nothing on the walls - that's my next step! Here we go!

Mammoth Cave National Park

And now on to our final stop! Mammoth Cave was the last stop on our National Parks trip this May! After spending about a week at Great Smoky Mountains, and a couple days at Congaree, we were on to Mammoth Cave in Kentucky. Here's what we did, and our tips for a successful trip!

1) We stayed at the Mammoth Cave Campground, and because we reserved a spot, we practically had an entire loop to ourselves the first night! The campground and bathrooms are very nice, but do note that they do not include showers! You can buy shower tokens at the general store or at the hotel. The showers are not the nicest, but they sure felt good as only the second shower of our trip. Another note was that we found our site to be very hard for staking down our tent - you may find a site with grass space for a tent easier if you plan on tent camping. There are also cottages available for lodging, which we didn't realize! Might be a fun way to experience this park!

2) If you have the time, don't skimp on the above-ground features of this park! We didn't have a lot of time, as we only spent one full day at the park, but I was amazed at the amount of trails, picnic areas, and lookouts there were available at this cave-based park.

3) You can always email a park ranger before your trip for tips. This is how we decided which tours to do. I wanted to be sure our tours didn't overlap areas of the cave, and we wanted the most "adventure-y" tour possible, since the "Wild Cave Tour" wasn't available when we were going to be there. I have also emailed other parks with questions, and they have always been super helpful!

4) The visitors center is something I often overlook at parks, but this one is not to be missed. Maybe it was just the A/C, but we spent a lot of time at this particular visitor center. I loved the interactive exhibits, maps of the cave, and videos about continued exploration. 

5) The Domes and Dripstones Tour is your basic cave tour. It takes place on established paths, staircases, etc, all with electric lighting along the way. It was a great overview of the history of the cave, and features some of the best cave formations in this mostly dry cave. If you only have time to do one tour, this is probably your best bet! We were with a group of kids on a field trip (the tour size for this one is huge!), which was a little crazy, but it was really fun to hear their questions and see them take it all in!

6) The more adventure-y pick for our second tour was the Violet City Lantern Tour. This tour takes place completely by lantern-light. The tour guides each had a flashlight for pointing out specific things we may have missed otherwise, but the majority of our time was spent seeing the cave by the light of about 10 lanterns (it was a group of 30 or so). The majority of this tour focused on the history of the cave, from Native Americans thousands of years ago, to the first explorers of the cave in the 1800s. Our tour guides were great, and the tour was a really unique experience!

Mammoth Cave, and our trip as a whole, was an adventure we won't soon forget! We checked off national parks 3--5 on this trip, and can't wait to start planning what's next! If you have experiences to share or recommended parks, please let us know! We would love to hear your experiences!

Congaree National Park

The second stop on our  awesome national parks road trip this May was Congaree National Park in South Carolina. It is one of the newest national parks, having formerly been named a "National Swamp" despite the fact that it's not a swamp, but a floodplain forest. This little-known park was a great stop, but definitely a park for a shorter trip. We spent 1 and a half days there, and while you could certainly spend more time, we felt we got a pretty good feel for the park in that amount of time. Here's what we did, and what we learned about this park!

1) One of the first things we saw upon arriving: 

We apparently picked a pretty good time to come, as the skeeter meter was only at "mild." Note: "mild" is all relative. It was still pretty buggy!

2) The most popular part of the park is the elevated boardwalk trail, and it's definitely a must-do. It gives you a great tour of what the park is all about, and the brochure (with numbered stops) can teach you all about cypress knees and the ecosystem of a floodplain - if you're as wonderfully curious as I am! Part of the boardwalk was closed, but that just meant you couldn't walk it as a loop. Here are some of the views from the boardwalk:

3) Camping at Congaree was actually very nice, once we figured out what we were doing! I felt the information available didn't explain the system real well, but we were smart enough to figure things out. :-) When you pull into the camping area, there is a large sign with information and campsite registration forms, as well as a small outhouse building. These are the only bathrooms for the camping area, and there is no water in this area. We went to the visitor center to fill up water jugs - we never found anything that mentioned where to get water. The campsites are walk-in only, but aren't far from the parking lot (We carried our large tent and plenty of gear.) There is no wood for sale at the park, but you can find plenty on the ground for a good fire, and all sites have a fire ring and picnic table. In the busiest of times, I imagine you might feel a little close to your neighbor at some sites, but we had a large area to ourselves this time of year. If you have any questions about camping at Congaree, please leave them in the comments and we will do our best to answer - there isn't a lot of information out there!

4) On day two at Congaree, we went canoeing! This is a great way to see the park from another perspective, and it was a neat experience! We rented our canoe from Adventure Carolina, and checked water level, etc, at the visitor center before heading out. We decided to canoe Cedar Creek, where the water has almost no current. We could canoe upstream and back down and didn't have to worry about shuttles, etc. Adventure Carolina also does tours with their guides, so if you're not an experienced canoer, that would be another great option! Despite water levels being okay, we were told this area had a lot of downed trees, etc. They weren't kidding! Half our time was spent doing this:

And every time we went near a tree, there was at least one more spider in our canoe. It became a game of what we could get through without portaging (getting out of our canoe and carrying it), and avoiding spiders at all costs! Right when we decided to turn around, we saw a tree branch absolutely COVERED in spiders! The trip back was a little less fun after that, but we still enjoyed our day. 

5) We did hike some short trails off of the boardwalk, including the Weston Lake Loop. We saw a lot of wildlife, especially near the lake, and these other trails do not seem to be heavily traveled. Take advantage of these awesome trails! 

6) If you go into town (Columbia, SC), be sure to check out Maurice's BBQ. You can't miss it! This was recommended by a local, and was definitely worth writing home about!

All in all, we really enjoyed our trip to Congaree! It can definitely be a shorter stop, but it is not to be overlooked! We saw so much wildlife here, and enjoyed the unique features of the floodplain forest. There's not a lot of info out there about Congaree, so let us know if we can help in your trip planning in any way! Off to the next park!

Great Smoky Mountains: Cosby/Big Creek Areas

After a great few days backcountry, we headed east within Great Smoky Mountains National Park, and Cosby Campground became our home base for the remainder of our stay. It was a great campground, as were all of the campgrounds within the park. Bathrooms are clean, there are dishwashing stations outside each bathroom building, and water spigots throughout. Each site has a picnic table and fire ring, as well. I will recommend not reserving a site at this particular campground, however, as the sites for reservation are right next to the entrance road. It worked fine, but it wouldn't have been our preference. Here are some of the things we did in this area:

1) Hike at Big Creek

Big Creek is down a VERY narrow and VERY windy (like wine-dy not win-dy) road from Cosby. It was a beautiful area, though! We hiked (more like walked, really, as it's quite flat), a little more than 2 miles before turning around. We ate lunch on the trail and enjoyed the views of Big Creek. This would be a great place to bring kids, or for people who may not want a more difficult hike. We were hiking right alongside a group of about 4 or 5 young families for awhile, and it was wonderful to see the kids out enjoying the park!

2) Cosby in the Park

Take a look at the NPS website for events that may be going on during your visit to the parks, or ask at the Visitor Center once you're there. Cosby in the Park happened to be during our stay, and right in our campground! There was live music, as well as different booths to check out. One of the stations was old-time toys and games, where we tried out a pair of stilts and learned to make a whistle out of a maple twig. They had crafts for kids, and food, and while we certainly didn't need to spend the whole day there, it was a great way to spend a couple hours!

3) Gabes Mountain Trail to Hen Wallow Falls

This is another easier day hike, and was a popular trail (we saw quite a few people while we were out). It leaves straight from the Cosby Campground, and is about 2.2 miles to the falls. We were taking easier trails due to my knees being a tad angry from our backcountry adventure, but even these shorter, easier trails took us to some amazing sights. Hen Wallow Falls was beautiful - definitely worthy of a stop and plenty of pictures. We ate lunch on a big rock below the falls before heading back to the campground.

4) Cosby Knob Shelter (Low Gap Trail and Appalachian Trail)

Brian hiked this route in the afternoon one day, while I sat and read in the sunshine! It's 7.4 miles round-trip, leaving from the campground, and it's not an easy walking path. He said it was a great hike, and would be recommended for a more difficult hike from the campground! It was kind of neat to be able to say he hiked all the way back up to the Appalachian Trail in a different area of the park.

5) Showers

Okay, showering is not typically a notable experience, but given the fact that there are no showers in the park, and this was our first real shower of the trip, it is worth mentioning! Online, I had read that most of the towns surrounding the park have showers available, and that if you asked a ranger, they would be able to tell you what might be available. When I asked a ranger, however, he basically said he didn't have a clue. SO, if you're staying in the Cosby area, we showered at Cosby Ranch, a campground right outside the park. Showers were $5, and while the bathrooms weren't those of a 5-star hotel (or even a 5-star campground), they were hot, and clean enough. Plus I had the whole bathroom to myself, which was kinda nice! My main recommendation is that campgrounds are a good bet for showers, but you will have to pay!

6) Gatlinburg

We did spend one evening in Gatlinburg. It was a lot of fun, but one evening was enough for us, as we would rather be in the park than in the touristy city. You can wander the main street and just walk in and out of shops, as well as trying Moonshine (a must-do, really), and lots of restaurant choices! I've heard great things about the aquarium, if you are spending a full day. Overall, it was a little strange to me that this touristy place was right outside a national park. I just hope that people are truly enjoying the park when they come to visit the area, and not just spending their time in Gatlinburg!

7) Cosby Nature Trail

This was our last stop before leaving the park. We tried to do a short walk on driving days, either before leaving or once we arrived. It helped a lot, and is definitely recommended! This short hike from the campground was a really neat trail, with information about the area and some historical features as well.

We didn't even get to the Western or Southern parts of the park in the time we had! We will definitely be back another time to enjoy other areas! What are your favorite hikes in the Smokies? Favorite campgrounds? Let me know in the comments!

Great Smoky Mountains National Park: Backcountry

After two days of driving, the first major adventure of our trip was two nights in the backcountry at Great Smoky Mountains National Park! We decided on a loop trip (technically a lollipop with a short stick) that was recommended on Backpacker.com, as well as in our "Best Hikes" series trail guide.

Here is the overview of our backcountry route:
Start from Newfound Gap
First night at Peck's Corner Shelter (about 10.6 mi)
Second night at Kephart Shelter (about 11 mi)
End back at Newfound Gap (about 5.5 mi)
Total = About 27 miles

We arrived at Great Smoky Mountains on Tuesday, May 13 and stayed the night at Elkmont campground. This way we could swing by the ranger's station at Sugarlands the next morning before heading out for the backcountry. We got our first taste of the Smokies right away, when it started raining as we tried to start a fire for dinner. We ended up eating dinner here, with the help of our stove:

It rains a lot in the Smokies, that's for sure, but it was over within an hour and we went on the Elkmont Nature Trail that evening to stretch our car-cramped legs. Many of the short nature trails were very nice, with self-guided brochures to tell about the area.

On Wednesday, we put on our packs and started heading north from Newfound Gap on the Appalacian Trail. In typical Great Smokies fashion, we started our trip in dense fog.

The trail was very rocky at the start, with a good number of day hikers up until Chalie's Bunion, which is just over 4 miles along the trail. Chalies Bunion is a highly recommended hike, whether a day hike or part of a backcountry trip. These were the most amazing views we had the whole trip! Pictures never do it justice, but here is the view from Charlie's Bunion:

One thing unique about the backcountry at Great Smoky Mountains is the fact that many sites have shelters. We weren't sure what to expect, but after discussing with the backcountry ranger at Sugarlands, we didn't even bring a tent! We brought a rain fly in case of emergency, but decided it was a lot of weight to bring "just in case." The shelters are like a giant bunk bed, with two platforms stacked on top of one another. Each platform is supposed to hold 5-6 people, but in reality could probably hold 8-10 if needed. The shelters also have a table and benches, and hooks for your backpacks! The cable system for hanging bear bags is nearby (you didn't even need a rope at these sites), and some shelters also have a fireplace and/or an outdoor fire pit. Peck's Corner had a Privy nearby, but Kephart's did not.

Our first night, at Peck's corner, we met 3 thru-hikers on the Appalachian Trail - Sunshine, Pockets, and Dragon (thru-hikers give each other nicknames). It was so much fun to hear their stories, learn from one another, and imagine what it would be like to spend months on the trail. Everyone please send them good thoughts as they continue on their journey through the summer and into fall! They said they would send an email when they completed their hike, and I truly hope they do!

After a rainy night (we would have been very wet in a tent!), day two was a wet one. Some of our trails had literally turned into flowing streams (top right of photos below). The elevation change on this day was huge, heading down, up, and back down again. I learned an important lesson: eat a snack before you are hungry! It takes a lot of energy to hike 3+ miles straight up! A must-have list for backcountry in the Smokies:

• Raincover for your pack
• Waterproof boots (or ones that will dry somewhat quickly)
• Quick-dry everything - When you only have 2 shirts, it's nice to know the other will be dry the next day
• Layers - We started each morning very cool, but quickly warmed up as we got moving. The sun was constantly in and out of the clouds, and the weather changed often. (It actually sleeted on our way back to the pass on day 3!)
• Ladies, if your hair is anything like mine -  A bandana to tame your hair in the humidity! :-)

Day 3 was a short but steep hike all the way back up to the pass. Overall, this trip is not for the beginner hiker (and probably shouldn't have been for me with my knees), but it was a great loop and comes highly recommended by us! We saw such a variety - it was a great way to get a good feel for what the Great Smoky Mountains have to offer. This is just a snippet of the awesomeness we saw these 3 days!

As always, if you want to see more pictures (or just bigger pictures) you can check out my Flickr!

Planning Our National Parks Trip

When we have time for a vacation, our first thought is always "What parks can we go to?" This May, after Brian graduated, we had 2 weeks to spend on vacation. So how did we decide where to go?

1) Amount of Time - What can we see in 2 weeks? You could spend the whole 2 weeks at some parks and still wish you had more time. Other parks you only need a couple days. Two weeks seems like a lot, but you have to figure travel time, too! How much time are you willing to spend in the car?

2) Amount to Spend - Sure, 2 weeks is probably enough time to go to Alaska and see a park or 2, but that requires an expensive plane ticket. At this point, we were looking for an affordable trip.

3) Location of the Parks - First, what parks are near each other? I grouped parks together and looked at what the routes would look like if we visited that group. How much time would we spend driving? Does the route make sense? Is there anything else we might want to see along the way? This breakdown gave us 3 options: Yellowstone area parks, SW parks (Big Bend, Saguaro, etc), or SE parks.

4) Time of Year - This is probably the most important deciding factor on all of our trips. Where can you go this time of year? When you're going to be outside literally ALL of the time, you need to know what the weather is going to be like. Half of Yellowstone wouldn't even be open in mid May, so we decided to go farther south. It turns out that May is the off-season for the SW parks because it is SO hot and dry! So that brought us to the SE.

Based on all of these factors, we decided on a trip to Mammoth Cave, Great Smokey Mountains, and Congaree National Parks. This gave us about a week at the Smokies, a day and a half at Congaree, and one full day at Mammoth Cave. We were originally going to try and squeeze in a trip to the ocean, but decided against it. This trip was affordable, and the weather was great! And while I'm sure we could have spent more time at the Smokies, the timing was about right overall.

So, are you ready to plan your next trip to some National Parks?

**Update: Here are links to each section of our trip
Great Smoky Mountains - Backcountry
Great Smoky Mountains - Cosby/Big Creek
Congaree National Park
Mammoth Cave National Park