We woke up Tuesday morning ready for more adventure.
Our first stop of the day was Anakeesta. Matt and I had visited Anakeesta during our last vist to Gatlinburg, and we thought the kids would enjoy it.
The chair lift to the top is always a highlight.
We started with the rope bridges that travel through the trees.
There are several play areas on the top the mountain, so the kids explored those next.
One of the highlights of Anakeesta was this cute bird playground. There were three child sized bird houses with different themes, a huge trampoline net in the middle and several other bird themed play areas and slides. It was really well designed and adorable. The kids played here for a long time.
One of the birdhouses was a wise owl with lots of books.
Another bird house was mockingbird who was an award winning singer- very feminine.
The third birdhouse was home to a woodpecker with rustic carvings throughout.
There were also adorable perches and nests as play areas.
We definitely spent the most time at the birdventure area.
There were several photo ops throughout the park as well, with stunning views in the background.
There were also a few shops, and we browsed those while trying to cool off.
We climbed the stairs to the obersvation deck and took a few pictures.
Then we grabbed some ice cream for lunch/treat, snapped a few more photos, and rode the chairlift back down the mountain.
At the bottom of the mountain, we spent some time window shopping in Gatlinburg. There are so many quaint little stores. It was fun to explore for a little while.
Tuesday afternoon, we drove back into the national park to visit Clingman's Dome the highest point in the Smokies.
It's advertised as a half mile paved trail, easy peasy, right?!? Ha! We were huffing and puffing, but we made it, and the views were totally worth it.
Samuel had requested to spend some of our time in the Smokies hiking trails, so after we descended Clingmans' Dome, we hiked one of the side trails in the area.
Leaving the park that night, we encountered another bear. We watched it for a long time.
He came so close to our van and acted like he didn't even know we were there.
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