Boys' Weekend @ Fall Creek Falls (Day 2)

Day 2 at Fall Creek Falls started off with some breakfast at the cabin, and then a horse-back ride through the Smokies for about an hour. After the ride, we were determined to find the trail that led to the bottom of the 'Falls and jump into the shallows.

There were only five to our party - us three, the guide, and a little girl who seemed to be a regular professional.

Kaden had the better horse this time, as Kolton's seemed to not be so "Sparky" as his name eluded to. Later on, we figured out he had tightened the reigns a bit around the saddle - essentially driving with the brake on. The horse was probably getting a little confused since Kolt was also (gently) kicking him to pick up the pace. Kaden had a similar experience with his horse outside of Pigeon Forge last year. My horse (Doc) kept creeping a little too close to Sparky until Sparky farted on him. Doc seemed to keep his distance after that. Overall, a great ride, and the boys were able to see a doe dart across the path as we were strolling through.

This is another picture of the Falls. The little white specks at the bottom are people. We intend to be those people....we've heard horror stories about the hike back up though. I've got a bet with the boys on how much longer it will take to come back up versus the hike down. We'll see who wins...

Boys are initially pumped for the journey. I'm cautiously anxious. It hasn't hit 95 degrees yet, and the humidity hasn't set in.

The boys though this was a race. Why do boys have to run EVERYWHERE?!?! I started getting worried as people coming back up the trail seemed to be needing a hospital bed, an IV, and some oxygen.

A nice (out of breath) gentleman returning from his trip to the bottom offered to take a pic of all three of us! ALRIGHT! This part actually reminds me of an area back in Kansas.

The boys thought it would be kewl to take a picture of them doing the one-arm spider man thingy. I must admit I was impressed by their stamina at this point.

Down Down Down.

Just about there! Only 20 minutes in!!!

Made it! The tricky part was the rocks close to the water. They were extremely slippery.

All three of us took our turns freezing out rears off and jumping in the water. Kaden is the photographer for this pic. Before he took it, he had actually scaled up on the large rock on the right of this photo.

Kolton had to stake his claim on the rocks, and attempted to pioneer a path to the back of the falls. The signs say not to, but he was feeling brave (and I was giving him a little slack in his leash).

Here's a video of Kaden and Kolton going their separate way (again). Kaden disappears into the forest like an elf, and Kolton is climbing the mountain like a ram with a purpose.

On the way back now. You'll note that this is the only picture I took of that part of the journey, and it was taken at the genesis of our return trip. Believe it or not, it took us less time to get back up. I guess you have to use a little more caution going down. But that doesn't (by any stretch of the imagination) imply that the trip up was easier. We all collapsed when we reached the van.

So, there's really not a lot of places to eat in Spencer, TN. We had grown fond of the gas station buffet and the bait shop by the liquor store (which grilled a mean catfish). Silly us, we forgot we were in the Bible Belt, and no-one is open on Sundays. We had to travel quite a ways to locate a store, and bought some ribeyes. A little marinade and seasoning, and we were up and cooking back at the cabin! The boys claim that these were some of the best steaks they have eaten!

Kaden is my fisherman, and one of these days, he and I are actually going to catch some fish. Here, we just watched those tiny boogers steal our bait. We'll be back though, and we'll have dynamite....