Why they are called the Great Smoky Mountains

Today, Shane and I drove several of the kids up into the mountains.  What a beautiful ride.  Don't worry.  We brought all of them back with us.

Our new friends, Shane and Jill Haskins, are with us for a few days.  So, we left the Jills with a few of the kids for a little while to go see the Mountains. 

We first thought about doing Clingmans Dome, which is the high point in the Smokies.  It involves hiking up a steep incline to a tower overlooking several states.  But, when we pulled over at the Newfound Gap Overlook, we realized we weren't prepared to do Clingmans Dome.  It was way too cold up there.

See the "smoke"?  Driving up through that was awesome.

More "smoke".

It snowed a few days ago.  Although the roads were clear, there was a heaping pile at the Newfound Gap Overlook.

This is our attempt at a group photo. 

Tucker says he was thinking.

I would love to walk a portion of the Appalachian Trail.

"Mountain Climbing"