5-14-11

It was out of bed early for us today, we had a train to catch. We needed to drive an hour, according to the locals, to get to the town where we were to catch to Great Smoky Mountain Railroad. A trip that was recommended to us by a really nice lady at the Casey Jones museum a few days ago. It actually took us only about 1/2 hour to get to Bryson City, so we were there in plenty of time to get our "free" drinks and make our lunch order.









The train trip was amazing. We went deep into the Smoky Mountains along a river gorge that opened up into a beautiful lake. The kids had fun exploring the train and making friends with the other passengers.














The train stopped for about an hour, so we got to get out and stretch our legs. A pretty amazing place.












After the train ride back, and a few minutes inside the lionel train exhibit, we drove back to camp. Jack and Lucca played at the playground for awhile.

...Then we got aboard the "Hey Ride". Apparently this is a staple of the Jellystone park weekend. Its basically a hay ride for kids, pulled by a truck through the campground. This one however has a special feature...Yogi Bear... He comes along, and you get to sing songs as you go. Although this was our third Jellystone, this was our first "hey ride" and it was actually quite fun. Especially since we were the only adults, and there was only one other kid. Jack loved it, and I think Lucca warmed up to Yogi by the end. Even Ranger Smith couldn't stop our fun.








At dinner we got a visit from our neighbor, Sheryl, who was really nice and had some great tips of places to go. Jack even got to show her his caterpillar friend. Whom we are going to try to nurture into a butterfly.



Blogging inside tonight...it's starting to rain again. Good night.

Location:Cherokee, NC