Great Smokey Mountains National Park

On Friday, we all piled into the cars and headed up to see some waterfalls and do some hiking in the national park. Our first stop was the road to Cade's Cove, an old settlement in the park.

Our first stop was the cabin where the original settlers, John Oliver and his wife Lureen, lived. Olivers lived in this house, with no electricity or water, until the latter half of the 20th century.

As we left the Oliver cabin, we spotted this deer in the field across the way. There were two of them, peacefully enjoying the day.

This fellow crossed the path in front of us in the cemetery at the Primitive Baptist Church in Cade's Cove. He was *huge*. And fast. And that's an accurate depiction of his size.

After we finished in Cade's Cove, we headed deeper into the park to visit some waterfalls. Here, several of us gathered in front of one of the falls visible from the road for a picture. Looks like we're missing Rob, Chase, Tim, Staci, and Brandon at the very least. Still, it's a nice looking group.

Final destination for the day was the hike to Grotto Falls. I was having major problems with my knee and opted to stay behind to chat with Mom. Rob and Matt posed for a picture on the ledge that leads behind the waterfall.