On the Road Again With My Sister For LOADS of R&R!

Because of COVID, I have a backlog of timeshare usage and I'm trying my best to use it up before it expires.  So I traded in a week for a trip to Gatlinburg and dragged my sister along with me!  We ALWAYS have a good time together.

We crammed a HEAP of fun into one week!

Bud Ogle Cabin

Naturally, we spent a lot of time in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park since we were pretty much right there.  We hiked some trails, explored some old homesteads, nosed around some campgrounds, and got our National Parks Passports stamped!

We drove the Roaring Fork Motor Nature Trail.  Our first stop was at the Bud Ogle cabin, where we decided to hike the 0.7-mile, 30-minute, "easy" loop nature trail. 

Well...!

 

We got our fill of hiker's R&R (Roots and Rocks) on that trail.  And we had to clamber over fallen trees, cross streams on either log bridges (where there WERE bridges) or teetering rocks.  My sister actually fell (gracefully) at the last crossing.  The rock rocked one way and she went over the other way.  Luckily I had packed a couple of hiking poles for us and we used them, or it would have been harder on us.

It was NOT an "easy" trail.  I'd call it a moderate trail.  At one point we (I) missed a turn and we had to backtrack a little.  And the "30 minutes" turned into 90 with picking our way through the R&R, which seemed to be most of the trail.  

It was beautiful and QUIET, though, and we enjoyed it.  A bit of a challenge when you're not used to doing that sort of thing, and challenges are good for you - they stretch your horizons!  Right?

Newfound Gap

Our stay overlapped with the 72nd Spring Wildflower Pilgrimage in the Park, which a couple of my friends, one of whom is a presenter, attend every year.  So before they arrived, we had our own wildflower extravaganza - they were everywhere!

Geranium

We visited Newfound Gap where there were banks and banks of wildflowers along a stretch of the Appalachian Trail which crosses the road there and continues on to Clingman's Dome and Charlie's Bunion.

Fringed Phacelia

Spring Beauties

White Trilliam

Bluets

Appalachian Trail
 

Iris

Fleabane

Yellow Trillium

It's often rainy in the Smokies in the spring, but we lucked out with the weather that week.  Every day was dry and beautiful except for one, which we used as our day of R&R (Rest and Recovery) before going out and doing it all again!

We did much more in and out of the Park, but I'll stop here for now.

It's a New Year, All Right

Well, months have come and gone, and 2021 is a memory - thank GOD!!!

I've hated to jinx it, but it APPEARS The Knee is going to finally BEHAVE.  Looks like the extreme antibiotic protocol and the last surgery have done the trick.  So on to other things.

Last year was absolutely depressing, but The Knee apparently had been resolved, we had the big family Thanksgiving dinner at our house again, my oldest sister and I took a spontaneous trip to Florida, and Christmas was on the way.  Things were starting to seem nearly normal again.

And THEN...

Our other sister died unexpectedly, two days before Christmas, as I was driving toward Maryland to spend
Christmas with That Girl and her family.  We couldn't disappoint The Grands, so Christmas went forward as planned, and it was good.  

Afterward, though...

There were decisions to be made, beginning with whether or not to go to California for the services.  Normally, that would have been a no-brainer - of course I'd go.  But how?  I'm not a big fan of flying in most circumstances when I can possibly drive.  Flying used to be fun, but the past several years, it's simply been an ordeal.  When you arrive, you have to get a car or some sort of transportation.  Plus, when you fly, your visit is limited by the airline's timetable - no flexibility.  And that is during NORMAL times.  

Today, if you fly out, there's no guarantee you'll be able to fly back - flights have been canceled left and right as the newest variant of COVID-19 surges.  And to travel to California, of all places, while all this is going on?  The state with the most restrictions on personal freedoms?  NO THANK YOU.

So my sister and I have talked, texted, and emailed about our conundrum.  We've gone around and around, looking at the arguments for and against the choices - do we go or do we stay?  We feel guilty about not going.  We WANT to go.  But we feel it would be crazy to go.  Too much uncertainty.  Too much risk if we fly.  Too much risk if we drive.  And we don't want to get stuck in California.

So we're not going.  And it hurts.

What a way to start a new year - full of grief, guilt, and fear.

Oh, GOODY.