Mountain Camelia late June 2014

Frenches new motor home at firefly campout June 6

catching up mountain trips 2014....May 6, May 11, June 6, and July 1

Since the last report, we have made trips to the mountains by ourselves and with the Frenches
On May 6 we cooked out at the Chimneys picnic  grounds with Frenches

On May 11, David took us across the mountain to Oconoluftee and then to the Blue Ridge Parkway

On June 6 we stayed at the Gatlinburg Inn and spent the day with the Frenches at Elkmont campground...We saw the fireflies again..

On July we drove by ourselves to look for the mountain camellia on the Gatlinburg trail and found it on the Old Sugarlands hwy. trail..

Fabulous Frenches

Thank you Lord for bringing them into our lives....They love the mountains like we do, and they like to take us.  They say we know the trails and the flowers, and they can learn from our experience.  They pick us up at our door and deliver us back after a wonderful day in the mountains.  All of our trips have been good...Trips started in October 2010  at Cades Cove for a picnic.  Many trips later, we still find new trails and new things to do.  We have camped out with them (we stay in the hotel at night) and we have watched the fireflies for three years now, and planning to go this year...

April 25, 2014 Roaring Fork Nature Motor Trail

Sammie said this was our best day yet.  We saw so many flowers just from the car windows!  I loved the Reagan cabins..

Lady Slipper not quite pink yet

Noah Bud Ogle Cabin

The Reagan Brothers Places

April 2 at Chestnut Top Tral

we're seeing the early spring flowers

finally got there in time to see the blood root

the CCC boys planted these daffodils with their company number...more than50 years ago..

We finally saw trailing Arbutis on the Abrams Falls trail

March 21,2014 trip across the mountain to Oconoluftee

Lovely spring day in a beautiful place surrounded by the mountains..

nice river walk

the North Carolina side of the Smokies

We have made 6 trips to the mountains with the Frenches in the first five months of 2014...

In February 20, 2014 we drove through Cades Cove.  It was a cloudy day but we almost had the Cove to ourselves..

We walked to Abrams falls from the house and barn..