LeConte Lodge Gatlinburg

We got the rare opportunity to stay at LeConte Lodge, reached only by foot, in the Great Smokey Mountain National Park. Jackson's actually smiling! No one else wanted to make the 5.5 mile hike to the top.

A neat geographic feature along the hike called Arch Rock.

Halfway up the mountain we got to see Alum Cave again.

Amazingly, Jackson kept up with us and didn't complain even once.

We were blessed with spectacular weather, especially for the 1st weekend in April.

This lush greenery made me think of Oregon.

We made it to the lodge by early afternoon.

The building straight ahead is where we were served a family style dinner & breakfast the next day by candlelight.

We made sure to get there in time to see the llamas!!! They carry all the supplies to & from the lodge. They don't come up often so we were lucky to see and feed them.

And believe it or not, I know the llama lady, the person who leads them up the mountain. We graduated together from high school. We just by chance connected about 2 weeks prior to us coming.

From the lodge, we made a short hike to the other side of the ridge for this amazing view.

We also hiked to another place further along the ridge with a 180 degree view of the glorious Appalachian Mountains.

Another must, watching the sunset.

In the dark, we used a lantern to play games and read.

The next morning was foggy & rainy.

But we were prepared and the trip down was a quick one.

No views but the scenery was still beautiful.

Alum Cave on the way down.

Arch Rock. Thank you Joyce for taking great care of the other kids while we were gone. AND for this amazing Christmas gift!