Headin' to the Smokies- 'bent' rally & prep'r expo

[dh50]

[font size="4"]We're headin' for the hills tomorrow.  Friday, 'bent' rally; Saturday - preparedness expo ....yeehaw![/font]  http://mountainprepperexpos.com/

[whoofit]

Now that's what I'd call well rounded. Have a great trip!

[djsamuel]

I see that is in Townsend, TN.  You will LOVE Townsend if you enjoy peaceful and quiet locations with great people.  We've been there several times and are heading back in the fall.  

[dh50]

[quote source="/post/10754/thread" timestamp="1431518439" author="@djsamuel"]I see that is in Townsend, TN.  You will LOVE Townsend if you enjoy peaceful and quiet locations with great people.  We've been there several times and are heading back in the fall.  [/quote]Just planting a seed for thought, DJSamuel:  Townsend for a LL gathering this year or next.  We've been going up in them thar hollars for years as well, love it and feel we've barely scratched the surface for all that there is to do.  Think about it, we'll help with organizing it, but if you head it up, (as an 'el heffe' of this forum), they just might come. Will you think about it?  Thanks!   (rofl)

[djsamuel]

[quote source="/post/10757/thread" timestamp="1431522340" author="@gwbushhog"][quote source="/post/10754/thread" timestamp="1431518439" author="@djsamuel"]I see that is in Townsend, TN.  You will LOVE Townsend if you enjoy peaceful and quiet locations with great people.  We've been there several times and are heading back in the fall.  [/quote]Just planting a seed for thought, DJSamuel:  Townsend for a LL gathering this year or next.  We've been going up in them thar hollars for years as well, love it and feel we've barely scratched the surface for all that there is to do.  Think about it, we'll help with organizing it, but if you head it up, (as an 'el heffe' of this forum), they just might come. Will you think about it?  Thanks!   (rofl)[/quote]Well, this trip will be for our anniversary (31 years), so maybe not this time.  Good thought though.    We love to hike throughout the Smokys and that's how we spend most of our time.  Love Rich Mountain Loop trail, Alum Bluff Trail, Chimney Top, Abrams Falls, and much more.  Last trip we hiked over 55 miles.  This will be a nice two week trip where we plan on hiking a lot and also spending some time at the camper relaxing, as well as eating at some of the restaurants there like Carriage House.  We went to Gatlinburg once, and lasted one day and returned to the peacefulness of Townsend.  

All of that said, Townsend would be a great potential site for a future meet.  We are staying at [a href="http://www.bigmeadowcampground.com/"]Big Meadow Family Campground[/a] and they just had a T@b camper gathering.  Never camped there before, so we'll see how it is.  It has great reviews.  

[aznighthiker]

[p]The one group in one of my cycling clubs are mostly recumbent riders, I still ride "uprights" and have a large fleet of various types. The one club does a lot of bicycle touring and a great web site for bicycle touring is [a href="http://www.crazyguyonabike.com"]www.crazyguyonabike.com[/a] Folks from all over the world post trip journal. I have hear one route thru the Great Smokies they want to eliminate bicycle riding.[/p]

[pinstriper]

[quote source="/post/10774/thread" timestamp="1431544797" author="@djsamuel"][quote source="/post/10757/thread" timestamp="1431522340" author="@gwbushhog"]Just planting a seed for thought, DJSamuel:  Townsend for a LL gathering this year or next.  We've been going up in them thar hollars for years as well, love it and feel we've barely scratched the surface for all that there is to do.  Think about it, we'll help with organizing it, but if you head it up, (as an 'el heffe' of this forum), they just might come. Will you think about it?  Thanks!   (rofl)[/quote]Well, this trip will be for our anniversary (31 years), so maybe not this time.  Good thought though.    We love to hike throughout the Smokys and that's how we spend most of our time.  Love Rich Mountain Loop trail, Alum Bluff Trail, Chimney Top, Abrams Falls, and much more.  Last trip we hiked over 55 miles.  This will be a nice two week trip where we plan on hiking a lot and also spending some time at the camper relaxing, as well as eating at some of the restaurants there like Carriage House.  We went to Gatlinburg once, and lasted one day and returned to the peacefulness of Townsend.  

All of that said, Townsend would be a great potential site for a future meet.  We are staying at [a href="http://www.bigmeadowcampground.com/"]Big Meadow Family Campground[/a] and they just had a T@b camper gathering.  Never camped there before, so we'll see how it is.  It has great reviews.  
[/quote]Do you celebrate ALL the anniversaries ? Like [em]every year[/em] ? Man that sounds exhausting.

[djsamuel]

[quote source="/post/10870/thread" timestamp="1431739006" author="@pinstriper"][quote source="/post/10774/thread" timestamp="1431544797" author="@djsamuel"]Well, this trip will be for our anniversary (31 years), so maybe not this time.  Good thought though.    We love to hike throughout the Smokys and that's how we spend most of our time.  Love Rich Mountain Loop trail, Alum Bluff Trail, Chimney Top, Abrams Falls, and much more.  Last trip we hiked over 55 miles.  This will be a nice two week trip where we plan on hiking a lot and also spending some time at the camper relaxing, as well as eating at some of the restaurants there like Carriage House.  We went to Gatlinburg once, and lasted one day and returned to the peacefulness of Townsend.  

All of that said, Townsend would be a great potential site for a future meet.  We are staying at [a href="http://www.bigmeadowcampground.com/"]Big Meadow Family Campground[/a] and they just had a T@b camper gathering.  Never camped there before, so we'll see how it is.  It has great reviews.  
[/quote]Do you celebrate ALL the anniversaries ? Like [em]every year[/em] ? Man that sounds exhausting.
[/quote]Sure do.  We always have.  Biggest trip was Hawaii for our 25th.  Other than that, we just make sure we time our big vacation each year to coincide with our anniversary.  September is always low crowds.  If we were married in the summer, I don't think we would have made this a tradition.

[spot1]

[quote source="/post/10870/thread" timestamp="1431739006" author="@pinstriper"][quote timestamp="1431544797" author="@djsamuel" source="/post/10774/thread"]Well, this trip will be for our anniversary (31 years), so maybe not this time.  Good thought though.    We love to hike throughout the Smokys and that's how we spend most of our time.  Love Rich Mountain Loop trail, Alum Bluff Trail, Chimney Top, Abrams Falls, and much more.  Last trip we hiked over 55 miles.  This will be a nice two week trip where we plan on hiking a lot and also spending some time at the camper relaxing, as well as eating at some of the restaurants there like Carriage House.  We went to Gatlinburg once, and lasted one day and returned to the peacefulness of Townsend.  

All of that said, Townsend would be a great potential site for a future meet.  We are staying at [a href="http://www.bigmeadowcampground.com/"]Big Meadow Family Campground[/a] and they just had a T@b camper gathering.  Never camped there before, so we'll see how it is.  It has great reviews.  
[/quote]Do you celebrate ALL the anniversaries ? Like [em]every year[/em] ? Man that sounds exhausting.
[/quote]When we were working and raising children, it was difficult to celebrate every anniversary properly. Our last anniversary was # 41, we now celebrate each one and every day, if possible.

[pinstriper]

The best anniversary gift she ever gave me was her forgetting it first. w00t!

[leslie]

While raising children, wedding anniversaries kind of got lost with all of the children's activities. Next year - 2016 - will be our 50th. Planning a trip to Bar Harbor, Maine where we honeymooned and haven't been back since. Making reservations next month for ocean-front campsite.

[spot1]

Leslie, Congrats on your 50th!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[ammobob]

And I second that. Not a lot of couples make it that long anymore so super for both of you.

[hiker74]

I recommend the following trails
Ramsey Cascades - http://www.hikinginthesmokys.com/ramsay.htm
Mt LeConte via Alum Cave Trail - http://www.hikinginthesmokys.com/lecontealum.htm *check to see if its open-they were doing trail repair
Hen Wallow Falls - http://www.hikinginthesmokys.com/hen_wallow_falls.htm *Salamanders climb up the falls rock facing!
Porters Creek Trail - http://www.hikinginthesmokys.com/porters.htm *Fern Branch Falls and Wildflowers

[djsamuel]

I recommend the following trails
Ramsey Cascades - http://www.hikinginthesmokys.com/ramsay.htm
Mt LeConte via Alum Cave Trail - http://www.hikinginthesmokys.com/lecontealum.htm *check to see if its open-they were doing trail repair
Hen Wallow Falls - http://www.hikinginthesmokys.com/hen_wallow_falls.htm *Salamanders climb up the falls rock facing!
Porters Creek Trail - http://www.hikinginthesmokys.com/porters.htm *Fern Branch Falls and Wildflowers

This is a great web site.  After looking at the pictures of trails I have hiked, as well as some I want to, I really want to get back. 

Thanks again.

Doug