Tremont area in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, 1/17/17

Two happy people enjoying the cascades and rock formations along the Middle Prong of the Little River (in Tremont--Great Smoky Mountain National Park)

George and I enjoy going to the Smokies during the OFF-SEASONS...  We usually always visit that area during January.  This year was no exception.  BUT--there was one difference from most Januarys in the Smokies.  This year,  the weather was MILD.. Even though there was rain around the area,  we didn't have too much where we were..   We cannot complain about the rain though since we need the rain to help with the horrible drought our area had this past summer/fall.

This latest trip  (1/17 and 1/18) was a quickie ---but we got alot accomplished  in those two days:
- First,  we went to the Tremont area (near Townsend) and did some hiking and enjoyed taking pictures along the Middle Prong of the Little River,   of the water, rocks and the cascades.
-Then we did some family business in the area.
-Then we drove around the Gatlinburg area ---seeing for ourselves the horrible damage  done by the wildfires a couple of months ago. DEVASTATING!
-We took a hike (Nature Hike) around the area where the Ogle Cabin is (off of Cherokee Orchard Rd).  Saw fire damage in that area --but luckily,  the historic Ogle farm was spared.  That made me very happy.
-Then we checked into our motel for the night,  Rocky Waters.
-It was then dinner at the Applewood Farmhouse in Sevierville...  DELICIOUS.
-The next morning,  we had Pancakes and French Toast at the Atrium Restaurant (local restaurant in Gatlinburg).
-Then it was off to see some more horrible fire damage and devastation.  SO SAD.
-After that,  we did some more business for some family members.
-Then --it was on to the Greenbriar area (on the road to Cosby).  We LOVE both Tremont and Greenbriar --but Greenbriar is always a favorite of mine.  We stopped and hiked all along the creeks in that area ---taking LOTS and LOTS of photos to share.
-After leaving Greenbriar,  we headed home,  stopping in Knoxville for some dinner at the Texas Roadhouse...

Awesome little trip --and we really did get a lot done.... It's so nice to be in the Gatlinburg area when there are fewer people and less traffic...   We LOVE LOVE LOVE Gatlinburg ---and are so happy that most of downtown Gatlinburg was spared from the wildfires which did so much damage to the area.

My pictures today are from the first part of our little trip ---of our time in the TREMONT area.. Hope you enjoy the pictures.  You can click on them for enlargements.

I love seeing the water --and especially all of the rhododendrons on the other side of the creek.

The SUN actually came out (for a short while) while we were enjoying the water..

George is in 'heaven-on-earth' when he has time to take excellent water shots.

I LOVE LOVE LOVE George's  'silky' water pictures!!!

The gravel road in Tremont (and in Greenbriar) takes us WAY back into the gorgeous Smoky Mountains... The farther we go---the more beautiful the water is!!!  Can you see our Prius parked over there?  We had the area to ourselves!!!!  

Wish you could have been there to just sit and hear the roaring water... AWESOME.

George took this picture of a happy woman who LOVES the Smokies!

Another great picture captured by George

Another shot of us,  showing off our new shirts (which we bought on our December trip to Ocean Isle Beach).   (BUT--we didn't leave our jackets off much at all on that trip.. It wasn't 'cold' --but it was COOLISH in those mountains.  ha)

Hope you  enjoyed some of our pictures from Tremont.  It is a gorgeous area of the Smokies --so don't miss this area if and when you visit.

Hugs,