We decided to start early in the morning on this bright beautiful day to NOC’s outpost in Hartford,Tennesee. The trained professionals gave us a quick 30 minute orientation and then we piled on to a bus to be taken to the Upper Pigeon River where the biggest rapids awaited us. We were super excited to take on beautiful mother nature a.k.a. the rapids.
Our experienced guides name was Noah, but it was ironic that there was a Zak and a Hannah on staff which is the name of our younger son and his girlfriend.
The rapids were awesome, they had names like Roller Coaster, Accelerator they were class III and IV rapids. In the case of rapids that is quite advanced. For those that may not know rapids have a class rating that starts at one and goes all the way up to six.
Another raft that left after us lost their entire crew and only the guide stayed afloat in the raft. Someone rescued them all from the depths of the river. I believe some paddles were lost but overall the experience was a lot of fun.
We were home in time to go for a lovely sunset hike to see these falls. The ironic part is that one minute we were on this fierce river that we had very little control over. Then we found ourselves strolling through nature that was calm and peaceful. That’s the vastness and beauty of the world that we live in.
This was the Graperidge Trail in the Greenbrier area of the Smoky Mountains. It was a very long hike and we used our new hiking poles which were so useful! The hike turned out to be pretty challenging. The scenery was beautiful but the falls seemed to have eluded us.
We had made late night dinner reservations at the Greenbrier restaurant. Unfortunately, we didn’t make it in time because we were pushing ourselves to reach the falls. That’s when we decided to head back down. In the end we didn’t have an opportunity to see the falls. However, it was still an amazing experience to have been able to hike this trail.
The dinner at Greenbrier was exquisite! It is actually listed in the Michelin Stars list of restaurants. After dinner we sat outside by the fire enjoying our drinks at a bar called The Dylan. There was someone filming the restaurant so they could make a review of the gas light fire pit. The fact that somebody appreciated it that much to film it meant that it was an even greater experience for all the patrons witnessing this. Nothing like sitting by the fire to cap-off a day filled with excitement, nervousness, and pure enjoyment.
Tomorrow we’re headed on the road again. I prepared everything I needed to make a Georgia Peach cake I will bake in the morning for the road! We will be visiting the Mammoth Caves of Kentucky! We’re definitely looking forward to this unforgettable experience.