Visiting an Old Favorite

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Since I was in the neighborhood (translated: the southern United States), I made a day trip to the Smoky Mountains. Amazingly, I was able to get in and out without any problem, despite the fact that a Jeep owners convention was in Pigeon Forge. The trip included the Chimneys picnic area, which is a fabulous, very shaded area next to a creek with LOTS of rocks for climbing on. Fifteen years ago I was in that water and on those rocks while my mom watched. Now, it’s I watch the kids (and there weren’t any yesterday, because school is back in session in many places and it wasn’t a three-day weekend [yes, I planned it that way!]). It’s still beautiful, though, and cool compared to other parts of the area when it’s a steamy summer. I picked that for two reasons. One, I love it. Two, it’s very quiet and shaded and the perfect place for a nap. I converted the car to the sleeper and enjoyed a one-hour nap. From there I went to the Sinks. It’s one of the most popular places in the Smokies, and one of the few waterfalls that require no hiking to view. In the past couple of years they’ve added a railed viewing platform, along with an explanation about the Sinks. It seems that the area that leads to Cades Cove used to be a railroad line. The area, prior to the designation of the national park, was also prime for logging. The river was log jammed at one point in the 1930s, so someone decided to blast the log jam with dynamite. In the process, it blasted the rocks as well, creating the waterfall and even changing the course of the river! The river looks very shallow through most of the area. In fact, I’ve been tubing on it just outside of the park and it is shallow in most places. At the Sinks, though, there’s a small area that’s deep enough for people to go completely underwater when they jump from a rocky ledge above. It’s not “cliff diving” the way you see in Hawaii and other places, more like “ledge jumping” (I’m not good at estimating, but I’d think it’s no higher than 15 feet above the water). Signs warn about it, but I always see people doing it when I’m there (including yesterday). And, thankfully, I’ve never seen anyone get hurt. It’s an old favorite, a beautiful combination of water and rock formations, and I was happy to get to visit it again! I enjoyed the visit, as always.