Galina YoungSol is up before 6 and we are back on the road with kids finishing their sleep on the back seat. Dog is happily tagging along with the plan. He is such a good sport.
Another rest stop for breakfast right after we cross the Tennessee border and into Smokey’s! We pass straight through downtown Knoxville on the way.
We pull into Smokey’s Cherokee land preserve around 1pm. Indian Boundary in Cherokee preserve grounds are gorgeous and on the shore of a mountain lake. Girls spot the sign that points towards the beach and we quickly set up camp and have lunch before changing into bathing suits.
In the craziness of setting up a camp we momentarily lose a sight of a dog. He does not miss this chance to take himself over to a neighboring site, introduce himself, and terrify their little puppy. To his excuse, that dog is the size of a cat and he knows all too well that cats can’t be trusted.
We have no agenda for this stay. We are kind of letting kids lead the day. They lead us to the lake. Only the beach is packed to the brim. We don’t join as the whole goal of this trip is to stay away from strangers. We find an opening in the shore brush nearby and kids and a dog get in the water.
It is a little muddy but kids don’t care and we are by ourselves. The water is as warm as a bath. Kids drag ‘Sir Dad’s a lot’ (their name for Sol) in and make him throw them around. Dog is so happy, he keeps running in and out of the lake. Couple times he swims too close to Sol, so he gets thrown up in the air as well.
At some point in the lake girls get too far in the water for the dog’s comfort. He quickly laps over to them and pulls them out as they are hanging on his leash. They are so happy that their dog is a ‘life saver’ that they try to get him back into the water over and over by screaming ‘Help, Darwin’ at various volumes. He humors them a few more times but then he is onto their shenanigans and stays away.
It is hard to get the kids out of the lake. We promise to come swim the next day before we take off. We go over to the Skyway overlook for some gorgeous views and, coincidentally, some internet connection that is only available at this spot. The weather is so perfect that we roll the roof down. Also, in hopes of drying out the pup.
It is at the overlook that we spot the storm clouds quickly moving across the sky in our direction. We retrieve and are back to the camp with just enough time to hide staff from the rain before the skies open up. And they do. We eat dinner under the owning as astonishing amounts of water come down around us.
Girls whittle themselves wooden spears and are running around in the woods with the howls of last Mohicans in the pouring rain. They are soaked through and happy. Pup is not joining in on the fun… he thinks thunder is overrated anyway and he is just fine curled up under Sol’s chair, thank you very much
The rain brings cool air and it is nice to sleep with windows open to the fresh mountain breeze. Everyone sleeps in, even dog.
