Sunday, July 18

Sunday morning we headed out to the campground church service only to be greeted by a snake.  Unfortunately, we didn't make it to the service a little early liked we planned. 

Because the snake delayed us a little, we had to sit in the back.  It was a really neat service with about 120 people there (but they were only estimating).

After the service, we did up some laundry and headed up to Clingman's Dome.  We saw some fantastic views on the way up.  Here's one of them. 

As soon as we got to the top of Clingman's Dome (at 6,600 feet) it started to downpour.  We watched quite a few soaked people running to their vehicles from the comfort of our own.  After the rains stopped, we started the hike to the top.  They say it is usually about 12 degrees colder up there than it is down in Gatlinberg/Pigeon Forge.   I think it was more like 22 degrees!  It was so foggy, we looked wet from the moisture in the air and didn't get to see very much.  Still, we had a great time.  As we headed down, a tall, dark and handsome man appeared.  

Traveling down about 1,000 feet brought better visibility.  This picture was taken in Newfoundland's Gap. 

Of course, no trip to the Smokies is complete without a bear hunt. 

And after that scare, we continued the bear hunt from the safety of the vehicle.