Have I mentioned before how much I love America’s need for electrical outlets. I mean we pretty much put them everywhere. You may be wondering where I’m going with this trivial bit of info, but just bear with me. I’m getting to the importance of this American quirk.

This morning we folded up the tent before too many people arrived at the Oconaluftee Visitor Center and then had some breakfast. Busting out all our cook stuff in the middle of a parking lot seemed a bit out of place, so I opted for instant oatmeal instead, which is extra simple when one has an electric kettle and an abundance of outlets to choose from. Plus, I also made myself a quick cuppa tea.

After breakfast we were set up for a day of learning and exploring. A quick trip to the visitor center and the children had their Junior Ranger packs in hand and were ready to learn. Just beyond the visitor center is a Mountain Farm Museum. 

​This outdoor farm museum is comprised of several buildings which have been removed from their original locations elsewhere in the mountains to the Oconaluftee Visitor Center’s backyard. The buildings included a chestnut log cabin, outhouse, ash hopper, chicken coop, apple orchard, meathouse, corncrib, apple house, barn, working blacksmith shop, springhouse, pig sty, garden, and more. The junior ranger packs encouraged the children to learn more about the buildings and their original inhabitants as well as offering insight into their daily lives.

Next, we hopped in the truck and drove to nearby Deep Creek, which is part of the Great Smoky Mountains Nation Park. We grabbed some water bottles and the stroller and hit the trails. We hiked up to Juney Whank Falls and Tom Branch Falls. This was a nice easy hike we could do with the stroller. Although there were a few steps we had to navigate in order to get down to the bridge crossing over in front of Juney Whank. 

The hiking trail to Tom Branch Falls follows along Deep Creek and it was here the children got their first peek at the great American sport of tubing. All they could talk about on the hike back to the park was how soon we could go rent some tubes. What they couldn’t fathom is the tube places would be closing in a couple hours and it would be better to wait until the next morning to get them. It took an exorbitant amount of convincing but they finally relented and agreed to wait until the next day.
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By this point in time, the park had begun clearing out (nearly every parking space had been taken when we first got there) and we re-parked next to the river and grilled up some supper. The river was barely knee deep next to where I was cooking, so the older children spent some time splashing around and cooling down after a hot, humid afternoon hiking while little one took a quick nap.

​After supper, we decided to take a trip into the nearby town of Bryson City. I had seen a fudge shop earlier when we’d passed through the town on our way to the park and it was calling my name. We also grabbed some ice cream and some fresh squeezed lemonade.
We’d been successful the night before boondocking, so we opted to go for it again at Deep Creek. We headed back to the park and our spot next to the river. By now the park was nearly empty, so we popped up the tent and hit the hay for the night, with the kids making grand plans for tubing the next day.