On our last vacation in the Great Smoky Mountains, we were snowed in and unable to hike or explore for ten days. We decided to give it another try and spend Christmas there this year with the whole family, including our son, my favorite aunt and uncle from North Carolina (actually, my only aunt and uncle from NC ;-), my sister and her family, and my mom.
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Conspicuously missing from this picture, and achingly from our lives as well, is my father, who passed away last summer. He was a great man who loved to have fun, and who loved his family, and so I think he would have approved of this holiday outing which combined both. Each of us missed him every minute we were there, but when we all laughed together, I swear I could hear his chuckle in the mix.
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The cabin we rented was on a mountain at the edge of the Great Smoky Mountain National Park. It was just big enough for the ten of us plus a family of raccoons. This is the view from the front porch.
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Indoor activities included puzzles, Trivial Pursuit (with an odd rules variation in which my sister was allowed to shout out answers at any moment), and...
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...cooking! Here are Bryan, Ginny, and Troy presenting their masterpiece BBQ rib dinner which they planned, bought, cooked, and served completely on their own.
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For Christmas dinner, we had Tennessee country cured ham being shown (and worn) here by my sister. The headress is the cotton netting which formerly covered the pig's...well you get the gist.
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Not exactly a traditional Christmas dinner, with paper hats and paper cups, but hey, it was a blast anyway. That's me in the background sitting at "the kid's table."
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After all that cooking and eating, we did get a chance to do some hiking this time. Here, Kathy, Bryan, and I ford a stream on our way up the Old Settler's Trail. You can't see the sign that says, "Funny hats required beyond this point."
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Ginny, who is normally a very sociable person, for some reason refuses to join the rest of the family for a photo on this rickety old log spanning a frozen, rushing river. Go figure.
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Here's a view looking toward the highest point in the Smokies at just over 6,000 feet.
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Not quite as high here, but at this point Kathy and I stopped to watch the most incredible sunset we've ever seen. Anywhere.
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All in all, it was a fantastic trip and a great holiday. Bryan got to spend some rare time with his great aunt and uncle (and I mean "great" in both senses), and with his cousins Ginny and Troy. As this picture clearly shows, the kids are no longer kids. Luckily, the adults still are!
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