Category: Holiday Trip

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Keep Kalahari Weird

Last Thanksgiving, we met my parents in Gatlinburg and had the pleasure of exploring the city and Smokies over the holiday. Generally speaking, we spend Thanksgiving with one side of our family and Christmas with the other. After last year’s trip, we decided to not-so-subtly suggest that instead of spending Thanksgiving sitting in one of our parents’ houses for four days, we spend the time doing something new and fun.

Alyson’s mom/family were agreeable to this, so instead of another late November stay in San Antonio, Alyson’s mom booked a suite at a resort called Kalahari, just northeast of Austin. If you are not familiar with Kalahari, it is very similar to a Great Wolf Lodge. If you are not familiar with a Great Wolf Lodge, it is kind of like a stationary cruise ship.

Kalarahi has multiple restaurants, shops, an arcade, indoor rides and an indoor water park. It also has several outdoor pools and bars, none of which were open at this time of year. The kids were really excited to go, although Alyson and I were a bit more hesitant. It didn’t seem like the type of trip that would offer a whole lot of traditional Thanksgiving options, but we agreed that anything would be better than spending another four days sitting around doing nothing.

Our check-in was early afternoon on Wednesday, so we left New Orleans late on Tuesday night, picked up a rental car (not from Budget) and stayed at a near-by Hampton Inn. Since we got there early, we decided to use the time explore some of the sites in the greater Austin area.

Our first stop was at a waterhole called Hamilton Pool. This natural wonder was created when the dome of an underwater river collapsed thousands of years ago. Reservations are required, and from the parking lot, it is about a quarter of a mile trek down to the pool. During warmer months, people lay out, picnic and swim, but at this time of year, it was a bit too cold. It is also possible to traverse the inner rim of the pool underneath the overhang, but since the deep freeze in Texas in 2020, the area has been somewhat geologically unstable, so has been roped off.

That said, even without being able to swim or explore the entire area, I still highly recommend this impressive site. There are a lot of natural watering holes in Texas, but this one is pretty unique, quite secluded and absolutely beautiful. If you have the time, it is a can’t miss.

Afterwards, we also tried to visit Jacob’s Well, a similar natural feature not too far away, but much to our chagrin, it was closed for the entire duration of our visit, due to the holiday. It is not clear to me how a watering hole celebrates Thanksgiving, but for whatever reason, we were unable to visit.

We met Alyson’s mom in the early afternoon at the Salt Lick. If you’ve ever been to this barbecue heaven, no more need be said, but since this a blog, I will elaborate. Aside from the live music, the rustic atmosphere and the great service, the BBQ at the Salt Lick is legendary. This is a must-visit spot for anyone from Texas, anyone visiting Texas or anyone who has ever heard of Texas. The food is great, affordable, and extraordinarily representative of the barbecue culture in Texas.

At this point, we had killed enough time that we could check into our hotel, so we made our way to the resort in Round Rock. Giving credit where credit is due, check-in and unloading were extremely easy, and we found no need to valet park for, at this time of year at least, there were plenty of available, nearby self-park spots.

Every member of the party received wrist bands, which were used to activate a lot of the rides, and could be used to charge just about anything to our room. In a lot of ways, this was super convenient, but conversely, it required all of us to wear a plastic wrist band for four days.

Added to our package was what Kalahari calls Tom Foolery. The Tom Foolery area is a set of indoor activities that includes a roller coast, ropes coarse, miniature golf, a mirror maze and multiple climbing walls. It was worth adding this for about $30/person for the whole trip, as the rest of the arcade games are not included in the standard package. That evening, we ate at the internal pizza restaurant, which was perfectly acceptable, and the kids sampled all of the rides and games.

The one negative we experienced in the Tom Foolery area is that Clara, at only two, was too young to ride any of the included rides. Having taken her to several amusement parks before, there was no clear reason for this, as none of the kiddie rides would have posed her any kind of threat. Having to regularly steer her away from these areas was a pain and kind of pointless.

We woke the next morning, Thanksgiving, and headed for the water park, which is included in everyone’s package. The water park was pretty great with over a dozen slides for the big kids, a pretty impressive tree house/splash pad area for younger kids and two toddler areas for Clara. It also has its own restaurant, bar and a surfing simulator.

We spent about three hours in this area, mostly with the kids riding on their own and Alyson and I corralling Clara. She wore herself out around noon, and since we had ‘Thanksgiving dinner’ schedule for 2 pm, it felt like the right time to put her to bed.

Once Clara was down for her nap, I took JR and Eileen back down to the arcade and bought them game cards. The arcade is pretty similar to a Dave & Busters, and has multiple games that award the kids points which they can use to buy crap in the gift store. The kids loved this part, and it is a lot of fun, but $140 worth of gaming cards doesn’t last very long.

Our Thanksgiving meal was served buffet-style in one of the convention rooms. I understand that hearing this might make some of you cringe, but it was actually pretty decent. The spread was quite vast, so while some of the food was less impressive than others, a bit of searching delivered several great options.

The turkey and potatoes were great, and the kids loved the mac ‘n cheese. I found the stuffing to be a bit lacking, which is disappointing since you really only eat it once a year, but in general, this was a meal that I enjoyed.

We spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing in the hotel suite, watching football and letting the kids mellow out. Once the Cowboys had won, and Clara had been put to bed, I took the older two back to the water park, which at this time of night, was much less crowded.

It gave Eileen and I the opportunity to ride some of the bigger, multi-person slides without having to wait half-an-hour, and they both got the chance to try the surfing simulator.

The next day, we did pretty much the same thing, minus the Thanksgiving smorgasbord, and herein lies my biggest issue with Kalahari. In the morning, we went to the water park, then got lunch at one of the resort’s restaurants. The kids went back to the arcade while Clara slept (spending another 100 bucks), and we all ate together at a different burger place. We took the kids back to the water park, and that was about it.

In terms of pure enjoyment, the kids were ecstatic on day one but by the end of day two, it had all become a bit monotonous. Water slides are fun, but once you’ve done each one five or six times, the novelty wears off. Same goes for the indoor rides and games, to the point that we actually ended up giving most of this kids’ earned points away.

The experience was great, and we all had a lot of fun, but I think one night, two tops is really the sweet spot. Beyond that, it felt like we started to run out of ways to spend our time..

With that in mind, we did try to add a few things in on the Saturday morning before we left. The resort has two escape rooms and a bowling alley. We hadn’t really thought about the escape rooms until the night before, and by the time we did, they were already booked up, but were able to get in two rounds of 10 pin before we left for the airport. Perhaps had we planned better, we might have more successfully optimized our time, but I am still convinced that one less day would have been better.

One our way to the airport, we stopped at an wonderful restaurant that offers all three sittings each day, called Walton’s Fancy & Staple. This gem on 6th street had something for everyone, and was just what we needed before flying home. We learned later that it is actually owned by Oscar winner and occasional New Orleanian, Sandra Bullock.

Our Thanksgiving trip was a lot of fun, and while as with every trip, it was not perfect, it was a lot better than sitting in a house doing very little for 72 hours. Christmas is a bit different, as a location is needed for Santa, presents, church, etc., but I feel like as a family, we are at the point where we want to maximize the value of our limited time off.

Next up, we are heading to St. Louis to meet my family for Christmas, and I doubt we will post on it. Following that, we’ve got a Mardi Gras trip in the works for the Florida Keys and Dry Tortugas, so we’ve got a lot coming up for which to look forward.

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New Mexico for Mardi Gras

Living in New Orleans, there are few things that we look forward to more than Mardi Gras, and in 2022, the anticipation was greater than ever. Since COVID shut everything down in 2021, 2022 was poised to deliver something special, and it did not disappoint.

For two weeks, the Igoes camped out on the parade route, catching beads, eating, drinking and spending much needed and much missed time with friends and family. For those of you who have never experienced it, Mardi Gras for locals is not what you see on TV, it is not what you see on Bourbon Street.

Certainly, that exists, but where we watch the parades, towards the beginning, things are very family-oriented, and it is a one of a kind time in this city. In addition to the parades and parties, it is also worth noting that schools in the New Orleans area have the Mardi Gras week off, something not common across the country. This makes Mardi Gras a great time to travel, and this year, we took advantage.

Since our initial RV trip in 2018, I have been jonesing to get back to the Southwest, and it just so happens that three of America’s great National Parks are within an hour (or so’s) drive of El Paso. My wife and I did the research, booked an RV on Outdoorsy, packed up the kids, jumped on an airplane and headed out West.

I will say, first impressions of the area differ slightly from places like California or Minnesota. Frankly, when you arrive in east Texas, things are kind of reminiscent of the movie Traffic. Lots of small, crowded structures, dust and not a lot of green stuff. That’s alright, though; what doesn’t float my boat is a wonderful home for others, and we didn’t come for El Paso, we came due to the proximity.

We picked up a 32 foot RV, loaded up on groceries and drove an hour+ east to Guadalupe Mountains National Park. On the list of most frequently visited National Parks, Guadalupe is towards the south end; even most Texans I know haven’t been there. That said, it is certainly worth the trip (which National Park isn’t?)

We arrived late and spent the night in the Pine Springs Campground. This campground is RV friendly, although it has no hook ups of any kind. Frankly, it is simply a parking lot with RV-sized spots, but this worked for our purposes. It is also a few feet from one of the most popular trailheads, so it was a good place to start.

I want to mention at this point that if you are a stargazer, Guadalupe is a great place to be. When we shut everything down, we couldn’t see a light for miles that didn’t come from the heavens. The elevation, the distance from ambient light and the clear skies made for an amazing light show.

When we awoke the next morning, we gathered our things a headed up the Devil’s Hall Trail. This is one of the more popular trails in the park, and is also deceivingly strenuous. The first mile or so is a gradual incline up into the mountains, until a sharp downhill leads you into a wash that is only wet during the brief rainy season. We then spent the next three quarters of a mile jumping, crawling and climbing from boulder to boulder until we reached the end.

There were several times along the way when we (specifically the kids) wanted to give up and turn back, as it seems to be just the same thing over and over, but when you actually reach the end of the trail, you’ll understand why you came. The wash comes to a halt in what can only be described as a natural stairwell that leads up the side of the mountain. The picture does it more justice than do my words, but I strongly suggest you stick this one out until.

When we finally made it back, we ate and asked a park ranger how he thought we should kill the afternoon. He was not super helpful, but suggested the Smith Springs Trail, which also goes by Manzanita Springs. It was only a 2.3 mile loop, so we decided to give it a go.

The first spring, Manzanita, is only about half a mile in, and is about as impressive as a new pair of socks. Certainly better than an old pair, but not really worth going out of your way to see. The next mile was rough; uphill, in the sun, with nothing more than relatively barren landscape.

Again, we thought it might be time to turn back until we started to hear that wonderful sound, the trickle of water. When we reached Smith Springs, it all became worthwhile. The apex of this loop is a beautiful, hidden, shaded spring that brought us back to life just in time. The water was so cool and clear that I legitimately considered drinking it. It is funny how one great moment can make 2.3 miles totally worth it, and make the walk back down fly by.

There was one other trail in the park that looked interesting, the McKittrick Canyon Trail, but it was longer than we could manage, and we had only allotted one day to Guadalupe. We packed up Tess (the RV) and head northwest for Carlsbad Caverns.

One of the reasons we chose this trip was the proximity of the three parks to each other. The Caverns are less than an hour drive from Guadalupe Mountains, and that night, we stayed in an RV park in Whites City, Whites City RV Park.

If you search up this campground, you won’t find a website, only a phone number and only 2.5 stars in reviews. I found this place perfectly acceptable. When we arrived, it turned out that I had made the reservations for the wrong day, but they shifted things around and got us two nights with full hook ups. The site has few amenities and is pretty bare bones, but those of you who have traveled by recreational vehicle before know there are worse things. We grilled cheese pizzas that night (Ash Wednesday for you Catholics out there), got another wonderful view of the stars and hit the hay.

We got up early on Thursday and made our way into the park. We got our second passport stamp of the trip and headed into the cave. We had to book a reservation at Carlsbad prior to arrival on recreation.gov, but it was not difficult to get. This cave is a really cool experience, and definitely different from a cave like Mammoth.

One can take an elevator down into the heart of the cave, but you miss out on the really cool experience of the long trek into the darkness. We decided to take the one mile hike down into the cave, and then do the additional 1.2 mile stroll through the Big Room. It is hard to really describe this cave, other than to say it is awesome.

Carlsbad has every type of cave feature you might want: stalagmites, stalactites, popcorn, ledges, bottomless pits and on and on and on. I love caves, so this was one of my favorite parts of the trip, but I am not so sure about the rest of the family. While everyone thought it was really impressive, the cave’s accessibility was significantly limited by COVID. Carlsbad normally offers a dozen or more different guided tours, but because of the virus, all that was available was the self-guided tour of the Big Room. For me, it was totally worth it, but I wouldn’t hesitate to go back again if anyone else was interested.

We did not have definite plans for the afternoon, but felt like we had exhausted what was available with half a day in Carlsbad. We had planned to spend another night in Whites City and visit Sitting Bull Falls the following day, but we decided to maximize our time and head into Lincoln National Forest.

The drive to Sitting Bull Falls is beautiful and desolate. It took over an hour to get there from Carlsbad, and for the majority of it, there was not another car in sight. When we arrived at the recreation area, I was shocked to find a pretty well developed site and several other visitors.

If you are in this area, Sitting Bull Falls is can’t-miss. It is a hidden oasis in an arid environment where you can hike, picnic and even swim. The hike to the top of the falls is strenuous, but only about a quarter of a mile, and I strongly recommend it. The top of the falls is amazing, and you can wade in and out of the pools and climb on the rocks that define this wonderful area.

At the bottom of the falls, there is a well-developed viewing area that leads to the base, where you can swim and explore all the way to fall itself. It was too cold for us to do more than wade, but even so, this was an unexpected and fantastic addition to our adventure.

Because we had just a bit of extra time, we decided to make the long drive to the northwest and visit the Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument. I have always been fascinated by cliff dwellings but never gotten to visit one before. It was about a five hour drive, and actually took us past our next destination, but we figured it was better to use the time, rather than hang out in an RV park.

Side note, the drive to Gila (pronounced Heela) took us through Cloudcroft, NM. I only mention this because it was one of the most unusual and beautiful parts of our trip. When we drove through Cloudcroft, it felt like we were entering Brigadoon; it felt like we’d arrived in a ski resort pulled from a Bing Crosby movie. Keep in mind this was March, there was snow on the ground everywhere. There were adorable shops, restaurants, a brewery. I wished that we had the time to stop and explore, but I got the impression that if we had, we would never leave. Who knew such a place existed in southwest New Mexico.

After we escaped the lure, we finished the long drive at a KOA just outside Silver City (birthplace of Billy the Kid). Whenever we RV, the kids are always thrilled when we can stay at a KOA. They usually have the best amenities, this one did not disappoint (hook ups, arcade, shop, showers). We woke early the next day and finished the treacherous drive up to Gila, and were thrilled with what we found.

These well-preserved dwellings date back to the 1200s and while only occupied for a short period of time, are really impressive. The hike up is beautiful, and the views from the outside are really inspiring. That said, and Alyson agreed, actually being inside the dwellings is just sort of ‘meh’. The coolest part is viewing the homes set into the side of a mountain from the outside, but when you are actually in them, it just feels like any other old hut. I am really happy we added this excursion though, an 800 year old mountain retreat is really something to behold.

Our turn around was quick and abrupt, and we headed back southwest towards White Sands National Park. Just outside of Alomogordo, NM, this is one of the countries newest National Parks, and it is legitimately like no place I have ever seen before. We spent that night in, you guessed it, a KOA and made our way to the park early the next day.

We stopped at the Visitors Center, got our passports stamped and bought two saucers and some wax. I suppose I should elaborate. One of the main activities in White Sands is dune sledding, and the facilities are more than happy to provide the supplies.

An interesting thing about this gypsum covered wonderland, the park is hundreds upon hundreds of acres, surrounded by a government missile testing site, but visitors have access to only about 0.4%. In that 0.4%, you’ll get to see a world unlike any other. It almost feels like you’ve stepped onto another planet, until your one year old steals your sled and zips down a dune when you’re not paying attention.

My eldest daughter was super excited about sledding, but when you first start, you need to be sure that your expectations are tempered. The first time down the hill is slow and plodding, but the more you go down, the more the sand gets packed and the faster you’ll get.

Sledding is the primary activity in this area, and beyond that, there is actually not a ton to do. There are several trails, but none of them are long, and evidently, multiple people get lost and actually die every year, as everything looks the same. We found White Sands to be a great place to sled, to picnic and just experience something few people ever see.

At this point, we decided that the kids needed a break from the outdoors, and took them to Rocket City. This is a combination bowling alley, laser tag, arcade, oh, and it has a bar. It was nice to give the kids a break, bowl a few frames (my high was 143) and let them play a few video games. This trip was a very outdoors-heavy trip, and giving them a break really added to all of our enjoyments.

Aside from the sledding, the one thing that you shouldn’t miss at White Sands is the sunset. Every night, visibility-allowing, the park puts on a sunset stroll where a ranger (or in this case, an intern) leads a group out into the dunes, discusses the park and watches the sun drop. I have seen a lot of sunsets in 40 years (believe it or not), I am not sure any can compare to this. All I can do is ask you to look at that picture up top, and tell me if I’m wrong.

We spent that night in the KOA and woke up with the baby the next morning. Before leaving the White Sands area, we had breakfast at a classic diner called the Waffle and Pancake Shoppe. Food wasn’t a major part of our itinerary this trip, but this restaurant was awesome. Very old-school, mom and pop, there was already a wait when we arrived at 8 am on a Sunday. The staff moves people in and out so well, whilst still providing really high quality food, that we were out by 9. It was by far the best meal we had all week.

From there, we drove back into El Paso and stopped at the Chamizal National Memorial. This site had little to do with our travel intentions, but it does have a spot in the passport books, and since we had time before our flight, we figured why not?

This site commemorates an agreement between the United States and Mexico over a disputed area along the border. It is kind of cool, and the grounds would make for a nice event venue, but frankly, of all the National Park Service sites we have visited, this one may have been the most ‘blah’.

We dropped off the RV, hopped on board a plane and headed back to New Orleans. It is nice to get away from the city after Mardi Gras, but it was far from a relaxing trip. This was the type of vacation that it feels like requires a follow up vacation. If you are big on National Parks, heading out to El Paso is a great option, and these three parks are ones best visited during the colder times of the year. While I cannot give you a lot of recommendations for El Paso itself, I definitely recommend visiting Guadalupe Mountains, Carlsbad Caverns and White Sands.

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Thankfully in Gatlinburg

This year, we were unable to find a time to take a family vacation with my parents and brothers. My youngest brother is currently in a monastery (by choice), my middle brother is on the west coast with his girlfriend (now fiancée), and my elder brother and his family have been hesitant to travel for various reasons.

My parents still wanted to try to get everyone together for a trip, though, so instead of spending Thanksgiving at their house in St. Louis, they rented an amazing house on top of a mountain in Gatlinburg, TN.

Now, to no one’s surprise, none of my brother’s were able (or decided) to attend, but we were super-excited to jump on this opportunity to take the kids on a great family vacation with their grandparents.

Getting to Gatlinburg isn’t the simplest of tasks, since the nearest airport is in Knoxville, still an hour away, so we decided to drive. We left New Orleans at 4 am on Wednesday, very reminiscent of my family vacation growing up. We made it to Montgomery, Alabama, where we stopped at Greg’s Breakfast Bar. Alyson found this place on several top 10 breakfast lists in the area, and while it was not really what we expected, the food was fantastic. Just be forewarned that this restaurant makes a hole-in-the-wall look the French Laundry.

From there, we drove northeast, heading for the southern entrance to Great Smoky Mountain National Park. Aside from being a great tourist destination, Gatlinburg is immediately adjacent to this country’s most visited National Park, and those of you that follow us know that this was a big draw.

One of the frequently suggested activities in Smoky Mountain is to drive the Newfound Gap Road, which stretches the entire length of the park, north to south. We entered near the Oconaluftee Visitors Center, stamped our books, picked up our Junior Ranger packets, and headed north.

Now, it turns out that the older two Igoes have gotten over the Junior Ranger badges, which is kind of sad, but we didn’t want to force it on them, so instead of working on their books, we simply enjoyed an extremely scenic drive through the Smoky Mountains.

Once we exited the north entrance, we met my parents at the house in the early evening. It is hard to properly describe just how amazing the house my mom found on VRBO was, but I will try. It was three stories, with three balconies, all hanging over the side of a mountain, and a hot tub. It had a pool table, an arcade and a legit movie theater, and since only my branch of the family attended, we all, including the kids, had our own master suites.

After a quick dinner with my parents, we put Clara to bed, and the rest of us headed back down the mountain into Pigeon Forge. Pigeon Forge is on the other side of Gatlinburg from the park, and is appropriately referred to Vegas for Kids. It is certainly a tourist trap, but it is filled with countless activities for kids of all ages. That night, we took the big kids to Pigeon Forge Snow, which is basically an indoor version of a sledding hill where the kids got to shoot down the ‘mountain’ on inner tubes for an hour. If you are from the South, and your kids rarely get access to snow, this is a great activity.

The next morning, Thanksgiving, we got up early and all headed back into Pigeon Forge to a place called Legacy Mountain Ziplines. In case you couldn’t figure it out from the name, this is a great place to go wine tasting. Additionally, they have an amazing zipline course that requires a bus to take you to the top of a mountain.

My parents watched Clara, so we were all able to go, and while it was cold at the top of the mountain, the views were spectacular, and the guides were great. It had been about two years since I’d gone ziplining, and I forgot how much I enjoy it. Something unique about this course, you can go tandem with children as young as 3, so if you are looking for a great experience for the whole family, Legacy Mountain is a good option.

Following that, we got a quick lunch at the Cici’s Pizza buffet, which yes, is open and staffed by angry employees on Thanksgiving day, and headed into the park. We stopped at the Newfound Gap itself, then drove onto Clingman’s Dome. This is short but quite strenuous trail that leads to one of the highest points in the Smoky Mountains, where a very impressive lookout tower is located.

Frankly, I was impressed that both of our ambulatory children made it. The hike is less than a mile round trip, and the trail is paved, but the way up is shockingly steep, to the point that my mom never actually made it all the way up. The view from the top, however, is spectacular, and something that you won’t really see anywhere else in the park.

While mom didn’t make it to the top the hill, she did make it to the top of the awesome-list by getting Thanksgiving dinner from the Applewood Farmhouse Restaurant. This was a great decision. Instead of spending the day stuck in the kitchen, we were able to get outdoors and still enjoy a great meal. It may not have been as good as when grandma made it (although my grandma never actually made me Thanksgiving dinner), but it was very high quality and great way to cap off the holiday.

The next morning, we rose early again and headed for the Grotto Falls Trail. This trail goes on for several miles, but the payoff is about 1.5 miles in, where you’ll find an amazing waterfall. Cooler still, you can actually walk behind this cascade, which is pretty rare experience. This was my favorite part of the trip, and by far, my mom’s least favorite.

It had rained the night before, so the trail was pretty muddy, and the temperate was just under 35 degrees. My mom does not handle being cold well, and on the walk back, she made this clear to anyone and everyone within earshot. Regardless, I thought this was a fantastic hike, but if you decide to go, I recommend getting there early. This is a very highly trafficked trail, and the parking is very limited.

An added benefit to this trail is that it is stop #5 of 13 on the Roaring Fork Motor Trail. This is a narrow, one-way road through a specific portion of the park along the Roaring Fork River with incredible scenery throughout. Once my mom had gotten back in the car and spent some time with a seat warmer, even she enjoyed it.

On the way back through Gatlinburg, we stopped at Parton’s Deli (no relation to Dolly), where I got one of the best pastrami sandwiches that I have ever had. From there, we hopped over to the Gatlinburg Mountain Coaster. If you’ve never been on a mountain coaster, it is exactly what it sounds like. The baby fell asleep in the car, so my parents were happy to stay with her while we waited in line for about an hour for a four minute coaster ride. That said, it was totally worth it. Zipping down the hill on two rails with nothing but a chain link fence between you and bottom of the mountain is exhilarating. There are several of these in the area, and we didn’t try them all, so while I cannot say this is the best, it certainly got the job done for our family.

That night, we ate second Thanksgiving, then headed back into Pigeon Forge and met up with the folks from Smoky Mountain Jeep Tours. The tour took us from Pigeon Forge into Gatlinburg to see all of the Christmas lights. It seemed like a great idea, but to be honest, turned out kind of stupid. I really liked the guide, and several of their other tour options seem great, but the majority of this ride was spent sitting in traffic. I highly recommend the company, but not this specific excursion.

The next morning, we rose, you guessed it, early, and headed back into the park. Mom decided to sit this one out, which is too bad, because this hike was far easier and far warmer. We got to the Laurel Falls trailhead early, which again, is a good thing, as parking is limited and traffic is heavy. Just another great trail that goes for miles, but has a payoff a mile and a half in, a very impressive, towering waterfall. I think this was everyone else’s favorite trail. It is paved, less strenuous, and there are several areas at the falls where the kids could safely climb.

We could have spent days exploring Great Smoky Mountains, but in the short time we had, I think we hit all the major highlights. Perhaps earlier in the fall or mid-spring are probably better times to visit, and at holidays the tourism industry booms, but we really enjoyed our ninth National Park of 2021.

After leaving Laurel Falls, we made our way back into Pigeon Forge and hit up one of the many go-kart tracks on the strip. I cannot actually remember the name of the course, but it was a fun ride. We actually briefly considered hitting up all of the tracks to discover which ride was the fastest, as there are about a dozen of them, but it didn’t seem like the best use of our time, and one was enough to satisfy my soon-to-be driving daughter.

We got a serviceable sandwich at Firehouse Subs, then headed once more into Gatlinburg in hopes of getting to Anakeesta. Anakeesta is basically a resort which sits atop a mountain and has a lookout tower, ziplines, a coaster, several bars, restaurants and multiple sky bridges, amongst other things.

When we arrived, the line to get tickets was about twenty minutes long, and the line to take the chair lift up was about two and a half hours. If you are set on going though, and don’t care about how you get to the top, a bus runs every 15 to 30 minutes. The view on the way up isn’t as impressive, but we were happy to pass on the lift to save ourselves 120 minutes.

Once we got to the top, we put the kids in line for the mountain coaster, and went to the amphitheater area to have a beer and listen to a surprisingly religious blue grass band. The kids disagreed as to which coaster they preferred, but they definitely enjoyed the eight total minute they spent shooting down the mountains.

We climbed the viewing tower and toured the sky bridges, and all told, spent about three hours atop the mountain. It is hard to really describe the experience, because for much of it, you are just wandering around, not really doing anything specific, but whatever it is, it is a lot of fun if you can stand the wait.

My parents took the bus back down, but since there was no line at the top, we took the chair lift and actually got back to the car first. There is something exhilarating about riding down the mountain in the open air, although to me, it becomes a bit mundane after the first few minutes.

We drove back into Pigeon Forge to catch a 5 pm church service at Holy Cross Catholic Church, which was nothing fancy, but it was nice to be able to go to mass even whilst traveling. That night, we polished off the last of the Thanksgiving leftovers, packed up and went down for one last night atop the mountain.

My parents left early on Sunday morning to get back to St. Louis, but we decided to slip in one more excursion. In Gatlinburg proper, there is a sky bridge to rival all others at Gatlinburg SkyLift. The ride up the lift is not as long as Anakeesta, and the views from the top are pretty impressive. There is not actually a lot to do, once you get to the top, aside from walk from one peak to other and back, but it is a very Gatlinburg experience, and we did not want to miss out.

Once we’d made it back down, we loaded ourselves in our Honda Pilot and drove the 10 hours back to New Orleans. This was one of the most memorable Thanksgivings we have had in a long time. If your family is willing, I highly recommend making the most of these times off, and making the holiday a destination one.