{"id":975,"date":"2020-08-02T12:01:45","date_gmt":"2020-08-02T17:01:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/karenlordrutter.press\/blog\/?p=975"},"modified":"2020-08-02T12:01:48","modified_gmt":"2020-08-02T17:01:48","slug":"of-course-i-said-yes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/karenlordrutter.press\/blog\/?p=975","title":{"rendered":"Of course I said, “YES!”"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

On a Tuesday afternoon, I received a text. “Want to go camping in the mountains of North Carolina?” Let’s see…the mountains, fresh air, hiking, streams, and a chance to spend the weekend with my favorite daughter. That would be a resounding, “YES!”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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We started our journey with a stop in Cades Cove, Tennessee. The drive through the cove is always a favorite and a chance to experience America during a simpler time. The views are never ending and we almost always spot bear and deer somewhere along the drive. We saw both but could only get a photo of a very patient deer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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After leaving Cades Cove, we drove to Pigeon Forge where we spent the night and had the opportunity to eat at a restaurant with exceptional food. If you find yourself hungry in this town, stop at Bullfish Grill and get the cilantro lime chicken. It is divine! The homemade bread is addictive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Now, for the reason we came. The camping trip. We drove to Topton, North Carolina to join the Trail Dames at Appletree Group Campground in the Nantahala Forest. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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It is a campground designed for more than 125 people but there were less than 20 Trail Dames so we were able to get our favorite spot…a bit of land by the creek. Sleeping to the gentle sounds of the creek is heaven.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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We endured a night of rain but the next day was gorgeous! A perfect day for a hike. We settled on the Bartram Trail which took us on a trek right alongside a stream. Mikella had chosen the trail and invited a fellow Trail Dame, Tiffany, to come along for the hike. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Mikella picking blackberries <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Me and my girl<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
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It was an enjoyable hike only cut short by a huge felled tree that had us saying…Can\u2019t go over it. Can\u2019t go under it. Can\u2019t go around it. Guess we will turn around and go back the way we came. It was ok because we had something very important to do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Take off our shoes….<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Hang our hammocks…<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Climb into our hammock….<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Oops! She missed!<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Relax…<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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And snooze!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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It was a short nap because we had to get up to make dinner and enjoy a nice evening fire.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Around the fire, there was a discussion as to whether we’d like to climb up to Wayah Bald to see sunrise the next morning. It sounded great at 9 pm and we were all in. At 5 am, it didn’t seem quite as exciting. But, these two ladies got up and navigated our way in the dark to catch that sunrise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Wayah Bald Observatory<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

It was worth the trip. Beautiful views.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Those are clouds!
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Mikella insisted that I take a picture in my “outfit” for seeing sunrise. I threw a khaki dress on over my leggings and shirt that I slept in. But, then I was cold so I threw on my long sleeve aqua fishing shirt. I was still cold so I threw on my fuschia colored jacket and ran out into the dark without brushing my hair. When I saw the picture she took, I knew why she was laughing at my “outfit”. Before you judge…remember that there are no mirrors in the woods! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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As the sun rose and we began to look around, we realized that the Bartram Trail and the Appalachian Trail meet here on Wayah Bald. We retraced the steps where Copper and David would have hiked as they made their way to Maine on the A.T.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Follow the yellow blaze for the Bartram Trail and follow the white blaze for the Appalachian Trail. Here is where they come together.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
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The trail<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Flowers along the A.T.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

After enjoying sunrise, we made our way back to camp to pack up for home. It had been a wonderful few days spent with one of my favorite people on earth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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My girl!<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

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<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

On a Tuesday afternoon, I received a text. “Want to go camping in the mountains of North Carolina?” Let’s see…the mountains, fresh air, hiking, streams, and a chance to spend the weekend with my favorite daughter. That would be a resounding, “YES!” We started our journey with a stop in Cades Cove, Tennessee. The drive […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1027,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true},"categories":[367,102,270,252,251,1],"tags":[365,366,360,363,364,361,359,362],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/karenlordrutter.press\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/66BB996C-13C9-4466-87BD-DA3DAFAA3A43.jpeg?fit=500%2C375&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p9gDsa-fJ","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":844,"url":"https:\/\/karenlordrutter.press\/blog\/?p=844","url_meta":{"origin":975,"position":0},"title":"Pinnacles","date":"June 10, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"In my quest to visit all of the US National Parks, I made my way from Ventura Beach to Pinnacles National Park right outside of Soledad, California. It was a gorgeous day for a 4 hour drive from Ventura to Pinnacles NP. The Hwy. 101 drive took me through mountains,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"America\"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/karenlordrutter.press\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/img_8563.jpg?fit=500%2C375&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":42,"url":"https:\/\/karenlordrutter.press\/blog\/?p=42","url_meta":{"origin":975,"position":1},"title":"Finding Fall","date":"October 19, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"It was refreshing to wake up this weekend to temps in the 60s rather than the stifling heat that has been lingering for months now. I love pool days and beach time as much as anyone, but I gotta say... I am more than ready for a reprieve from the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Lifestyle"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/karenlordrutter.press\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/Optimized-20131004_164602-4.jpg?fit=1200%2C827&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":541,"url":"https:\/\/karenlordrutter.press\/blog\/?p=541","url_meta":{"origin":975,"position":2},"title":"Road Trippin’","date":"June 13, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"If you are looking for a no pressure weekend away...keep reading.\u00a0 My son and I were headed to Damascus, Virginia a few weekends ago and the last thing we wanted to see was an interstate.\u00a0 We were looking for a weekend of adventure and gorgeous scenery.\u00a0 So, we set the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "family"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/karenlordrutter.press\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/C7A3121A-675F-4022-AB4F-A5E34D40C758.jpeg?fit=500%2C486&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":764,"url":"https:\/\/karenlordrutter.press\/blog\/?p=764","url_meta":{"origin":975,"position":3},"title":"New Beginnings","date":"June 7, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"The Corona virus is a thief. Covid-19 stole three big trips from me: Hawaii with my daughter, South Africa with my son, and Alaska with my husband. The good news is that we are all healthy and the dreaded Covid hasn't robbed us of our health or life. We are\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"adventures\"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/karenlordrutter.press\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/5D333FE8-AEA4-48B9-9FCB-A57499C96738.jpeg?fit=500%2C375&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1075,"url":"https:\/\/karenlordrutter.press\/blog\/?p=1075","url_meta":{"origin":975,"position":4},"title":"Chasing David to the Mexican Border","date":"January 3, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Late on a Thursday night, I got an overwhelming urge. By Friday, I had given in to my desires. I tried to stop myself. I really did. But, the urge was too strong. I booked a ticket to Palm Springs California as it was the closest and least expensive way\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Backpacking"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/karenlordrutter.press\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Happy-with-his-accomplishment-close-up-pic.jpg?fit=500%2C375&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":505,"url":"https:\/\/karenlordrutter.press\/blog\/?p=505","url_meta":{"origin":975,"position":5},"title":"Update On Angry Girl and Friends: Let Them Eat Cake!","date":"April 26, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"When we last left the Madison County High School ESOL (ELL) classroom where students were using Northbounders: 2,186 Miles of Friendship as their novel study, Copper and Blast were hiking their way through New Hampshire on the Appalachian Trail. I'm happy to report that the students, Copper \ud83d\udc15 and Blast\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "animals"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/karenlordrutter.press\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/img_3895-1.jpg?fit=500%2C709&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/karenlordrutter.press\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/975"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/karenlordrutter.press\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/karenlordrutter.press\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/karenlordrutter.press\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/karenlordrutter.press\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=975"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/karenlordrutter.press\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/975\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1030,"href":"https:\/\/karenlordrutter.press\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/975\/revisions\/1030"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/karenlordrutter.press\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1027"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/karenlordrutter.press\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=975"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/karenlordrutter.press\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=975"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/karenlordrutter.press\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=975"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}