Hiking the Great Smoky Mountains - Laurel Falls

This morning, our whole family had some down time so we decided to do some hiking. I wasn't sure how much Ladybug would enjoy the experience (she prefers the indoors), so we picked the Laurel Falls hike, a somewhat easy, very rewarding trail. She loved it, as did the rest of us, so next time I'll feel good about a longer, slightly more challenging trail.

Michael and I have hiked this trail before, years ago, but there were three things about it that I was not prepared for. One, there is litter on this beautiful trail, not a lot, but enough that it surprised me. Don't people read the signs, the ones indicating that litter kills bears? (Sorry I didn't get a photo of it, but I am providing the link. Just scroll to the bottom of the page where there is a picture of one of the bears that had to be euthanized.)

Second, there are a ton of people on this trail, as in hordes of people, almost like the lines at Dollywood. I can certainly understand why it is so popular. It's located in a high traffic area for one thing. It's an easy hike. And the scenery along the trail as well as the falls themselves are breathtaking. Of course, it would be even more beautiful if I could have it all to myself.

The top half of Laurel Falls

Third, people bring strollers and wheelchairs on the trail even though the National Park Service states that the trail is "not suitable for strollers or wheelchairs." I personally cannot imagine trying to push either one up the mountain on that trail, which is rough and has some steep drop offs. However, I do commend two early 20-something young men who pushed their elderly grandma all the way up to see the falls. They definitely earned their cowboy points. So, while the trail is not suitable for man or woman powered wheels, apparently it is possible.

Laurel Falls is about 80-feet high. The trailhead is located about 3.5 miles from Sugarlands Visitor Center on Little River Road in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

From Clogged RV Toilet to Backed Up Gray Water . . . All Within 24 Hours

I'm starting to think that I should have titled this blog "1,001 Things That Can Go Wrong in an RV."

Yesterday, the big thing that went wrong in our RV was a clogged toilet. I can only begin to explain the stress that comes along with a toilet clog, especially when we failed repeatedly at dislodging whatever it was that was causing the issues. (Likely somebody stuffed way too much t.p. in the bowl. We had a guest visiting, a 12-year old guest who perhaps did not understand what I meant about only flushing small amounts of paper, but at least she did inform us when it happened so that we could address the issue.)

After several hours of unsuccessful attempts at unclogging the RV toilet, which is actually a standard household toilet with a curved pipe that makes poking around with a stick way more complicated than it should be, and eight pans of boiling water poured into the bowl as well as some laundry detergent and half a bottle of dish soap, the toilet finally began flushing again. Before the soap and hot water did their job, I sent Michael to Wal-Mart to get some Liquid Plumr and a plumber's snake. By the time he got back, my wore out self had finally gotten the toilet unclogged.

Then, later yesterday evening, the bathroom sink began draining slowly. The little plastic "plumber's snake" that came with the Liquid Plumr came in handy. I pulled up a large piece of a bar of soap, and that at least was one problem easily solved.

So, today, it's a new water issue. Somewhere along the way, Michael must have closed the valve to the gray tank and it has overfilled and backed up into the shower, right at the edge where another centimeter of water would make it overflow into the bathroom floor. At least I hope that's all it is, because I wouldn't even know where to start if it is anything more than a valve that needs opening.

Michael is off on his merry way helping out a friend today, and he took the RV keys with him, including the keys to the bays. I guess we won't know until he returns whether it's going to be an easy fix this time.

On a side note, I'd like to give thanks for my washing machine, which has also decided to start not working properly anymore, because just this once its timing for stopping mid-cycle couldn't be better. Had it finished its spin cycle without throwing the "E 1" error, whatever that is, my bathroom floor would be flooded right now.