Mountain Weekend

Since Shannon did not have any classes Friday she invited us up to Maryville so she could check out the new camper.  It was good to get away again since we have not been camping since the Alaska trip.  We could not find a dog sitter so we also took Copper with us, only his second camping trip.  We were kind of apprehensive about taking him since we have never camped with a large dog before but he did fine.
When we drove up on Thursday we saw very little color in the trees but the weather was warm and clear.
We stayed at Misty River campground in Walland, TN since it is close to Maryville and is a very nice campground. Friday we drove down to Ft. Loudon State Historical Park and went on a short hike and walked around the fort.

Shannon and Copper

Ft. Loudon and Tellico Lake

Trees were just starting to turn

The fort site was raised 20 ft when the lake was built.

Saturday we went back to Ft. Loudon for living history demonstrations and to nearby Sequoya Museum.

On the way back we stopped in Maryville for art festival.

Sunday we drove up to Sugarland visitor center in Smoky Mtn National Park for a short hike.  

 Shannon wanted to show off her rolling ability which she executed perfectly.

I was just impressed she could tolerate the frigid water.

A very nice weekend retreat.