Great Smoky Mountain National Park

Oh, hello Smoky Mountains! This is the first National Park we visited during our camping adventure, but ya'll know we like the secluded, smaller, RV parks. So, we chose to stay at Honeysuckle Meadows RV Park. 

Honeysuckle Meadows is situated conveniently near Pigeon Forge, the national park, and Gatlinburg. The park offers spacious wooded campsites with complimentary full hook-ups. Campers receive free access to the Honeysuckle Meadows pool. The pool is owned by the same family who maintains the RV park, however, tourists from all over the county are welcome to the pool, (for a small fee.)  

The Smokey Mountain National park is phenomenal. There are several pull-off areas for visitors to splash in the waterfalls or simply take a glimpse into nature. We found a little creek next to the stone sign. Colten practiced his Parkour skills hiking up the creek; Katie picked a little stone to use as a stage for her tap dance show. 

I became a tad bit wiser camping in Sevierville, Tennessee. The closest grocery store was a small IGA. Now, I'll preface my story by saying the store manager was incredible. He immediately corrected the situation and did everything within his power to make sure our experience was extraordinary. I will certainly shop here again, however, I learned it is not a good idea to buy meat from a small IGA connected to a gas station. When you start comparing the smell of ribs to various seafood, there may be a problem. Again, the manager was amazing and offered a great solution, even though returns were strictly prohibited due to COVID-19. It didn't occur to me that if I needed to purchase baby back ribs, I should probably go to a full-sized grocery store. Lesson Learned...

Before I close, I'll share just one more reason why this park has a special place in my heart. I published my first book, sitting at the Honeysuckle Meadows Pool. I'll never forget the moment my final manuscript was uploaded to my publisher!​