Smoky Mountains: Day 3; Grotto and Laurel

Saturday was the last full day in the mountains that Ashley and I would spend.  We got up early in the morning, with sore legs we headed to the Grotto Falls hike.  It was a fairly short hike to a small falls.  Grotto Falls is unique in that you can walk in behind the falls.  It might be one of the few falls I have been to where that was encouraged. 

As we started our hike, the weather got incredibly cold and the fog rolled in heavily.  There were times where we could not see more then 30 or 40 feet in front of us.  It was intense but made for some really interesting pictures.  It was one of the better hikes i the Smokies that I have been on.  Very serine, despite it being extremely easy.

That evening, we headed out to another easy hike to Laurel Falls.  This is on a paved trail and is likely on of the most popular hikes.  The falls in nice and there are a couple of decent overlook along the way.  We turned in early due to the long drive the following day back to Atlanta.