October Vacation; Day 5: Heading Home

Ashley, Kaleigh, and I opted to stay an additional day since the Smokies had been opened.  We slept in a bit, at least until the sun came up, then struck out toward Clingman's Dome.  This was a short but steep hike up to the highest point in the park.  From the dome, there is a 360 degree view of the mountains that, on a clear day, is amazing.  This day had some cloud but they were burning off quickly.

After a trip to the gift shop, we actually left the park and headed to Mingo falls.  Mingo is located on the Cherokee Indian Reservation.  Mingo is also usually flooded with people, as it was this day.  We did not stay too log but it is always worth the stop as Mingo is a massive waterfall.

Then it was a long drive home.  We had a great trip and fortunately, our vacation was not quite over since we still had some weekend time available.