This post is part of a travel series of our vacation in the Smokey Mountains. To start at the beginning, go HERE! The rest of the posts in chronological order are HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE, and HERE!
One of my absolute favorite things about Smokey Mountain National Park is all the history! The land on which the park now sits, was once a land filled with homesteads of early settlers. Many of the log cabins and farms are still there. Cades Cove and Roaring Fork Motor Trail are both great places to see the old homes and churches. But if you really want to learn more about the farmer's life in the 1800's, then "Mountain Farm Museum" is the place for you!
The museum is located in the North Carolina portion of the park about 30 miles from Gatlinburg. I really enjoyed this section of the park for it was far less crowded than the Gatlinburg area. The Oconaluftee Visitor Center is located right next to the museum but we didn't go inside for we were there to see the farm.
The Mountain Farm Museum is a collection of historic log buildings from throughout the Smokey Mountains gathered and preserved on one site. Here you can explore a farmhouse, barn, apple house, springhouse, blacksmith shed, corn crib, and hog pen. Visitors can get a sense of how people lived and survived in the late 19th century.
Front of corn crib
Every building was labeled with a description like the one below to explain the purpose of the building. I found the corn crib so interesting because it was the settlers most important crop and they ate cornmeal products up to three times a day. That is definitely not the low-carb diet most of us eat today.
Back of corn crib
The Farm Museum was so peaceful when we there. Now granted, it was still very early in the morning, but we so enjoyed getting away from the crowds and being in a more peaceful atmosphere. We also loved how the entire farm seemed encircled by the Smokey Mountains and a lovely river ran the length of the farm. All we could hear was running water and birds singing. It was so tranquil.
The woodshed
The Farm Museum also demonstrates historic gardening and agricultural practices including livestock. In the picture below are apple trees which are fenced off to protect the trees from the elk. If you watch the video at the end of this post, you will see the elk that were enjoying breakfast right on the road to the Farm Museum.
The next three pictures are of the barn.
Here is the beautiful river that runs all along the property. You can see more of this river in the long eleven minute video at the end of the post. This river is also a trail called the "Oconaluftee River Trail". The trail follows the river 1.5 miles to Cherokee. It is a stroller accessible trail, so it would be great for families or the elderly and handicapped.
This is the hog pen. I was fascinated by the fact that they let their hogs free part of the year so that they don't have to feed them. How they ever find them again, I have no idea.
After our visit to the Farm Museum, we then headed over to Mingus Mill which is only a half mile north of the Oconaluftee Visitor Center. There is a spacious parking for the mill, and then you take a pretty walk across a bridge to get to the mill itself. As I've said so many times in my Smokey Mountain travel posts, there is water EVERYWHERE in the smokies! Beautiful rivers and babbling brooks constantly surround you providing the most soothing sounds.
Mingus Mill was built in 1886. It is a historic grist mill that uses a water powered turbine instead of a water wheel to grind flour. It is located at it's original site and is still used today to make corn meal and whole wheat flour. You may purchase the products from the miller inside the mill. All proceeds go to benefit the park, so it's not just a great souvenir and meal, but a great charity as well. Be sure to watch the Mingus Mill video at the end of the post where we meet and converse with the miller and purchase some cornmeal to take home.
This is the side front of the mill as you are walking down the path to get there.
And here you can see how the water is channeled from the river and into the mill to power the turbine.
Finally, here are all the videos. The first one shows the mill and the miller. The second one is just me and my hubby having fun and enjoying the little trail to the mill. The third one is a long, eleven minute video of the entire Farm Museum, and finally, the fourth video shows the elk we encountered as we entered the park.
Our next stop on this action-packed day was Clingman's Dome! Wait till you see the views from up there!
Ageless Style is a monthly style challenge and link up for women "over a certain age". Each month we pick a different theme and style an outfit based on that theme.
This month Jamie picked our theme and she picked "Summer Brights from Day to Night". I had a little struggle with this theme as I do not have a lot of brightly colored items in my closet and I really am not a night-life kind of gal. I'm usually relaxing on the sofa at 7:00 pm and in bed by 9:00 pm. Nevertheless, I shopped my closet and found this Joe Fresh skirt that I have had since 2013. I really love this skirt, it's one of my summer favorites because it's so cool and comfy.
As I scrolled through my Instagram feed I noticed that every time I wore this skirt I always paired it with a light colored top and sandals...probably because I wore it on hot days and I wanted to be cool. So I thought it would be perfect to take this bright skirt, that I normally wear only in the day time hours, and style it for night...even if it's just make believe because I actually wore my "Night" outfit during the day and was in bed by 9:00 pm as usual. 😀
Day Night
In the first picture on the top right, I wore my bright colored skirt with a white tee tied in a knot to a garden. Below I paired the skirt with a beige tank top to go hiking.
Here I am wearing a pink tank and sandals with my skirt.
And in a really old picture, I wore the skirt with a white peasant top. Like I said above, I always wore the skirt with a light colored top, and in all four looks I have sandals on.
But now, because of the challenge, I took this eight year old skirt and...gasp...syled it with a bold blue top!
I googled colors that go with coral and it said: "Colors that go with coral are neutrals (surprise, surprise), golds, pinks, blues and greens". But I actually figured that all out for myself when I held a colorful item from my closet up against the skirt. Yet, I was surprised because before the challenge it never would have crossed my mind to wear a bold blue top with this skirt! I ended up really loving the way it looked, I thought it looked so much better with a navy top than a white top, and it made me wonder why I never tried this look before.
So how does just darkening the top transition this outfit from day to night, you might ask. Well, darker colors in general to me seem more appropriate for night time entertaining, partying, dining, or going out at night. A white tee or tank would seem to casual and light to wear at night.
For footwear, I swapped out the sandals for navy blue ballet flats. Dressy heels would be even better for a night time look, but I can't walk in those, so flats it is for me!
The most important thing in switching up an outfit from day to night is jewelry, and lots of it! Here I am playing off the coral color in my skirt and wearing coral drop earrings with a multi-strand matching coral necklace. I also wore silver bracelets and my usual rings.
My top has a ruffled neckline, which adds a dressy element making it even more suitable for night time activities. Also, did you notice I have some pattern mixing going on here? I'm usually not one who likes to mix patterns, but when they are this subtle, I can do it!
Switching out your handbag from day to night also can drastically change your look. During the day I would carry a much larger handbag or crossbody bag, but at night, all I would need would be a clutch.
And that is how I took my Summer Bright skirt from a day time outfit to a night time outfit! What do you think? Did I succeed?
Isn't this a pretty view? This is a scenic overlook in a neighboring town of mine. I live in such a beautiful area.
And now, be sure to check out what the rest of the ladies are wearing for this challenge and link up with us below!
This post is part of a travel series of our vacation in the Smokey Mountains. To start at the beginning, go HERE! The rest of the posts in chronological order are HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE, and HERE!
Day Five was our very last day in the Smokies and we knew that if we were going to be able to scratch ALMOST EVERYTHING off our "must see" list, we had to do it all today! As always, we awoke before dawn and headed out to find one of the tallest waterfalls in the Appalachian Mountains. One the way there, we pulled over to enjoy some of the amazing scenic views.
The best part of waking up so early is getting to see the sunrise over the Smokey Mountains.
The Smokey Mountains is called "The Land of Blue Smoke" because of the "smoke-like, natural blue haze, and mist-like clouds that rise following a rainstorm". The Cherokee gave this beautiful land its name (source).
We had a very ambitious plan today! First we would stop at Newfound Gap to see the sunrise, then we would head out of the park to North Carolina to see one of the tallest waterfalls in the area. After that we stopped at a farm museum and working mill, then off to Clingman's Dome, did a short hike to Grotto Falls, then finished the day with a beautiful scenic drive on the Roaring Fork Motor Trail. It was a long, but wonderful day for we managed to scratch off almost everything from our "must see" list. Of course, I can't cover it all in one post, so Day Five will be broken into six parts.
I really love scenic roads where they have pull overs where you can pull off to the side of the road and enjoy the view. Of course we never get anywhere too fast, because we always have to stop at every single one! They are all so gorgeous and the next one always seem to be better than the previous one.
It was a one hour and thirteen minute drive from our hotel, through the Smokey's and to Mingo Falls, but it was one of the most beautiful hour long drives I've ever taken in my life.
At 5,046 feet, NewFound Gap is the lowest drivable pass through the Smokey Mountain National Park. A "gap" is a low point in a mountain ridge. NewFound Gap is also the boundary line between Tennessee and North Carolina.
Newfound Gap has a HUGE parking lot so you can get out, walk around, take plenty of pictures, and just SOAK IN THE VIEWS!
After viewing Newfound Gap, we were back in the car and headed out of the Smokey National Park in search of the tallest waterfall in the area: Mingo Falls. They do not make this waterfall that easy to find, thank goodness for GPS. It is located in the Big Cove community just north of Cherokee. There is a cute shopping area called "Saunooke Village" only five miles from the falls, but we were there so early, nothing was open yet.
This is a super short, but steep trail, only 100 yards. First, you have to hike up a lot of stairs.
After the stairs, there is a very rugged, rocky path.
But then you are suddenly treated to this beautiful 120 foot waterfall. Isn't she a beauty?
Of course we both had to have our pictures taken with this beauty behind us.
And finally, be sure to watch the video below where I set my eyes on this gorgeous waterfall for the first time. It was such an exhilarating experience!
I will be back next week with our visit to the Mountain Farm Museum.
