We fit a lot into our day on Monday. We stopped to explore the same part of a stream that we visited on our first trip to the mountains with the kids. Below is a picture of Danielle the last time we were here and this time. We also had a picnic (below), visited the Tuckaleechee Caverns, and drove around Cades Cove. I don't have any pictures of the caverns, but that was a really good tour! The caverns are very large and beautiful, and it wasn't crowded at all. Interestingly, the caverns were first discovered by two little boys about Tyler's age (6). I can't believe they were brave enough to venture down into a place so completely dark! Anyway, I think that tour ranked at the top of our favorites this vacation.

We had lunch at the campground outside Cades Cove. Hopefully you can tell by the pictures that it was such a beautiful area! We enjoyed our auto tour of Cades Cove, too. We saw wild turkey, a big black snake, and lots of deer. Tyler enjoyed looking at the buildings, too.

Tyler really wanted to ride the go-carts, so we spent Tuesday morning at The Track. Danielle really wanted to ride the Wild Woody ride, too...until going down the first hill. We found something more her speed instead.

Tuesday afternoon we played in another creek. We also saw a salamander. Apparently there are 30 species of salamander living in the Smoky Mountains, which has earned it the nickname "Salamander Capitol of the World".

On our last day we stopped at the IHOP for breakfast before leaving. We've never eaten at an IHOP and were pleasantly surprised! This guy was outside the restaurant.