During the summer of 2017, I got a small taste of the Smokies when my family took a trip to Tennessee. At some point, half of us decided to take a hike while the other half went to shop in a nearby town.
This moment in the Smokies was a surprisingly foundational part of my journey as a photographer. My hiking partners, which consisted of my dad, my Uncle John, and my cousin Zack, did not hesitate to leave me in the dust. I couldn’t really blame them, though. Every leaf, every branch was beautiful and absolutely needed to be captured. Admittedly, I went overboard, but I couldn’t help myself.
I stuck around in the back, my eye caught by every little detail the forest chose to show me. Mushrooms, berries, leaves against the sky. Every so often, I made sure to sprint back to the group so I didn’t completely lose them, but there were certainly moments were I felt entirely alone underneath those towering trees. Nature swallowed me whole, and I made sure to document the experience.
I actually haven’t even looked back at these photos since I took them, but I did find a few gems.
Look at that, I've always been enticed by mushrooms. Good to know.
Now we’ve seen how good summer looks in the Smokies, let's take a look at autumn.
October 24th, 2021
This is one of my favorite photos from out time in the Smokies. All the clouds made for crazy views.
Sam and I reached the entrance to the park during the early afternoon. Our day leading up to this point was spent in various towns collecting groceries and other necessities in preparation for the next seven days.
That’s right, we were about to spend a week at a campground in the middle of the Great Smoky Mountains. And the best part? The changing colors of fall would reach their peak during our stay.
I would like to take this moment to thank my wonderful partner, Sam, for being the best planner and reserving our campsite six months in advance.
To reach our campsite and soon-to-be-home, we first had to drive on one of the scariest dirt roads we’ve encountered so far.
Yeah, that's a little steep.
Not only was one side of the road a near-vertical drop off, but the size of the road really only fit one car. Then came the traffic! I thought my heart would burst when we passed the first car. By the tenth, I came to terms with possible death and learned to enjoy the colors. And boy, oh boy, were the colors spectacular.
Naturally, we jammed out to our favorite 50s tunes as we crawled across the dirt. A lot of people were definitely oggling the teardrop, too. Some even gave us a thumbs up. By the time we finally reached the campground, there was a real sense of belonging in our chests.
During our time in this magical area, Sam and I truly felt at home. We learned so much about the land, the people, and the history that connects the two. Even when the weather turned and chose to rain on us in the latter half of the week, we still felt at home.
I’m really excited to share these memories with you. Oh, and the photos. I’m really excited to share those with you, too, because these are some of my best.
History of the Great Smoky Mountains
Remnants of an old barn in a meadow, right next to a creek. What a life.
The origins of this national park were surprising to me.
Western national parks began as land set aside by the government in order to preserve those natural areas. However, according to the National Parks Service, the Great Smoky Mountains was “among one of the first national parks assembled from private lands. [Alarmed at commercial logging threats to the forests] the states of North Carolina and Tennessee, private citizens and groups, and schools contributed money to purchase these lands for donation to the federal government.” For close to 100 years, families had lived in these valleys. Eventually, they would move out to make way for the preservation of this land.
As a result, there is and never will be an entrance fee for the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The descendants of the settlers who used to live here paid so that we wouldn’t have to.
The old one room schoolhouse for the students of Cataloochee Valley. I barely fit in those chairs.
People really seem to like scratching their names into things, including this window in the schoolhouse.
Of course, I would be doing a disservice to the history of this land if I didn’t mention the Native American history as well.
Just outside of the park is a town called Cherokee. This town, while very touristy and sporting more than a few casinos, had a cultural center that we made sure to visit. The museum taught us about the lives of the Cherokee before, during, and after European settlement. I can’t pretend to know everything about their story, but I do want to summarize at least some kernels of knowledge I learned.
This sign, found along Blue Ridge Parkway, reads, " The Cherokee domain once extended far beyond the distant mountains, but the white man, with broken treaties and fruitless promises, brought trouble to these Indians and caused their banishment to an to an Oklahoma reservation. A few escaped capture and fled into the Great Smokies, eventually forming the Eastern Band that now lives on the Qualla Reservation in the valley below."
The Cherokee were among a few other tribes that lived in the Appalachian Mountains for over one thousand years. The history between these tribes and the settlers that later came is mixed. For a while, equal trade and good relations were the norm. A few Cherokee men even sailed across the Atlantic to meet England’s King! But eventually, the new American government wanted the land and forced the tribes that resisted assimilation to walk the Trail of Tears. Those who escaped to the mountains would become the ancestors of those who live in the town of Cherokee today.
I left out a museum’s worth of knowledge on this complicated history, so I encourage you to read more.
Camping in Cataloochee
The rising sun always made for the prettiest mornings.
Now that we’ve gotten through all the backstory, let’s get into the fun bits.
This cute little stump and mushroom duo stood guard right outside our campsite.
Cataloochee campground has got to be one of the best campgrounds we’ve ever been to. I’m sure the fall colors may have swayed my opinions a bit, but I’m still convinced that this was the best place we’ve camped so far.
Every site was taken, but we never felt claustrophobic. The people we camped alongside were incredibly nice. There were elk roaming around during the mornings as if we didn’t exist. Oh, and did I mention the toilets flushed?? That’s right, this campsite had modern plumbing. Automatic bonus points.
Setting up camp over the past two-ish months has finally gotten to be second nature. First we level the teardrop, then unravel the jacks, then do a lot more things that sound extremely boring to write. Instead of describing our process in painful detail, I shall grace you with this timelapse.
Normally, we don’t take the canopy or carpet out, but we took this opportunity to really make ourselves at home.
Welcome to our living room / dining room / backyard.
Our hard work paid off once we sat down and let our surroundings sink in. The trees gently rustled the bright orange leaves above our heads. Conversations from all the other campsites were muffled by the running creek just yards away. The sun shone through gaps in the canopy, illuminating the freshly fallen leaves that lay at our feet.
This is all we saw of the sunset from our first night. The bright pink clouds told us we absolutely needed to find a good vantage point for the next sunset.
Yeah, I could get used to days like these.
We didn’t do much before dinner, mostly just relax and enjoy the stillness.
This dish is “Teardrop Adaptation” of a tortellini bake we’ve made many times. The mozzarella on top was the rest of the Wisconsin cheese strings my mom bought us. I’m getting hungry just thinking about it.
Cooking is another one of those skills that we’ve gotten into a good rhythm with. Even when we lived together in Fort Collins, Sam and I were a good team in the kitchen. It is surprising, though, that we’ve developed a different “team strategy” while living in the Teardrop versus a house.
For one, Sam is almost always the Head Chef. Before our trip, I’d say I lead the cooking about 40% of the time. But now? It’s probably closer to 15%. At first, I was a little conflicted about this. After all, I wanna be the responsible one once in a while. But then I learned how bad I am at leading in the wild.
Kes is cooking noodles? They’ll either be too soft because she forgot about them in the pot, or she’ll spill them in the sink as she’s draining them.
Dinner is just such an intimidating task! Don’t get me wrong, I can make a killer breakfast sandwich, stew, or sauce. But . . . that’s about it. Anything else and I’ll take 10x longer to make something mediocre.
So, when I say Sam is always the Head Chef, just know that it’s for the best. I’m entirely content being the underling that cuts all the veggies.
If I've learned anything about Sam during our time together, it's that this man loves his parmesan.
In the future, after I’ve caught up with writing and find some time, I will most definitely have an entire post dedicated to the food we’ve cooked on our adventures. From loaded salads to Korean stews, I’m not sure I’ve ever eaten this well in my life. Thank goodness we hike a lot, or else these yummy meals would catch up to us.
This is the army stew we made after a long day of hiking in the rain. Easily one of my top three meals so far.
During our time at Cataloochee, we often had the chance to do things we don’t normally get to do. Sam got out his hammock and kept reading his book -- in fact, everywhere I turned, he was reading. I rarely get to see him so sucked in, so it was a treat to see him obsess over his book.
I, on the other hand, was itching to paint ever since we hit the road.
My Grandma Meow’s watercolor paints have occupied my mind ever since I saw them. It’s funny, because I’ve never really painted in watercolor either, so I knew whatever I made would probably look horrible. I chose not to think about that part.
The Smokies really inspired me. My brain was already bursting with ideas, and we had only been there less than 24 hours. I collected a lot of pretty leaves on our first hike with the intention of choosing the best to paint. Did I go a little crazy? Maybe.
So. Many. Leaves.
This is obviously the most efficient way of holding your leaves while taking photos. The best part is that the leaf I eventually chose to paint came from ten feet outside of our campsite. Which means I collected these leaves for no reason . . . I have no regrets.
After setting up my workspace and getting up a million times to grab essential items I forgot, I finally got to work. And, like the smart cookie I am, I took a time-lapse of my process!
There’s a lot of things going on in this time-lapse, so let me point out a few of my favorites. First, I probably spent an hour panicking after realizing I had no idea how to paint in this medium. Lots of pushing around pink water. Eventually I pick up steam, though, and start to learn how to actually use the pigments correctly.
My favorite part of that video is when Sam slowly creeps in from the periphery with food. He was kind enough to heat up some leftovers for us, but I refused to eat before finishing. Poor guy had to wait a while before my perfectionist hands stopped moving.
Once I let it dry, it took me a while to like what I saw. No, it wasn’t perfect, but not bad for a first try!
Later on in the week, my leaf collection did not stop. Naturally, I had to do another painting. And another time-lapse.
Don’t you love it when you start a project and give yourself more work for no reason? Ahh, yes. My specialty.
This time I decided on painting three leaves instead of one. Thankfully, in my rare stroke of wisdom, I chose small leaves to save time. I also made sure to incorporate the progression of colors I had been seeing all week.
My favorite is the middle one, probably because I love yellow so much. Sam said his favorite was the right leaf. Which one do you prefer?
Hiking Under a Stained Glass Ceiling
Now that you have a good idea of our home base, I’d like to take you along some of the hikes we took this week.
Our first hike was just down the road from our campsite. On our way to the trailhead, we passed old buildings which bordered a meadow filled with elk. A lot of the people were captivated by these animals as they lazily grazed in the grass. I, on the other hand, could not stop looking at the trees.
This house was right before the trailhead. It was surprisingly well kept, despite having been unoccupied for decades.
Queue the awe.
I expected our hike to be jam packed with people. Instead, all that greeted us were the trees above, swaying gently in the morning breeze. The sun’s rays crept slowly past these trees, fingers of light reaching towards us in greeting. Just before our valley was completely bathed in light, I snagged my favorite photo.
I know it’s hard to believe, but minimal editing was done to this photo. The bright orange and green leaves shine against the deep blue shadows just as the sun peeks over the mountains. If I waited another second longer to take the shot, I would have missed these colors.
The leaves above were backlit by the morning light. Sam and I were silent as we walked our first mile, completely engulfed by the colors before us. Thankfully, the trail was flat, so I didn’t have to worry too much about falling on my face.
Sam mentioned that the leaves resembled stained glass, and I still can’t find a better way of describing them.
I dare you to watch this video and not feel a sliver of peace.
The trail eventually lead us to an old, abandoned house. Fit with a porch and two stories, the Woody House granted us a glimpse into a life lived over a century ago. The bones of this home echoed with memories lost to time. If I closed my eyes, I could almost hear the shrill laughter of children playing on the porch, or the crackling of fire in a wood stove.
I wonder how many people have looked out this window. I wonder what they were thinking as they did.
Our next hike was a lot longer than the first.
The next morning, we took the advice of our campsite neighbors Les and Maggie (whom I will certainly talk more about later) and decided to take the Boogerman trail. This lead through some of the few old growth forests left in the Smokies, and we were beyond excited to lose ourselves in the trees.
Fun fact: I had no idea what an “old growth” forest was until we went on this hike. I always thought old growth meant that the trees were, well, old. Good at not burning down? Honestly, I never thought much about the term. Sam, alongside the internet, was kind enough to inform me that an old growth forest is one that has not been disturbed for a very long time. So I wasn’t too far off the mark?
I wish I could say the entire hike was a breeze and a half, nothing went wrong, there were no hiccups. Alas, I don’t have that priveledge. No, instead, I have the pleasure of letting you know that our very first water crossing may have involved an . . . accident.
Let me tell you, starting a hike with a wet butt is not ideal. The giggles that erupted from Sam certainly didn’t help my grump levels go down, either. Just a few yards further down the trail, I almost fell again. Thankfully, I narrowly dodged the massive mud puddle I was trying to cross, but this Kestrel was not happy for a long minute after that.
My grumpiness lessened as the colors surrounding us drew me in again. How could I stay upset when I was a part of a living painting?
The yellow fungus on this fallen branch just begged me to take its picture.
The world below my feet was just as captivating as the sky lights above my head. Leaves of every shape, size, and color were collecting on the ground, blanketing the trail in a technicolor carpet. Our feet crunched on some of the prettiest natural colors I’ve ever seen. I tried and failed to resist collecting the best leaves.
Deep down, I knew I couldn’t keep any of these pretty little natural paintings. Instead, I decided to take their portraits instead.
If I let myself, I would have taken all day to hike that trail so I could take photos of every single leaf I thought was pretty. Unfortunately, I didn’t want to do that to Sam, so I didn’t take too much time to take each photo - please excuse any subpar photos that resulted from rushing myself.
It took a few miles before we reached the first big tree. Naturally, Sam had to hug it.
We stood there for a while trying to understand how something could grow like this. Sadly, plants don’t have brains so I don’t know too much about how they work.
By the end of those 9 miles, our legs felt only a little like jelly.
As the week progressed, the weather changed from bright and sunny to overcast and very, very wet. Unfortunately, this cold front also brought ice to one of the main roads through the Smokies. Sam and I had woken up early that day to hike a trail off of that road, but soon found ourselves stopped by orange cones.
We had driven nearly an hour just to be told that our plans for the entire day were foiled. To say we were bummed was a slight understatement. The trip wasn’t a total loss, though. After a quick visit to the visitor’s center for some advice, we finally decided to go on a shorter hike to nearby falls.
You would think that Sam and I would run out of things to talk about after years of driving and hiking together. On the contrary, this week of hikes was chock full of weird and funny moments together. From discussing possible short stories to future business plans to horrific would-you-rathers, we never had a dull moment.
Fun fact: this photo is actually a vertical panorama. Since my shorter lens is out of commission, I had to improvise, but I really like how it turned out. I’m definitely starting to miss the little guy, though.
Our last hike in the Smokies was a steep one. The goal was to reach an old fire tower which sat atop Sterling Mountain. My legs were not happy with me after a week of hiking, but I sucked it up with minimal complaining.
Once we reached the summit, we were greeted with a towering metal structure against the grey sky. Tentatively, we climbed the stairs, careful to keep a good grip on the guardrails. Sam’s brilliant advice to “don’t look down’ was quickly followed by a glance at my feet. Yes, that is quite far down. Oh well, only 20 more slippery steps to go.
All the heat I gained from our steep hike was quickly sucked away by the wind during our sketchy ascent.
The only other fire tower I’ve been to was in Washington. That tower was fit with a bed, a radio, and even a small stove. That tower made this one look like an outhouse in the sky.
I refused to step more than a foot into this space, namely due to the rotting wall that flapped in the wind.
The view from this high up would have been spectacular, if it weren’t for the gigantic cloud we found ourselves in.
Most people aren’t too excited about hiking in the rain, and I’ll admit that I wasn’t that psyched about it either. But there’s a small part of me that enjoys the dreariness. The weather and thick forest reminds me a lot of my time in Washington, so maybe that’s why I enjoy it -- it throws me back into those memories from college.
Overall, hiking in the Smokies was a magical experience. I know that makes me sound pretentious, but I’m obsessed with colors. I often look at sunsets and try to pinpoint my favorite shades while bullying my friends to tell me theirs. So being here, in the heart of the smokies surrounded by every shade of red, orange, green, and even blue and purple . . . I can’t express how inspiring it is.
The Cataloochee Community
Part of the reason why Sam and I fell in love with the Smokies is due to the people we found ourselves camping beside.
Our first morning was chock full of people visiting us during breakfast and asking for a tour of the Teardrop. We were more than happy to oblige, and ended up having wonderful conversations with everyone who stopped by.
The first to visit were a group with the most adorable pupper, fit in a sweater to stave off the early morning chill. Sam and I were caught off guard when they came, but we were excited to show off our tiny home. The conversations we had were really wonderful, filled with advice on what to do in the park. Mead, Laura, Sandy, and Russ, it was so nice to meet you, and thank you for letting us take your firewood after you left!
The next people we had the pleasure to meet happened to be our neighbors, Les and Maggie. Sam was actually the one who introduced himself first. He was curious about a custom built kitchen they were cooking with and walked over to ask them questions. I would have been there with him, but I was a little preoccupied. I may have been battling a spider that was hiding in the Jeep . . . but we don’t need to talk about that.
We learned that Les and Maggie had been taking these father and daughter trips for years. They taught us a lot about the Smokies and even recommended some great hikes to take. I wish we could have talked with them more, because they seemed like some of the nicest, most down to earth people.
Pat and Denise were the next people we met. They pulled up across the road from us in a shiny new Vistabule, which is one fancy teardrop. Sam and I couldn’t stop our jaws from dropping when we first saw it. Yeah, I’ll admit it. We were a little jealous when we saw other campers ask them for a tour of their teardrop, but no one visited ours. Despite these feelings, we still wanted to get a closer look and do some teardrop research, so we put on our big boy pants and walked to their camp.
Our unease instantly melted when we got to talking with Pat and Denise. They shared with us that they were admiring our teardrop just as we had with theirs! After showing off each others trailers, we chatted for a long while. As Sam and Denise were talking about traveling, Pat and I got to talking about the environment. I learned that he deeply cares about climate stewardship, primarily due to his faith. His perspective was so fascinating because I’ve never heard such an argument before. We eventually had to part ways, but not before they invited us to visit them outside of the Smokies. After exchanging contact information, we said our goodbyes. Sam and I really felt connected to them, and I can’t wait until our paths cross again.
Later that day, after Sam and I got back from a hike, we found a bundle of wood next to a handwritten note. It was from Pat and Denise, our second firewood fairy.
Just as the rain was about to hit, almost everyone in the campground began to leave. I guess I can’t blame them, the rain can definitely make camping miserable. Sam and I felt a surprising wave of sadness as we looked at all the empty spots, once filled with familiar faces. We thought we’d be alone for the rest of our time in the Smokies. Normally, that sounds like the ideal scenario, but it’s hard to adjust to solitude after being a part of this small Cataloochee community. Thankfully we were wrong, though. There were still people to meet, we just hadn’t met them yet.
We met Ryan and Tyler later in the week when they moved into Les and Maggie’s old campsite.
Ryan walked over to our camp as we were cleaning up after dinner and said, “A rat was making itself at home around your site last night.” We were a little caught off guard, but laughed despite ourselves. After telling us about the renegade critter, he asked us where we bought our teardrop. It probably shouldn’t feel so good for someone to ask that, but it was hard to resist smiling as we explained more about our tiny home. He was shocked to hear Sam made all of it and quickly called over his camping buddy, Tyler. Turns out Tyler was a builder himself and was working on renovating an old Airstream. As you can imagine, there were lots of thoughts and pointers shared between him and Sam.
I enjoyed sitting back and listening to their stories and lessons learned. They also gave us some great ideas of places to visit in the South, so we’re very grateful for the advice.
Last, but certainly not least, we have Dan and Jill.
Sam and I were taking the long way back from those luxurious flushing toilets when we passed a couple setting up their squaredrop camper. We waved politely and almost walked away, but the man said “Hey, I like your teardrop!” With an opening like that, Sam couldn’t resist asking to take a closer look at his set up. Always the investigator.
The couple introduced themselves as Dan and Jill, and we had a pleasant conversation with them. They mentioned they’d check out the teardrop later, then we parted ways. I thought this would be the end of our interactions with the two. Who knew we’d hand out with them the most of anyone else we met at the Smokies?
While we were struggling to light our fire, Jill walked over to our site and invited us to eat peach cobbler with them later that night. Sam and I looked at each other. Cobbler? In the woods? Obviously, this was an opportunity we could not pass up.
We reached their camp at 8 o’clock sharp, and let me tell you: hanging out with those two was a hoot and a holler. Apparently they were a part of a jeeping club and told us all these crazy experiences, some of which seemed way too scary to me. Dan was hilarious and told great stories, whereas Jill sat back and never missed the opportunity to either tease Dan or brag about him. I think they liked us too, because they invited us to eat brownies with them the next night.
Oh, and when they left, they also made sure to give us some firewood.
That week in the Smokies really taught me a lot about the Southeast. We met so many nice people, hiked some insanely colorful trails, and got some much needed down time. I’m really excited to share these stories and photos with you, because this part of our trip has definitely been a huge highlight. You can probably tell, too, because this is by far the longest post yet. Oops.
As always, I’d love to hear which photos are your favorite. But this time I want to make things interesting. Along with your favorite photo, I would love to hear which color is your favorite, of all the colors you’ve seen in this post. The best part of this is hearing the way you describe the colors! Humor me ;)
My favorite color would have to be the purple hue of the distant mountains. There’s something about the purple mixing and contrasting with the bright orange leaves that makes my heart oh so happy.
NEXT WEEK
From the beaches of the Outer Banks,
To the mountain ridges of the Appalachians,
We drive A LOT.
All this right before we meet our families in Kentucky for an early Thanksgiving celebration! I can't wait to be fed.
Housekeeping
Hi friend,
If you’re new to my page, welcome!
If not, then it’s really nice to see you again :)
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Without further ado, I hope you have a wonderful rest of your day.
Best,
Kes the Photobean
It was great to meet you Kes and Sam! We enjoyed the company at the campground! You both have a great talents! I love your blog and pictures and we also love your teardrop camper. Have a great Thanksgiving and be careful! Have fun on your adventures and soak it all in one moment at a time! PS we bought a cribbage game! Haha! Jill and Dan
first, I want to say WOW! I loved this one! Probably my favorite so far. My favorite was seeing all the beautiful colors! My favorite time of year has always been Fall. the changing colors, the chill in air, and just being in nature this time of year has always been a dear memory for me. My favorite color has to be the fiery reds of the maple trees contrasted by the blue sky. To hike in the Smokies in the fall with all those colors surrounding me with a little drizzle coming down would be my absolute perfect day! I have to admit that I also giggled a little when you fell at the water crossing, but was extremely…
Well Kes, you just keep making it harder to choose a favorite. And now you get me with my two favorites, autumn leaves and waterfalls. But my favorite is the first one in the hiking section. I surprised myself when you pushed me to say what color I like best it's actually the blue sky. So crisp and cool. I also really like the one with Sam in the doorway of the Woody house as he just looks so happy and I think it sums up the adventure of this whole thing!
I love the detail in the picture of the white mushroom (one of the first pictures in the update) as well as the last picture you posted of the leaves against the blue sky. I don't think I'm good at describing colors, but I'm definitely a contrast person, so you hit it squarely on the head with these two photos. Oh, and I agree with Kim, the video of you falling in the creek and the killer look you gave Sam after that was priceless!
okay so my favorite photo is the one that closes your hiking section and my favorite fall color is the combination of the leaves in the photo right after the video of you falling on your butt 👍🏽