This morning we went hiking at Deep Creek. It’s located in the Smoky Mountains National Park, just a few miles from the inn.  It’s a pretty popular part of the park because there are three waterfalls that are within a short hiking distance:

Tom's Branch Falls at Deep Creek, Great Smoky Mountains National Park

Boo loved the falls and surmised that the creek must be a circular loop and that’s where all the water comes from. Love that thought.

At one of the waterfalls Brett was out on the edge of the water teetering on a huge log with his phone and I couldn’t figure out what he was doing until I saw his photo (he’s getting better and better at Instagram @bretthackshaw)….go like this photo and you’ll make his week ; )

Indian Creek Falls at Deep Creek Great Smoky Mountains National Park

There were all of these amazing blue little butterflies that kept swarming in the park. After a while they would find somewhere to rest and then they would all take off at the same time and it was like they were being set free in this magical frenzy:

Mort (Hemlock’s innkeeper) was showing us the trails and he found Boo this huge centipede. A week ago she would have screamed and run the opposite direction but she’s getting braver and braver. How does the centipede make all those legs go in the same direction at the same time?!

This afternoon Boo visited Lainey while Brett and I finished painting the master bedroom of our cottage.  I had finished caulking yesterday …and used FOUR tubes on one room….I think I’m a little obsessive about cracks. I’m just not used to all the spiders and other insects in the mountains yet. (I’m basically setting up a “caulk” blockade…and good luck getting past it spiders!)  The cottage used to just be 2 rooms but an additional bedroom was added on in the 1980’s on the other side of the chimney. You can see the chimney in the closet as Brett paints…love the stacked stone:

Thursday is Fried Chicken Night at the Hemlock. It was our first.  We sat with a new couple tonight and a young family we’ve shared the table with for a few days now.  Both families are from Florida. There were two other large tables tonight for dinner almost 30 minutes after the tables were cleared… all the guests were still sitting at the tables talking and laughing.  It’s like instant community.  When I think back to our own table talked about tonight the conversation ranged from train rides to ranches to John Deere tractors to Dolly Parton.  I love the story telling.

Fried Chicken Night at the Hemlock Inn

This morning after breakfast we said goodbye to two couples whose stays had come to an end.  This is one aspect of inn life that I didn’t even think about: saying goodbye to new friends.   I know all stays must come to an end but it’s a little sad saying goodbye to the familiar faces you’ve come to know.

Lainey took this photo tonight….so precious of Boo with a few of her new friends holding hands for the blessing.  Brett was late for blessing…hence the empty chair.

Now I’m sitting in the sunroom and there are some lingering groups playing board games and chatting.  I love the muffled sounds of the kitchen being cleaned up and the kitchen door swinging back and forth every few minutes.  Boo and Brett are probably in bed right now.  I’ll make my way down to the cottage with my flashlight shortly hoping I don’t run into a bear.   Tomorrow my sister and mom are coming to visit.  I think I need to find a place to get my hair cut too….did you notice the sideburns?!  They are out of control as I try to grow my hair out. Mort says if I go to the barbershop I’ll get the same “white wall” haircut everyone else does when they go there.  He had to explain that to me. Remember the old tires with the white insides? That’s where it comes from…the hair is cut so short around the ears that it resembles the white walls of the old 1960’s tires.  I’m so tempted to go anyways….there’s one old antique chair sitting in the middle of the shop.  Maybe I could just get the barber to trim it a little just to say I sat in that chair…..how bad could it be?

Last night sitting in bed I took this photo (go-go-gadget arms!)….

….and then I woke up in the middle of the night and the moon was so incredible all I wanted to do was go outside and set up my camera but the battery was dead.  It looked like the cover of a story book with the moon behind the clouds.  Seriously it was amazing…the glowing of the edges of those clouds against the dark sky. The moon is just as big tonight.

Last night was Boo’s first big thunderstorm and all four of us (Diesel included) ended up in the same bed for most of the night. I loved hearing the thunder and watching the lightning over the mountains from our bedroom window.

This is why they call it the Smoky Mountains:

Brett spent the day running errands and planting grass where the new septic tank is.  I spent most of the day caulking and painting the house:

I spent at least 2 or 3 hours filling all the cracks and imperfections with white caulk and it all looked amazing! UNTIL…..it began to disappear. Wait, didn’t I already do this room? I had used:

CLEAR CAULK

Note: It was not clear when it came out of the tube! The clear goes on white at first but and turns clear when it dries.

As a result I ended up at the town hardware store twice today. Look the jars of seeds they have….order by the 1/4 pound and they are put in a small brown paper bag.  The cute old scale from the 1950’s didn’t fit in the photo (and the cute old man from the 1950’s who asked if he could help me). Does it not make you want to garden?

We had a huge thunderstorm during dinner tonight.  The lights went out a few times but everyone just kept on eating and talking.  After a downpour and lots of lightning it was over as quick as it showed up. Brett said tonight’s dinner was his favorite yet with country fried steak, broccoli casserole, biscuits, chicken and dumplings, among other things.  Good grief I need to start hiking asap.

After the tables were cleared we sat in the dining room with another family (who also used to visit in her childhood and decided to come back with her own family) and looked through old photo albums looking at the inn from the 1950’s.  I’ll have to share some of those cool vintage photos with you when I get my scanner and desktop up and running again.

We got a new post office box today. Turns out the postmaster is the grandfather of two cute little boys that Boo played with this morning. I love that when I picked up my key they said “welcome to Bryson City.” Later I tried to find the library and my Google Maps took me up a steep hill, via a small road by a place called the Fryemont Inn and the road was so tiny I was sure there wasn’t a library down it.  I did a 40 point turn in the parking lot with a small crowd as an audience, almost running over their sign. That would have been horrible…what if I had a mugshot?!  Sometimes I wish I still had my little Prius because it’s a little less conspicuous. The huge truck with the camper shell and Yakima rack with the California license plates don’t allow me to fly under the radar easily.  The other day we passed this guy in another white pickup FOUR times..and on random back roads:

Me: What do you think that guy is doing?
Brett: I’m wondering what he thinks WE are doing.
Me: Maybe he’s a citizen patrol…out making his daily round of citizen arrests
Brett: I don’t think they have those in Bryson City.

I think I am in love with this small town. This is where I’m supposed to be.  I know Boo feels that. She’s all over the place…even accompanying the innkeepers to town to run errands today. I see Brett getting more and more settled too. And thanks for the ideas about the walkie talkies!  We found our set and used them all day with Boo. She’s still getting the hang of them though: Lainey said Boo was singing “Let it Go” into the walkie talkie as they drove to town and someone else they didn’t know responded.

I’m sure I get some eye rolling over how excited I am about the littlest of things (like the store that sells guns AND ice cream?!)   I can imagine it gets exhausting too:

I love that silo!
I love that old man!
I love that falling down building!
I love that mangy looking dog!
I love that pile of leaves!
I love that purple haired lady!
Look how much water the dehumidifier made!
I love that newly plowed field!
I love that…and that…and that.
I don’t love all those spiders!
I DO love those old pickups!
I love the train tracks!
I love that there is a McDonald’s!
I love this inn!
I’ve always wanted overalls!
I love septic tanks!

I love it all.

I love REAL. And this town is so real to me.

Oh and P.S. the new mailing address for Lil Blue Boo / Hackshaw Family is:

P.O. Box 910
Bryson City, NC 28713

And of course you can just send mail to the Hemlock Inn directly too. They know where to find me.

From the Smoky Mountains,

Ash

Happy Birthday to my sweet dear husband who agreed to trek all the way across the country with me to a new home. Today Brett turned 40 years old. And he got the most amazing present:

a brand new septic tank

I was giddy as the truck showed up. I’d never seen a septic tank before.  I passed Sid and his tank truck twice today in town too.

As they were getting started Boo and I ran into town to pick up some iced coffee and we got a chance to visit Clampitt’s Hardware store because the guys needed work gloves:

When we got back the tank had been pumped, and the tank was installed:

We ate lunch in town at the Filling Station which is a place I was looking forward to coming back to ever since last summer. And then Boo and wandered over to B&D Furniture to try and find a dresser or wardrobe for her.  I just love the outside of this building and the RC Cola vending machine right in front:

Brett worked all day raking the landscaping back out and I caught up on some email. I still don’t have Internet so I’m trying to get creative on timing for posts etc so I get something done.  I’m sitting on the back patio now and the kitchen is smelling amazing for dinner.  I walked through earlier and I saw the strawberry pies being made:

Some new guests showed up today with kids Boo’s age and we haven’t seen her since. I think we need to buy her a watch that beeps on the hour (every hour) so she has to check in with us.  Or an old beeper.  She won’t have a phone until she’s an adult, but I’ve got to find a way to reign her in a little with all this newfound freedom!