Jellystone!

Have you ever been on a vacation where you think, "_______, ah, the best place in the world!"  There are several places like that for me, and one of them is Jellystone.  I enjoy Jellystone with the BMC runners, don't get me wrong, but I LOVE going to Jellystone with our whole family!

This year we arrived late Sunday night.  I left Oregon early Sunday morning, and Scott and kids picked me up at the Memphis airport Sunday afternoon.  We drove from Memphis to Gatlinburg, and I ended up crossing all US time zones in one day!  On Monday, we jumped right into hustle and bustle, because it was supposed to be a rainy day.  The kids chose to visit a place called Wonderworks, and I think everyone in the general Pigeon Forge area had the same idea!  (It did indeed start raining!)


Despite the crowds, the place was a great hands-on fun place for families.  Scott and Will rode this anti-gravity, upside down contraption...

We had pulley races (guess who won?)

And we got to sit for a bit in the "Earthquake Cafe," which simulates an earthquake!

After doing several activities, we needed a break from the crowds and went to get some pizza.  The waiter gave all the kids little dough balls, and they made their own crusts!  Later, they got to eat them as dessert!  

 (Will, Papa, and Mimi)

 (Will practicing his pizza crust toss)

 (Hannah and Evelyn)

 (Josh and Levi- not too concerned about the perfect pizza crust!)

(Hill, Adam, and Sarah)

After lunch, we went back to Wonderworks and waited in line for the ropes course challenge.  It was a long wait, but well worth it.  There was a 3-4 story ropes course inside the building!  Everyone was attached to safety harnesses which were set in guides that led from one rope challenge to another.  Hannah posed as an astronaut while we waited in line...

 So, how many kids have a grandmother cool enough to climb way up into the air and play on a ropes course with them?  Not many, but mine do!

Josh was a little daredevil!

 After the ropes course, Will took a little break and rested on the bed of nails.  

We checked out the bubble lab, and then played a round of laser tag!  That was so much fun!  

I know for certain that we did Wonderworks on Monday, and that Thanksgiving was on Thursday... Beyond that, I am not so certain about the details, but the post is designed to give you an idea of our trip and to help us remember parts of it... Don't take the order of things too literally, but I'll do my best to be accurate!  

Jellystone is a family friendly campground, and there is really no need to go to town... there is plenty to do right there at the campground!  The kids loved mini-golf and ping pong...

Hanging around the campfire is always a favorite pass-time....

Mom brought fall cookies for us all to decorate at the picnic tables!  

And of course, there is always the creek surrounding the campground... a kid's dream playground!

 The Jellystone owners also provide fun family activities like candy bar bingo and karaoke night!  All of my kids love karaoke... and I even got sucked into performing one song!

The campground is situated right on the edge of the Smoky Mountain National Park, and so we enjoy hiking right from our campsite!

 Above:  Dad, Mom, Sarah, and Hannah with their sticks

Below:  Scott and Will chillin' by the stream

Gatlinburg Day 3

On Friday morning, we woke up and went to run at the Greenbriar entrance again.  This run was not quite as long as Thursday, and the weather was pleasant once again.

The freshmen men congratulated each other on a job well done...

As everyone stretched and relaxed on the rocks alongside the stream,

 became too much for several of the runners to resist...

But it was COLD, and the current was moving pretty quick!!!

We went back to the campsite, had breakfast, made picnic lunches, and rested up for the afternoon hike.  Last year we experienced the "strenuous" Ramsey Cascades hike, and decided that we needed to share that experience with the freshmen. 

Last year we learned (the hard way) that buses can not drive all the way to the trailhead... thus adding 8 miles onto an 8 mile hike.  This year, we came prepared... or so we thought.  We borrowed the campground owners' van to ferry us all to the trailhead. 

Not a good plan.  Coach's big idea to pile everyone in and save a trip resulted in a flat tire... and the realization that we would be walking an extra 4 miles down the mountain!!

The hike began along an old road, and steadily narrowed and became increasingly steep.  Near the end, we got to go through an old growth forest...

When we finally made it to the top, we were ready to relax for a while.  Kacie and Tuesdae had the right idea...

Here are the first seniors to run all four years for BMC! 

We had a little photo shoot in front of the waterfall, which was breathtaking!  (Literally... that water was COLD!)

 the way down, we stopped for one more group photo...

 When we got to the bottom of the trail, the senior guys repaired the flat and went to have the tire fixed in town.  For the rest of us, the walk to the bus seemed almost unbearable.  We started down the mountain, but managed to hitch a ride before walking the whole way.

Back at the campground, it was taco night!

 And an impromptu game of chubby bunny... Derek was the champion, but that picture was gross.  Here is Richard instead...

After tacos and chubby bunny, we went to participate in karaoke night at the campground!  Just about everyone participated in at least a song or two...

 The whole guys team got up and did Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen.  Hunter convinced Richard to get up there, thinking they were going to dance and karaoke to "Bohemian Rap City..."  Boy, was he mistaken! 

 We shut the place down, and stayed around for a group picture and devotion.

 

 The next morning we went for a run, had breakfast, loaded the van... and said goodbye to Jellystone!  We finally arrived back on campus late Saturday afternoon.  What a great team bonding trip! 

Gatlinburg Day 2

We woke up Thursday morning and loaded the bus to go run.  Not too far from our campsite was an entrance to the Smoky Mountain National Park with a long stretch of unpaved road suitable for running.  After a nice, long run, we were thankful to have coffee and a healthy breakfast waiting on us at the campsite.

After visiting and hanging out at the campsite for a while, we loaded the bus again... This time to go white water rafting.  Big Creek Expeditions took us down the Big Pigeon river.

In raft #1: Riley, Kelsea, Tuesdae, Richard, Drew, Derek, and Coach

Raft #2: Hillary (Coach's sister), Kacie, Beth, LaTifa, Casey, Austin, and Brian

 Raft #3: Stephanie, Emma, Sarah Duley, Jose, Hunter, Nathan, and Bryan

Rafting was a great experience, and everyone had fun... even those who were extremely nervous before the trip! The whole trip wasn't one rapid after another.  We had several stretches of calm water... Runners took advantage of these times and used them to plot raft takeovers and send each other swimming in the river!

After our rafting trip, we showered (some at the rafting place... others at the campground... because SOMEONE forgot their clothes!) and then went into downtown Gatlinburg for the evening.  Everyone split into groups and spent time shopping and crowd-watching.

By the time we got back to the campsite, everyone was worn out and ready for bed!  Nathan led devotion, and we called it a night.