kc to gsm: tubing

There are so many little creeks and big rivers that run through the Smoky Mountains that tubing is a common activity. Many vacationers bring their own tubes, find water and jump in. We rented tubes through a company that provided shuttling to a starting point, but also provided transportation if you didn't want to tube the entire length back to headquarters. The tube fee is for the entire day so you can tube this portion of the Little Pigeon River as many times as you want, so that's a nice deal. 

Jesse and I really aren't water people and hadn't ever tubed before (although Jesse has fished from a tube, but that was in a lake, I think). It was fun and mostly relaxing, although the pictures don't show some bigger rapids we encountered. The first time down the river went well so we tried it again. The second time a couple of us actually fell out of our tubes on some bigger rapids and my water shoes came off. Jesse and I decided to stop while we were ahead (you really have to have shoes on or your feet can get cut on rocks) so that ended our tubing adventure. Overall it was a nice, relaxing time. There were again a lot of people on the river, but we all seemed to be spread out and giving each other space. Campsites were common along the banks so it was like we were on view for all the people hanging out at their sites and enjoying the shade. There was also a BBQ restaurant on site so we had pulled pork sandwiches afterwards. 

The location of the tubing company allowed us to drive along the scenic road that took us to our biking destination on the first day in the park. It was nice to see a few more beautiful spots (specifically, The Meigs and The Sinks) one more time before leaving the next morning.

The Sinks 

 The Sinks 

The Sinks  

The Meigs 

 The Meigs

  The Meigs

 The Meigs