mohaus: Fall Creek Falls

Fall Creek Falls is the largest and most visited state park in Tennessee. At 256 feet, the Fall Creek Falls waterfalls is one of the highest waterfalls in the eastern United States.

The park has trails, a lake, a lakeside inn with a restaurant, 30 cabins and 222 tent sites, a zipline course, and a golf course. If you like to be outdoors, this park offers just about everything.

The last time Daniel and I visited the park was in 2007. We met up with my sister and her husband for a weekend camping trip (at the time we lived in Charlotte, NC and they lived in Nashville, TN). All of our lives have changed quite a bit in the last 9 years!

Previous to that camping trip, Daniel and I did a weekend rock climbing class in the park (I think it was the spring of 2003), not to mention numerous hiking trips there.

We have been back in Tennessee for two years now and last weekend was our first chance to go back. Honestly, I had kind of forgotten about it.

It is so weird to be on a trail and suddenly remember things from a life time ago. Who we were with, what we were doing.

After grabbing lunch at the inn, we found ourselves back on that well-known trail, heading to the bottom of the falls, with our two kids in tow.

Hiking and spending time outside are among my favorite activities, but watching our oldest son navigate the steep trail while climbing over large boulders as his own love affair with the outdoors is sparked may actually surpass my own love of the outdoors.

It's only half a mile to the base of the falls, but the hike is classified as difficult by the park. Jack kept telling us that he was a marine iguana that sticks to the rocks. He was so proud of himself for doing the entire hike.

At the bottom, Jack begged to get in the water. We let him stick his bare feet in and he immediately changed his mind. The water in April was still cold. So we climbed up on some large boulders to enjoy a snack before heading back up.