Last week Diana spent her time down in
Oak Ridge, Tennessee to coach the Marquette rowing team during their spring training trip. The weather wasn't particularly warm... but the wide river with miles of row-able water was a nice change from the Milwaukee River. Now they are back and ready to start the racing season in April.
I drove down to TN with Cassie towards the end of the training trip to meet up with Diana and the other coaches to do some camping and hiking in the
Great Smoky Mountain National Park when they were done coaching from Friday to Sunday. The park was not too crowded since it was March and we were able to get a great campsite along a stream. On Saturday we did an 11-mile round trip hike up
Mount LeConte to a peak elevation of about 6,600 ft. The last mile of the hike to the summit was still snow covered, but the temperatures warmed into the 60s.
Unfortunately, dogs are not allowed on the trails at national parks so Cassie had to wait in the car while we hiked. She did have a lot of fun being outside and exploring the campsite. She even took a dip in the 40 degree stream... only once though since she quickly realized it was COLD!
Sunday we packed up early and drove back up to Wisconsin, where winter is still holding on. Here we are on the last day with spring starting tomorrow and we are expecting wind chills below zero. Spring will come eventually. Enjoy the pictures from the trip!
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| Rowing in Oak Ridge |
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| Our campsite by the stream |
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| Diana and Cassie relaxing by the stream. Great white noise for sleeping! |
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| Keeping the beverages cold in natures cooler |
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| The trail up Mount LeConte |
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| 5 miles up, 5 miles down, plus a little extra = 11 mile hike! |
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| Diana ready to hike! She loves that new rain coat! |
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| Snowy hike up top |
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| Great views of the rolling mountains |
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| We made it to the top! Check another one off the list. |
