Visit to the Farm

(Stacey writing.) We awoke later than usual (oh yeah) to a gorgeous Saturday morning. We had pancakes and bacon for breakfast. Then, Brock got cleaned up and drove to nearby Alcoa to take the Yukon in to get the tires checked again for correct balance. They tested and said they were out of balance so they balanced them and Brock took it out and it still did the same crazy shimmy around 40 mph so he took it back and took one of the guys with him on a ride and he confirmed that it was shaky and suggested maybe it was just the way the tires rode. (?) Another guy back at the shop thought maybe they just needed to break in a little, but we informed him that we'd probably already put 500 miles on these tires and the problem if anything was worse.

We decided to go ahead and return the tires and have them put on a new set that were the same as our old ones. They aren't rated as highly in online reviews and maybe don't last as long with as heavy a load as we are pulling, but they ride a lot nicer and they track well and with this new tread, we should get plenty of traction in  wet weather so we are happy with are purchase. We are riding smoothly again. :o)

Once Brock finished up at the tire shop, he stopped by the store to get Heidi some Benadryl. She's having some kind of allergic reaction and has an eye that is kinda swollen up. She's been itching it and chewing her pads a little. I'm not sure what she's allergic to, if it's her food or if its some different pollen that is here in Tennesee. We really liked her on the Kirkland brand dog food when we were back home, but since we can't go to Costcos all the time on this trip, we've switched to Iams because we can find that just about everywhere. Just not sure if it agrees with her or not. We put her little pink medicine tabs in a spoonful of peanut butter and she loved it. Hopefully she's not allergic to peanut butter. ;o)

The bad part about all this was that all that running around took a big part of the morning. Today was the day that we were supposed to explore in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.  We decided to head to the closest trail that we could find which was the Little Greenbrier Schoolhouse trail. We didn't get a lot of vertical gain so we didn't get the sweeping views, but we enjoyed the short foresty trail along the river and the schoolhouse was pretty neat to see too. It was built in 1882 and served families for over 50 years. Kids came from up to nine miles away to attend it.

These butterflies were clustering by the creek for some reason. It was
 so cool to see them flutter up when we came near and then reassemble on the moss creekside.

Rhododendron tunnel

From there, we called my cousin, Dave, and let him know that we were heading their way. We spent a great evening at their place, getting to see their property and learning about how they are working towards near total self sustainment. They have a nice garden, rabbits, goats, hogs, cattle, a water buffalo and sheep for their own use and for sale from their grass fed farm. Dave built his own house when he was just out of high school. We really respect what he's accomplished and what he and his girlfriend Camille are building there. We hadn't really seen Dave since he came up to Alaska back in about 2000 and then it was a VERY brief visit, so it was fun getting to know each other a little this trip. Dave's dad and my grandpa are brothers, but didn't really grow up together too much and we didn't really grow up knowing each other either, but our family definitely felt welcome there and it was great to renew family bonds.

Red Wattle Hog having a cooling mud bath. Dave estimates this momma-to-be is about 900 lbs.

The calling down of the animals for dinner. Dave gave the call and they all came running.
 (A running water buffalo is a little intimidating.)

Two kinds of baby ducks.

1 month old baby Nubian

Happy girl...not so happy goat. Poor little baby sounded like she was calling for her "Maaaaaaaah".
Dave is at left.

Dave gave Sky keys to the bulldozer! He was stoked. He was REALLY stoked when
he realized that he was dragging a big log behind him.

Cute new friend Dominique and her friend Peanut Butter

Catching fireflies

What happens in Tennesee, stays in Tennessee...:O)LOL

Brighton tries on Dave's ghillie suit and now wants one so he can sneak up and scare people.

The McFarlane kids had so much fun getting to see all the animals and playing with Camille's daughter, Dominique. It took just a little while for everyone to warm up and get over their shyness and then they ran and played like crazy. Hearing Dom, Spence and Sky laughing and playing together made my heart glad. Dave and Camille made us a great dinner of homegrown steaks, fried okra, squash, and mashed potatoes. The okra was an especially big hit so that the kids want me to try to make it at home. Dave was disappointed, thinking that the meat was tough, but the flavor was great and we all left with our bellies completely full. We visited and played until very late...we just looked down and all of a sudden it was 11:30 pm!

We actually found an open gas station close by so that we could fill up for tomorrow's drive (and to have enough gas to get back to the campground!!) and then we drove the dark, curvy road over the mountain to the trailer. I think that may have been the latest the kids have stayed up, crawling into bed shortly after midnight. Party animals!