ERT16 Day 04

We woke up leisurely today, had breakfast and enjoyed a fire for a few hours. Eventually, we grabbed snacks and went to Mingo Falls, which is on a Cherokee Indian reservation just outside of GSMNP. Beautiful! I think this was my favorite one yet because of how high it was (120 feet). One of the tallest and most spectacular waterfalls in the southern Appalachians.

Eventually we made our way back to the campsite, had a late hot dog lunch and then went tubing along to river that runs beside out campsite. That was definitely more of an adventure than we wanted it to be. Jasmine, whose tube was tied to Jerome's tube, flipped over and out of her tube, went underwater, and then got choked by the twine that connect the two tubes!! Meanwhile, once Jerome jumped out to rescue Jasmine, Justin (who was also connected Jerome and Jasmine) was now connected to two empty tubes and was floating down the river alone. Jerome grabbed Jasmine, put

her safely on the rocks on the far shore (opposite of where I camp was), then he went after Justin who was still floating away. He coached him to stay calm as he made his way to him, hoping that Justin could either grab on to a passing branch, or that his tube would eventually get hung up on rocks; which it did. Eventually Jerome got to Justin and pulled him and the three tubes to safety. Then he went back for Jasmine, who was still on the other side of the side from the campsite. Eventually, he got her to the opposite shore with Justin.

Where were Naomi and I during all of this? Well, just a few seconds after Jasmine flipped out of her tube, the rope that was keeping me and Naomi tied together broke! Yikes. As I started to float away I called for help, but realized Jerome couldn't hear me because of how loud the rapids were. Even if he could, he couldn't help because he was rescuing the other two. So I jumped out of my tube into the freezing cold water that literally took my breath away.  Holding on to Naomi and her tube, I found a rock to stand on so that we could stay in one place until Jerome could come rescue us. Eventually he came back for us and got us and our tubes back to shore.

Even in the midst of all of this, the blessings (where we saw the hand of God) were obvious. For one, even though we started a few hundred yards upstream from our site, the location where all of this took place was directly in front of our campsite and very close to an exit spot on the river. That was a big deal because it provided a visual cue for us to reference throughout the whole ordeal (our tent!). Plus, once we got rescued, we didn't have to walk anywhere... we were already home! And that gave the kids an immediate sense of safety once the whole ordeal was over.  Praise God. Oh... and there was the river otter. I'm not even sure I can put that one into words. You'll have to ask Jasmine about her river otter friend.

That was an adventure for sure. Daddy did great staying calm while quickly (yet methodically) rescuing us all, one by one. His leg got sliced up pretty badly in the process from slipping and falling on jagged mossy rocks while he was trying to fight through the rapids towards each of us. Because of the adrenaline, he didn't even notice it until the whole fiasco was over.

For the rest of the evening, we just relaxed, grilled dinner (steak, bbq chicken, baked potatoes and salad), and played a few rounds of bocce ball). I think everyone will sleep well tonight.