Winter Break in the Mountains

Submitted By: Suzanne M. - Orlando, FL

Being from Florida, my husband and I are not used to driving in the mountains. When we planned our winter vacation to the Smoky Mountains, we were just as concerned with driving in the snow. We wondered if we would be able to drive up those winding roads and find our cabin without needing a 4 wheel drive and tire chains!
Since we were going to drive so many miles, the only car we would consider for our road trip is my 2005 Prius. We set out on our trip and had a great drive all the way up. We arrived in Tennessee in the early evening and as it started to get dark, a blue light flashed on our dashboard. In a panic, I looked in the owner's manual and discovered that the light was a cold weather warning. Ha ha! I never had a chance to use that in Florida! We were very happy to know that our car was much more prepared for this trip than we were! It made us feel so safe. When we arrived to the mountain where our cabin was, the roads were just as winding and steep as we imagined. On top of that, they were wet from having rained earlier. Our Prius never faultered, and we made it to our destination with no problems!
During our trip we had a chance to go horseback riding. We parked in a field near the stables, and spent a few hours riding and searching for gems in an old mine. When we got back to the car, we found that the hard ground I had parked on had turned to mud, lots of it! I was worried that I was going to have to ask to borrow a couple horses to pull us back onto the gravel road! But silly me, my car was prepared! I put it in reverse and started to back up slowly. The wheels started to slip in the mud, but I immediately felt the traction control take over. We were back on the road in seconds. Wow!
On our last day of vacation it started to snow. Again, I was nervous about traveling DOWN the winding and slick roads. Using the braking gear, we drove slowly down the mountain and felt very safe the whole time.
I was so pleased with our vacation, and very excited to know that we could fit all our luggage for a family of three and buy lots of gifts along the way, and still had penty of room leftover. When our display showed that we averaged 54 MPG, I was even more thrilled!