June 22nd - 24th, Pigeon Forge Tennessee

June 22-24 Saturday-Monday Pigeon Forge Tennessee

Most of today's travel was on I-25 and I-40 so the chances at life beyond the interstate were slim.  A few notable highlights before we got on the interstate were:  The Church of God had a huge sign announcing "CASUAL DRESS", and lots of wood carvings were for sale and fly fishing tackle were advertised (Rainbow, Brown & Brook Trout are in the local waters).  We passed through Pig Pen Hollow and by Elvira's Cafe and could have stopped at Car'D Ology (Taro Cards) if we were so

inclined.  Once in Sevierville, we were shocked at the amount of traffic and time it took us to travel south only a few miles from I-40 to the camp.  The amount of traffic actually delayed our arrival over 30 minutes from the GPS estimated time.  There were not very many things on our list to do in this area but we immediately ruled out going to Dollywood.  Given the amount of people and traffic, Highway 441, the Parkway as the locals call it, was worse than driving down "I" Drive in Orlando, Florida near Disney World during the busy season.  We were not going near that amusement park with a 10ft pole.

So next on the list was going to a show.  The Dolly Parton Stampede seemed fitting and surprisingly the tickets for the show with dinner were cheaper here than in Branson PLUS we had a $5 off coupon per person from the campground.  There was 30 minutes of pre-show saloon entertainment with a banjo, bass, guitar and singing that was pretty good.  The show itself was a mix of horsemanship and competitions and acrobatics with a 

bit of comedy.  One unique act was four couples on horseback who actually performed a square dance routine with a caller and all.  Well trained and very amazing.  Very family oriented show, patriotic, a lot of fun and well done.  The food was very good too, with plenty of it, and very efficiently served during the show.  While waiting in line I had "checked in" our location on Facebook, something I don't think I have ever
done.  After the show when I looked at my phone I had a message from a couple we had toured with in Alaska last summer.  Other mutual friends had seen my post and called to tell them we were in the same area.  Doug and Tracy were camping with their grandson for a week at the Pigeon Forge KOA, only about three miles from where we were at the show.  We made a quick detour and spent a few fun hours catching up with them. 

Unfortunately it was dark when we got ready to leave and we got twisted around and kept getting deeper and deeper into the camp.  If you have ever been to a KOA you know that some of them are huge and they do not have street lights.  The roads were narrow, campers and trucks and cars parked at every angle, with our behemoth new truck trying to snake through and get out of there.  Finally at a dead end as Tony got out and tried to figure out how to navigate a multi-point turn around, there happened to be a worker there on a golf cart.  She chuckled at our predicament but eventually led us out. 

Sunday-The closest Catholic Church, Holy Cross, is less than 3 miles away and Halleluiah we do not have to get on the Parkway to get there though there was still a lot of traffic.  A small unassuming building tucked in behind a Kroger it looks more like a small school than a church.  Inside it is like no other church decor I have seen.  There are statues and pictures many seemingly place as they were acquired with no particular theme.  There were several Virgin Mary statues and pictures including one of Our Lady of Guadalupe.  Several of these had Mary all in black while Jesus and the angels were all in white, depicting the saving light.  Very striking.  There was a gorgeous statue of
St. Michael the Arch Angel and the congregation said
a prayer to him at the end of mass.  It was the Feast of the Corpus Christi (Body of Christ) so the mass was long (90 min), the incense strong, but not as strong as the sermon.  The sermon was good, though almost to the point of being fire and brimstone.  Wondered whether he was trying to compete with the local Baptist ministers.  Father addressed the lack of respect among people today for the sacrament and knowing how to enter the church, address the tabernacle, receive communion, among other things.  We ended up sitting in the front row and Tony said he was sweating as he kept waiting for father to comment about wearing shorts to church too!  After church a nice lady invited us to choose the Crystelle Creek for dinner if we did not have other plans.  She was the house musician for that restaurant.  I am not sure but I think she may have been one of the choir members during the service.  Later, I googled her and the restaurant.  They get good review, but we had lunch plans.

I had not seen my dad's sister, Aunt Peggy, in over 20 years since my sister passed away.  My dad had her phone number and luckily, she still lives in Sevierville, close to Pigeon Forge, though now in an apartment (hence the reason last year's Christmas card got returned to us 4 months later).  She was able to meet us after church for lunch at Applebee's.  The restaurant was not too busy and we spent a pleasant three hours visiting, exchanging pictures, and catching up.  She still wears gloves to church on Sunday (Southern Baptist) and for dress up occasions.  She owns 85 pair!! 

Monday-Great Smokey Mountains National Park - 3W's; Wildlife, Wildflowers and Water

When Tony and I were first married we went to the Smokies and camped and visited the city of Cherokee.  Since that was over 37 years ago it seemed time to return.  With over 1500 species of flowering plants, 200 species of birds and 60 of mammals, the United Nations has designated the Park an International Biosphere Reserve and it is also a World Heritage Site.  Pretty Cool!  It is the most visited of our National Parks (9 million people annually) has free admission and is within a days drive of 1/4 of the US population. 

From our camp we headed west and south to avoid traffic at the main northern entrance.  Entering the park through Townsend we went a bit out of the way but it was a pleasant drive.  The Cades Cove Loop in the park highlights buildings and churches and you can experience the open fields as the early 20th century farmers and settlers would have, where they planted and harvested.  We saw a small black bear and a wild turkey 

as we traveled bumper to bumper along this 11 mile loop.  Back on Newfound Gap Road we headed south towards the center of the park.  Destination: Clingman's Dome.  Along the way we enjoyed the other two "W's" of the park, Wildflowers (mostly Rhododendrons and Mountain Laurel this time of year) and Water (Little River, Little Pigeon River, Maggie Falls, Cataract Falls) having already seen the Wildlife.   The bear was too deep in the
woods and moving too fast for a good picture.  Scenic pullouts and vistas are plentiful.  Civilian Conservation Corp works are still visible and viable in the form of tunnels, bridges and retaining walls and trails throughout the park. 

The road to Clingmans Dome is about 7 miles long and the parking lot at the end was packed.  The line of traffic to find a parking spot took over 20 minutes to wind around.  Frustrated, we headed out and had not found a spot to park so we opted for the side of the road about half a mile away.  It was quite narrow, very little shoulder, and we had to be choosy about the spot.  We had already seen one SUV at a hiking trail to a cave that had overshot the shoulder and was nose down in the ravine by the side of the road.  Hours later when we passed again the vehicle was 

still there, awaiting a tow truck.  While it was a sunny pleasant day down in the lowlands of the park, the wind was whipping and the clouds and fog were settling in as we started to climb the walkway to the top.  We were glad we had jackets.  Though the half mile walkway is paved, the ascent is steep (330 feet elevation ).  The starting elevation is over 6,000 feet above sea  

level.  Even strollers and wheel chairs are not recommended due to the steep pitch.  There are plenty of benches and rocks for resting but we kept looking for the trolley, ha ha ha, to no avail.  After about 20 minutes we finally reached the top but, we still had to climb the circular observation tower where on a clear day you can see 360^o for 73 miles.  Tony joked that we could not see for 73 feet!!  Clingmans Dome is the highest point in the Great Smoky Mountain National Park and in Tennessee, and the third highest mountain east of the Mississippi.  The Appalachian Trail (AT) which runs from Georgia to Maine (14 States, 2,174 miles) also crosses Clingmans Dome, so it is 

the highest point on the AT.  There was a little spur trail leading to the AT and later in a parking lot on the NC/TN border where the park was actually established in 1940 ... by President Roosevelt ....we stepped onto the Appalachian Trail itself.  In all we stopped at three of the four visitor centers in the Park and drove about 2/3 of the main park roads. We had a picnic lunch on the tailgate or most of it, until we realized that the wind was blowing little bugs on us, that turned out to be tics.  Being the man that he is, Tony offered to do a full body check for tics back at camp!