Hokey Smokey

Brenda has been looking at real estate in the mountains - Glad we're coming home!!!



I don’t know if anyone has been to the Smoky (the spelling is correct) Mountains in Tennessee but….were we ever surprised! Smoky Mountain National Park (the most frequently visited national park in the country) is a beautiful wilderness area. And IMMEDIATELY outside its northern border lie the towns of Gatlinburg, Pigeon Forge, and Sevierville (pronounced Severville in American). Think Banff Alberta with a pinch of Las Vegas and a whole bunch of Niagara Falls thrown in. The only thing missing is Madame Tussade’s. There are more damn go-cart tracks and fast food joints than you could possibly count but………drive into that park and…..miracle of miracles…….peace and quiet; raging white water beside almost all the (few) roads; hiking trails forever; majestic vistas, wildlife galore (we only saw two black bears today); Rhododendrons the size of maple trees; Mountain Laurel everywhere…….this place must be all abloom in the early summer!!! We saw deer, wild turkeys, many bird species and the ubiquitous 300 lb. American (They are definitely not endangered…………I am actually feeling quite svelte!!)

Inside the park is located a former pioneer community, named Cade’s Cove, which has been wonderfully maintained in perfect condition. Other that this sole example, all traces of past human habitation have been methodically eliminated from the park, including non-indigenous flora and fauna. Touring “the Cove” provides an amazing glimpse at pioneer life in the mountains, with a working, water-powered, corn-meal mill; sorghum press and other primitive infrastructure. We have certainly come a long way in 200 years (or not)

Brenda had her stitches removed today without fanfare (What a trouper eh girls!!!) And to ease the pain, we had to stop in at one of the HUGE outlet malls (outside the park). We only stayed 3 – 4 hours (she has always claimed that she hates to shop). Tomorrow we are heading off for some more aggressive hiking in the mountains. Hopefully the bears will remember how respectful we were today!

We have come to have a great level of respect for the US National Park Service. In addition to managing the many national parks, they also manage the presidential sites and other sites (historical and otherwise…..eg: the St. Louis arch) of major import. By now, we have visited numerous of their projects and, are much impressed. They are keen, knowledgeable, helpful and, don’t allow any nonsense. I would compare them to our LCBO……..a governmental agency that works really well (they ARE endangered… aren’t they?).

In a couple of days….Atlanta….drain all the tanks; top the batteries; turn everything off (hopefully); make sure all the potential stinky stuff is removed from the fridge (my gym socks aren’t there are they?); and……..home for Thanksgiving. This has definitely been a great “Chapter I”. We have seen more that 1-2 live music acts per day of our trip and, visited diverse examples of the “American mosaic”. We’ve had fun, learned a great deal, and, seen things we would not have experienced without the “trailer trash” experience. We’ll be back!!!