Maggie Valley and beyond

We left Sevierville on Sunday, June 26 on our way to Maggie Valley, NC. The trip was short, only about 90 miles, so we decided to leave around 10 am. As it happens, a major rain front arrived at just about the same time. So in the rain, we headed East on I 40 toward Ashville. The drive would have been beautiful as I 40 in this area is a well maintained road with lots of smooth curves as it travels through the Smokeys. The low clouds and rain spoiled the best part of the ride.

Taking exit 20 off I 40 we headed down 276 to Waynesville and Maggie Valley. At highway 19, we headed West to Maggie Valley. Our GPS told us that the RV park was at the West end of town. In fact, it is at the East end and we passed it by. We were able to make a U-turn through a gas station and found our way back to the Nascar RV Resort at Stonebridge (a Morgan RV Resort) at around 1 pm. As we arrived, the rain let up and stayed away as we got checked in and set up.

The park is older and predominately occupied by travel trailers and 5th wheels there on a seasonal basis. But is is clean, there are lots of very large trees and it borders on Jonathan Creek, an attractive trout stream. Our site is really quite nice, but forget satellite reception in the trees. No worries, the resort has 90 odd cable channels. They also advertise WiFi - if, we found out, you go to the office. Again, no worries as my Verizon smart phone worked well and, when tethered to the laptop, provided all the Internet we needed.

Once set up, we ventured into the heart of Maggie Valley (not a long trip!) and found Legends Sports Bar - one of only two or three bars in the area. Maggie Valley was named after the daughter of the original settler in the area and is small by any standard. Indeed, for all intents and purposes, the business district is the two sides of highway 19 for about 3 or so miles.

On Monday, we took care of a few details then headed East to Waynesville, a much larger and very attractive town. The historic Main Street is very nice with small shops and restaurants. There is even a fly fishing shop, which I found right away. Further down Main street, on the edge of town, is a Walmart Supercenter where we were able to restock our supplies. But as we arrived at Walmart, the skies opened up and we experienced a huge thunderstorm. I dropped Suz off at the front door, parked the car and waited inside for 10 minutes before it let up enough for me to race for the entrance. By the time we finished shopping, including getting my fishing license, the rain had stopped. We returned to Maggie Valley, and a bit later returned to Waynesville for happy hour at O'Malley's Irish pub on Main street. Always nice to meet some locals and find out more about the area.

On Tuesday, I set up the fishing gear and headed down to the creek for a little fly fishing. My skills are definitely rusty and my efforts were to no avail - but I had fun. Upon returning to the coach, I called the fly shop in Waynesville and arranged for a guided 1/2 day trip on Friday. I was assured that the guide knew "where the big ones were." We'll see on Friday. After doing some laundry and tidying up around the coach, we headed back into Waynesville for happy hour.

On Wednesday, we headed West on hwy 19 to Cherokee, NC. The town of Cherokee is inside the Cherokee Indian Reservation and, as such, has a large hotel/casino complex. It is a nice town and one that is well worth visiting. The road between Maggie Valley and Cherokee is a beautiful two-lane road with lots of twists and turns, not to mention inclines and declines ranging between 4 and 9 degrees.

In Cherokee, we stopped for lunch at Paul's Family Restaurant, then headed North on hwy 441 through the Great Smokey Mountains National Park toward Gatlinburg, TN. Reaching the summit of 441, we turned around and headed back to Cherokee. Hwy 441 is another well maintained and beautiful road. It is two lanes through the Park with lots of twists and turns. The climb out of Cherokee is in some places up to 9 degrees. Neither 441 through the park, nor 19 between Cherokee and Maggie Valley would be comfortable roads for large motorhomes.

On the way down to Cherokee, we stopped at the historic Mingus Grist Mill. It is just off the main road and is in the process of being restored. The surrounding area is covered with huge wild rhododendrons, which are in bloom at the moment. Suzanne and I enjoyed visiting the mill and learning a bit about its history. From the mill, we returned to Cherokee and stopped at the local Harley Davidson shop for a t-shirt, then at an indian shop, of which there are many in Cherokee, to watch some native dancing and to buy a few trinkets. We try to acquire a small item that can be used as a Christmas tree decoration at each of our major stops. Here we bought a small "dream catcher."

Returning to Maggie Valley, we stopped at the coach, then headed back into Waynesville to purchase some "bug" stuff. We found a cockroach in the coach and wanted to stop any further encroachment. We think the bug came from the unit next door, which is less than tidy, it you catch my drift. We also proceeded to O'Malley's for happy hour, then returned to the coach for dinner.

Today, we are relaxing, doing some more laundry and cleaning up things around the coach - including spraying everywhere to eradicate any bugs! I also have to contact Tiffin about our Dometic electric toilet, which is showing signs of reluctance when it comes to flushing - could pose a problem! I am sure we will be back in Waynesville later this evening. Tomorrow is my day with the fishing guide. I have to be in Waynesville by 8 am. He provides the gear and lunch - and hopefully the fish! Until then, Cheers.

John, Suz and Dixie the Wonderdog

Two Rivers Landing - Sevierville, Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg

Before starting out with out latest adventure, I should tell you about events in Nashville a year ago last Spring. The Nashville area experienced a heavy rainfall somewhere between 14 and 18 inches depending on to whom you speak, that put heavy pressure on a major dam on the Cumberland River which flows through Nashville. The dam is managed by, who else, the Army Corps of Engineers. As it happens, the Corps had not released enough water prior to the storm, and decided, without warning, that the risk of a rupture of the dam was extreme.

As a result, they opened the dam without warning and flooded Nashville and the surrounding area. The river rose 53 feet in a mater of hours. I was told over twenty people died and the property damage was was in the billions. The Gaylord Opryland Hotel, Opryland itself and the huge shopping mall were all flooded to at least 4 feet. Nashville itself was flooded all the way to 4th Avenue in the downtown area. The KOA were we stayed was also flooded to at least 5 feet and many RVs were lost. It has taken a year to reopen some of the area, and the Opryland shopping mall will not reopen until next Spring. Thought you might be interested in this bit of history - your government at work for you!

We bid farewell to Joe and Jerri in Nashville on Thursday morning and headed East on I40 toward Knoxville. Our destination, about 40 miles Southeast of Knoxville, was Sevierville, TN and the Two Rivers Landing RV Resort. We arrived around 1:00 and checked in. The resort is about 5 years old and is very nice with wide concrete pads and a wonderful view of the French Broad river. The RV park is directly behind the Smokey Mountain Knife Works, and about about 3 miles from Sevierville, 7 miles from Pigeon Forge and a few more miles from Gatlinburg. The whole area is full of "tourist" attractions; everything from helicopter rides to zip line rides to Dollywood, to the ubiquitous Ripley's. The traffic is very heavy to say the least.

The first night we headed for the Knife Works, what a place. They have every type and size of knife imaginable, plus a whole lot of other stuff. The walls are covered with stuffed animals of all shapes and sizes including a bull elephant. Not having a great need for a knife, or the head of a bull elephant, we headed off to a nearby Ruby Tuesday's (no Applebees in sight) for "happy hour" and to chat with the locals about the area. Later, we settled down for a quiet evening at the coach - little did w know! About 1:20 am the thunder and lightening began, and of course Dixie went apoplectic! This lasted, along with pelting rain, in closely spaced waves all night until 5:30 am. Let me just say that the sound of a pelting rain in a motorhome is not the same as rain on the roof at home. but I must say that there is something about thunder in mountain valleys that is majestic - at least to me, not Dixie or Suz. Majestic or not, there was not much sleep to be had what with the noise and Dixie.

On Friday, we groggily headed into Pigeon Forge for lunch and to stock up at the local WalMart. Later, we decided to spend the evening at home, sitting on the lawn in front of our coach. The view is great as you can see, and later in the evening, the sunset was gorgeous.

On Saturday morning, I visited the local Coleman outlet to see what gear they had - wow! Then it was off to the adjacent Tool Warehouse to browse the tools - double wow! After that, I took care of a few cores around the coach - there's always something - then Suz and I headed off to lunch and another visit to WalMart. It seems that I bought the wrong coffee and we had to return it, plus we had forgotten a few things. Later I cleaned up the grill and enjoyed the peace and quiet of the area (at least where we are!). This evening we are going to relax at the coach and enjoy the scenery.

Beyond Gatlinburg is what most come to experience - Smokey Mountain National Park. Spectacular. Highway 441 runs from I40 through the park to Cherokee in North Carolina, not far from Maggie Valley, our next destination. The road is a motorcyclists dream, but not recommended for a motorhome, at least not one carrying Suzanne! Many switchbacks and tight turns. As a result, we will be heading back onto I40 and circumventing the park when we leave tomorrow. The trip is about 90 miles the way we are going, so there will be no rush in the morning. Given the traffic on the North side of the park, we will try to tour the park from the South side from our base in Maggie Valley. We'll see how that goes. Until then, Cheers!

John, Suz and Dixie the Wonderdog.

The Trip Begins

Suz and I left Palm City on June 9 for our extensive trip up and down the Eastern part of the U.S. Our first destination is Red Bay, AL to have some warranty work done on the new coach. After that we will be heading to Nashville, TN to sample some country music culture. From there we plan to go to Sevierville, TN (pronounced "severe ville" by the locals) to see Dollywood, Gattlinburg, Pigeon Forge and other sites.

Then its on to Maggie Valley, NC for some relaxation and trout fishing. Next will be the Endless Caverns region of Virginia with a stop at New Market, VA. Harrisburg, PA is next on our way to Mansfield, PA for the annual Corey Creek Invitational golf tournament. This will put us at the end of July.

From Mansfield, we will head up to Verona, NY to the Turning Stone resort for a couple of weeks for relaxation, visiting with friends (Virgil and Sue) and touring the area.

The casino might get some attention as well.

After that we'll be off to the sea shore for a month or so. We start in New Hampshire, and hope to see Rocco and Mercine a couple of times while in the area. Then it is off to Maine, first Rockport, then Thomaston. While there, we will gorge ourselves with lobster and visit with Bob and Sheila Leach. We hope to get a chance to say hello to other friends as well.

Starting back South around the first part of September, we will hit the Boston area and visit with Rocco and Mercine again, then travel through Connecticut, New York and stop in New Jersey to visit Philadelphia for a few days. Continuing South, our next lengthy stop will be Charleston, SC. Then it will be off to Lake Toxaway, NC to see the fall foliage. We then pass through Sevierville, TN again on our way back to Red Bay to get the doors for our cabinets around October 6.

Finally we will head to Pine Mountain, GA for a Tiffin RV Network motorhome rally to share experiences and reconnect with many friends - including Joe and Jerri Blair. After the Rally, we will head South to Palm City, expecting to arrive around October 18.

With that having been said, our first nights stop heading to Red Bay

was at the Casey Jones RV Park in Lake City, Fl, followed by one night at the Capital City RV Park in Montgomery, AL. Casey Jones was nothing special, but the Capital City park is a worthwhile stop.

On Saturday, June 11, we rolled into the thriving metropolis of Red Bay

and met up with our friends Joe and Jerri Blair, who were having work done on their Phaeton.

We spent the next week in the Tiffin campground and in the service bays having work done by

Tiffin

and also by Brannon Hutchinson and Chris Berry. We got all the small corrections made by Tiffin and Brannon installed a new "high def" satellite dish, a surge protector and a battery monitor. He also corrected a bunch of flaws in the TV hookups. Chris built us a new cabinet for the coach and put a shelf in one of the cabinets. However, because of delays at the Tiffin plant the new cabinet will be without doors until we return in October. Oh well. It will look great when it is finished.

While in Red Bay, we took advantage of the many fine dining spots including Suzanne's favourite - Jack's drive in, the Belmont Cafe, Reeve's (very good catfish), and the Rattlesnake Saloon (25 miles outside town - and in a "wet" county). The dining fare is best if you stick to catfish - in general!

Reluctantly (ahem), we and the Blairs left Red Bay on Sunday, June 19 and headed North up the Nachez Trace to Nashville, TN. The Trace was a major commercial artery that ran between Nashville and Nachez, MS in the pioneer era. It is beautiful county and very peaceful - no 18 wheelers and a 50 mph speed limit. Suz found the road to be a bit narrow for her liking, but it was well maintained and really no problem to drive. There is quite a bit to see on the Trace and it is nice to take your time and drink in the history. We stopped along the way for a quick lunch break,

then departed the trace for the backroads of Tennessee on our way to Nashville. The entire area has a lot of Civil War sites, from Vicksburg in MS, and to Franklin near Nashville in TN. We were told that while Virginia had the most Civil War battles, Tennessee had the second most.

Arriving in Nashville, we found our way to the Nashville KOA for a four night stay. I say found

our way, because our Streets & Trips GPS program, which I installed on my large Dell laptop, managed to put us onto a back road not 3 miles from the KOA and we wound trough a residential neighborhood. We ultimately came out at the KOA, but had we followed the Google Maps version of the route, we would have gotten there much more directly.

In any event, the KOA is very nice and we are enjoying Nashville. On Monday, we took a tour of downtown where we saw one of the earlier Grand Old Opry sites, the Ryman Auditorium, which was originally a church.

I believe the Opry began in 1926 and moved to the Ryman, its third location, in 1934, where it remained until 1974 when it moved to its current location. It was while the Opry was at the Ryman that its fame grew with the likes of Roy Acuff and Minnie Pearl (sculpture), Hank Williams and other country music legends.

Then it was off to visit the neighborhoods of the rich and famous of the country music world - and rich they are! One of the more interesting spots was the home and guest house of Dolly Parton (one of her many homes).

Our tour guide was Tommy Garmon, a self styled comedian. He was very entertaining and had a broad knowledge of the area and its history. While on the tour we also and noted the major "bar" areas for later - Broadway, 2nd Ave. and Printer's Alley. Later that evening we hit one of the local eateries near the KOA, Caney Fork, which looks like a tavern, but has the best catfish I have ever eaten.

On Tuesday we visited the current Grand Old Opry and the the Gaylord Opryland Hotel. We quickly toured the hotel, which is spectacular with two huge indoor atriums hosting shops, and restaurants.

We were told that it is the largest hotel in the United States without a casino. After lunch we took the tour of rthe Grand Old Opry, visiting the dressing rooms of the country music greats, and standing on the stage itself.

The stage includes a circle of wood from the original stage at the Ryman, and is where every entertainer stand when they perform.

Then it was off to

downtown to explore some of the famous bars and listen to some country music.

To avoid the driving and parking hassles, we took local transportation, which is cheap ($10 per person round trip from the KOA) and readily available.

Our first stop was Jimmy Buffet's Margaritaville. Next we took a look at the famous Tootsie's.

It is very small and was the favourite hangout of the country music legends after they performed at the Ryman, which is located behind Tootsie's.

Next we walked to BB King's,

the Wildhorse Saloon, which was closed, and finally Coyote Ugly, where we had a drink. While there, I was forced to ride the "Pink Pony" (don't ask, but Suz, Joe or Jerri will undoubtedly tell you should you run into them!).

From there we went to Demo's for a diner of pasta. Outstanding food, inexpensive, but very crowded! Then it was off to The Stage on Broadway for some more country music (and booze). Finally, we caught the bus at the designated spot and were taken back to the campground - accompanied by more history from the driver. A great day was had by all.

Wednesday we spent the morning tidying up and fixing this blog. Then we headed back to the hotel for lunch ans to allow Suz and Jerri to "shop." We are now back at the coach - it is raining abit and we will likely go to another local restaurant, the Santa Fe, for diner. Tomorrow we head for Sevierville for a few days. Until then, Cheers!

John, Suz and Dixie the Wonderdog!