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
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