Location: Smokemount Campground, Great Smokey National Park
First things first: an update on last night's entertainment. Ned and I continued to float in the lake until way past sunset, almost 9:30. It was amazing to float in the warm water while watching a bald eagle soar overhead. Meanwhile, the bubba's kept working on rescuing the stuck trailer and car. Further reinforcements were called in, including a pick-up truck and two winches. Didn't seem to help much. Ned and I went to bed about 11ish and continued to watch the "Great Trailer Rescue" perched on our observation platform in Winnie. These guys were hilarious. Their final solution was to chop down trees, yes in a State Park, and then finally power 'er out. At one point they were in our campsite, all 4 vehicles' lights on, trying to locate their ropes, belts, winches, plywood, etc. Good times for sure. There was also a Russian Church Revival going on in the next loop. We were serenaded with Russian Church songs this morning. Here's their posted sign. On our way out we drove to the tent Revival area. They approached us, were very friendly, inquired if we were lost and then asked us to be on way. Sadly, we weren't invited to the revival.
We spent the morning enjoying our coffee while floating in the lake.
We continued into the Appalachia Mountains, on some really obscure roads, enjoying the cool mountain air and getting a respite from the 90 degree humidity. We passed through many mountain towns that were having their church revivals. We're still in Baptist territory with a few Pentecostal churches dotting the land. One of the church signs read "Our Sundays are better than Dairy Queens." (Mmm, are they sure? That Blizzard is pretty darn good!) Biggest excitement of the day..smoker fell out of the back of the pick up truck. I hate when that happens.
We eventually crossed back over into Georgia where the movie Deliverance was filmed. This area is stunningly beautiful, incredibly green and lots of rolling hills. Wish it was Friday night I would have loved to take in some Bluegrass Music!
We finally made it to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. This park doesn't take reservations so we weren't sure we would be able to find a camp spot in the beginning of summer on a Sat. night. As luck would have it when we arrived there were a couple left. Here's me being a very happy camper.
After securing our camp spot we decided to do a little exploring of the park. First up was the Visitor's Center and then the living history village. They do a nice job of explaining the Appalachian way of life before the park took over their land. They've got hogs, the spring house to keep food cool, the blacksmith's shed, the apple house, the corn crib, meat house, main cabin and barn. Here's Ned in front of the corn crib.
We also took in Mingus Mill. We just missed seeing it in action by a few minutes, but were still able to tour the inside. We were impressed to learn that it had been built long ago, in three months, for a total cost of $600. It ground both cornmeal and wheat flour for the local residents.
We took a walk along the Oconaluftee River. Even tho it's not as humid as the low country, it's still pretty hot here, low 90's. It felt good to walk under tree shaded cover.
We thought about going swimming, but this mountain water was no Lake Strom Thurmond. A bit too chilly for moi.
We made a quick trip into Cherokee for supplies, but I just couldn't bring myself to do the touristy shopping thing today. There's only so many MinneTonka moccasins, Indian blankets and trinkets I can look at. Cherokee is technically an Indian Reservation and the Gateway into the Eastern side of the park and they sure do play up the Indian theme.
Princess pancakes anyone? Nothing says Indian quite like a buffet breakfast...or Indian tacos. We passed.
We opted for a quiet dinner home tonight. We're camped in the middle of a wide open setting. We figured it will be great entertainment as the evening wears on. After all the big RV's we've seen, it's nice to be in the tent section watching families interact, play ball and horseshoes, ride bikes, etc. Unlike the Russian Rivival Group, maybe we'll be invited to join in one of these games?
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