Holiday Inn Express Hotel & Suites Cherokee/Casino

... bigger, it stretches on for about 14 miles or so it seemed. It was fairly busy this day and we couldn’t even imagine being anywhere near the area in summertime, the crowds would be overwhelming.

Finally through Pigeon Forge, which by the way sits on the Pigeon River, we move onto the interstate and enter the beautiful green rolling hills of Tennessee. We leave the highway at Crossville, a ...

Along the Way:

The drive from Wytheville, VA to Knoxville, TN is through a very wide valley – between mountain ranges. The highway has long gradual climbs, is lined with thick towering ferns and is so clean looking it looks like it's manicured. As expected, the phenomenal tourist info centers and rest areas continue..... they clearly indicate that you’re welcome and want you to come ...

... s run with a vine-covered overgrown forest that used to be Washington D.C.

Humor of the day:
Overheard on the train. "After only a few months, my daughter has learned to speak southern. Her 'yes' has three syllables."

Sign in bar "If you are drinking to forget your problems, please pay first!"

Wishing you a life full of days are as good as our day today. Cheers, Dave, Sue & Misty

... little Indian ran town set in the Eastern Cherokee Indian Reservation land. It featured a MASSIVE casino that I couldn't have even imagined. I've been to Atlantic City which was various monstrosities called casinos too, and I knew that Indian Reservations frequently fronted casinos, but I never thought they'd be so extensive. The town had lots of oddities of tin statues (buffalo, horses, turtles), a nice colorful river, and various Indian themed shops selling baskets (JUST like ...

... surprising things Greg and I noticed while looking at a cemetery outside one of the original churches, was that, in this part of the country, people seemed to live much longer lives than was the norm in the 1800's. Many died in infancy, of course, but we saw that a majority of the headstones indicated years that calculated to 60, 70, or even 80 years of age! Guess those old mountain folks were made of tough stuff! It was a nice drive ...

... so once we got the motorhome in our site and parked - we chose to just stay in and watch lots of good stuff on TV ("good stuff" being defined as the Angels beating the Red Sox to win the Division Title, my favorite driver Jimmie Johnson winning the Nascar Race at California Speedway, and the not-so-good NY Yankees beating the Minnesota Twins).

Tomorrow, rain or shine...we're doing Smoky Mountains National Park!

... the kids just love. Bicycles, tubes for floating down the river. some areas have pretty good rapids parts are slower and relaxing. The bicycle trail starts right there accross the road and runs to the other end of town (5 miles). The Tuckaleechee Caverns are amazing and only cost about $12.00 per person for an almost 2 hour tour and it is open not not cramped like most. Many horseback riding stables. The best one is 1 mile from Lodge and ...

It has been many years since I've been in Cherokee and little has changed except for the Casino which is undergoing major expansion. We were nestled into a nice RV park with a brook flowing through it. Cherokee is close to many attractions and we enjoyed our stay there.

... back millions of years. Truly a spectacular view.

On our way to the Parkway we had to pull over and change the rear tail light on Rusty's motorcycle which had gone bad. This was accomplished in a matter of minutes when we found a Auto Zone store.

From there we headed South for our main objective the Blue Ridge Parkway. Other than 15 minutes of a light but continuous rain we had fantastic weather. I was impressed to ...

We found a spot somewhere on the border of North Carolina and Tennessee. It was so beautiful we spent a few days here and did everything.

We did some white water rafting near our site and met a friend. She was a cat the lived there and loved sleeping in the tent. ha ha ha.... We named her Nantahala, 'Nanta' for short.

It was Beautiful....