Day 63 – Sevierville, TN
We covered some territory today. We got our morning routine done fairly early, including a brisk walk and a wild, unprovoked run by myself that covered about a half acre of grassy ground, and got ourselves into the truck. We fought the weekend traffic through Sevierville and Pigeon Forge to reach the parkway that leads to Gatlinburg and the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Don wisely chose to take the Gatlinburg bypass route to the Park, avoiding the weekend mess there. We quickly got to the Park Visitor Center, only to find it subjected to a parking crisis; too many cars! And motorcycles! We managed to find a parking place, and Geri took me for a stroll while Don went into the building. We met a few people who appreciated me properly, even some bikers! We got back in the truck, and joined the stream of traffic heading up the mountain; the higher we went, the more beautiful the scenery was. The road was very curvy, and at one point we went through a little tunnel, then the road curved around and went right back over the top of the tunnel! We finally reached the top of the mountain, where there was a large parking area with a great view of the mountains, but it was full of cars and motorcycles! Don found us a parking spot by doing some vaguely illegal driving, and we got out to walk around. Geri found that the Allegheny Trail, which runs from Georgia up to Maine, goes through the spot where we were. She took me by the leash, and headed up the trail toward Maine. We hadn’t gotten fifty feet before she saw a sign that said that dogs weren’t allowed on the trail. “Well,” she said, “At least I can tell people I hiked part of the Allegheny Trail”. Don and I didn’t comment. I got to meet a lot of admiring people, got a lot of pets, and generally enjoyed myself. Don climbed up to the top of a big rock structure, where the President at the time (his name was Roosevelt) proclaimed the Park open to the public. Don wondered how they got the President up there. I wondered what he was talking about. Geri informed me that Roosevelt was not able to walk, and was in a wheelchair. So, I was with Don, how did he get up there? We finally got back in the truck and headed down the hill. When we got back to the Visitor Center, we turned west and drove down a beautiful canyon with a big creek for quite a ways, then turned off to get back to Pigeon Forge and home.
When we got back, Don said that he wanted to take a run over to Dandridge, the County Seat of Jefferson County, where some of his ancestors had lived a couple of centuries ago. We excused him, and settled in for some relaxation, which is sometimes hard to do when Don is around. A couple of hours later he was back, with stories. He hadn’t found any relics of his relatives, but he had determined that Dandridge was the second oldest town in Tennessee, that Dandridge was Martha Washington’s maiden name, that there was a cemetery full of Revolutionary War heros in the middle of town, that Davy Crockett had gotten married in the County Courthouse, and on, and on, and on. He had gotten someone to open up the Visitor’s Center, and had engaged in a long discourse with the guy, who Don suspected was sparking the lady next door to the Center. Anyway, he had a good time. He cooked up some bratwurst on the grill, with some Bush’s beans and some green beans with olive oil and balsamic vinegar. It was well received, and we enjoyed the beauty of the evening on the river. We still haven’t heard from the jerks with the birds and cats who are supposed to meet us here. We’re getting concerned. Will let you know what happens. See ya!