Day 65 – Sevierville, TN

Well, we’re still here, for a number of reasons; one, we like it here, and two, Don’s got that big bug up his butt again about hunting for dead relatives. More about that later. Our morning routine was less than routine, with Dave (or Craig) and Jane visiting for muffins and coffee before their departure, which was probably a little later than they were accustomed to. We really enjoyed our rendezvous with them, and may be seeing them again in Arizona on our way home. They hit the road around mid-morning, and Don readied himself for the search for 200 year old Yokums. He headed out, armed with the laptop, the GPS, and assorted maps shortly after the bird and cat show did. Geri and I trundled up to the office to arrange for another night’s stay, and I got to do some visiting with the office manager and some other folks. We went back to the rig, and spent a very peaceful and quiet afternoon, Geri reading and me snoozing. We had one little disagreement concerning couch occupancy, which I stood fast on and won, but otherwise it was very pleasant. It’s good to get rid of Don once in awhile.

He came rolling in, back from his explorations, a little after five in the afternoon. He was very pleased with the results of his prowling, having found Yokum (or, in this case, Yoakum) artifacts in the Powell Valley, just one range of hills short of Kentucky. He had found Yoakum Road, which led him to the Yoakum Cemetery, which, not strangely, was full of dead Yoakums. Some of them were children of the original settlers of the Powell Valley, most were their descendents who recognized the place as a really nice place to live. Don said that the valley was a picture book of a beautiful hilly rural setting, with forests, pastures, farmlands, some nice houses, a few junky places, but altogether very attractive. He had taken pictures of every one of the Yoakum gravestones, and a few of those whose families had intermarried with the Yoakums. He also had photos of the countryside and some of historic buildings in the valley. He admitted to having driven right past a dam without stopping to admire it, he was that anxious to get to Yoakum stomping grounds.

Since Geri had been snacking all afternoon, dinner was cancelled, and Don just had some leftover appetizers. No plates for me. We watched a little TV and turned in fairly early. We are definitely getting on the road tomorrow, heading for Nashville, for a very good reason; I’m out of my cookies, which are only available at Trader Joe’s. The only Trader Joe’s in the area is in Nashville. So, we go to Nashville. Makes a lot of sense to me. Will give you a report tomorrow. Sayonara!