Red Neck Country

15^th – 18th October – Davy Crockett Birthplace SP

We travelled north, up the I-75, passed Knoxville and then the I-81 to Baileyton, eastern Tennessee. We spent a few days here and visited the Birthplace of Davy Crockett which is now a State Park. 

The old cabin was there by the river and a small museum explained some facts about this legendary figure. He gained a reputation as a hunter and one year he was credited with killing over 100 bears.  He married twice and had 8 children. His grand-parents were killed by Indians and although he did not care much for them he did support their cause about the way they were treated by the Government when he was a Congressman. He died in 1836, at the age of 50 at The Alamo in Texas.

19^th – 21^st October – Panther Creek SP

We then moved to Panther Creek campground on the shores of Cherokee Lake for a few days. This park had some lovely hiking trails and we went out in the kayak on the Tuesday.

Pigeon Forge, TN

22^nd – 25^th October – Shopping/Lodging/Dining

We travelled down to Pigeon Forge to meet up with our friends from Michigan, Charlie and Doreen.

This area is on the Tennessee side of the Great Smoky Mountains and is one continuous sprawl of theme parks, amusements, shops, motels etc.Trolley buses travel up and down the main drag. At every stop an automated message tells you what is there – however it is always the same “shoping, dining, lodging”. At this time of year the area is very popular as people come to see the Smoky Mountains in the Fall Colours. However this year is a late Fall so the full splendour is not yet fully on show.

23^rd – Oktoberfest – Gatlinburg

The four of us took the trolley to the next town of Gatlinburg for the Oktoberfest up on Ober Mountain accessible via the Tramway. We enjoyed a meal with German-style musical entertainment. Audience participation was encouraged and Alison having been sampling the Moonshine Liquor earlier was invited out on the dance floor by one of the band members.

24^th – 25^th – Pigeon Forge            

The trolley buses are a great way to get around the towns and save the hassle of parking. They also enabled a guilt free sampling of the local moonshine which we all enjoyed (big improvement from Kentucky Bourbon!). 


There were about 12 different flavours to try and even at our mature age we had to provide ID each time. 

We took in a couple of shows in the evenings.  The Ole Smoky   Opry Variety Show was very enjoyable.The Hatfield and McCoy Show, was a comedy song and dance show, and included dinner.  Alison was ‘volunteered’ to go up on stage – this time Paul was dragged along too.
 (It’s that moonshine that does it).

North Carolina

26^th – 29^th Oct – Chimney Rock, NC

The four of us set off in our respective RVs to travel the I-40 over the Appalachian Mountains into North Carolina, heading for a campground near Chimney Rock, south east of Asheville.

On the Monday we visited Chimney Rock state park and travelled up the 26-storey elevator inside the mountain.  At a height of 2,280 feet we had a beautiful view down the Hickory Nut Gorge and over Lake Lure.  Lake Lure is where the 1987 film Dirty Dancing was made starring Patrick Swayze.  Some scenes in the 1992 film The Last of the Mohicans, with Daniel Day-Lewis, were filmed at Chimney Rock too.

The village had some interesting shops and we had lunch by the river on this lovely sunny day.

On the Tuesday Charlie and Doreen set off for warmer climes; south towards Florida.  We spent the next two days chilling out and taking the kayak out on Lake Lure. 

30^th Oct – Oxford, NC

We then set off for the 240 mile drive east to Oxford, just north of Durham to stay with Louise for the next few weeks.