Day Six - On Top of the Smokies

June 12 - We spent almost the entire day in the Great Smoky Mountain National Park, driving from Pigeon Forge to Cherokee, NC on the other side, with a side trip to Clingman's Dome, the highest point in Tennessee.

Kay wanted to eat a picnic lunch by a creek, but lacking the wherewithal to create a picnic, we stopped at Subway in Gatlinburg for sandwiches, chips and cookies. We were happy to find Subway open before 10 a.m.

Gatlinburg looked like Myrtle Beach in the mountains, with pancakes. We didn't do a study, but it looked like you could eat at a different pancake restaurant every day of the week.

Once we got into the park we wasted little time rolling out the food (continental breakfast at Vacation Lodge being a pretty barren event). Kay mentioned Cade's Cove (?), which turned out to be 24 miles away in a different direction than Cherokee. Instead, we chose The Chimneys, which Kay recognized as soon as she saw it. The girls ate their sandwiches on the rocks in the creek. I was happy to make my way down to creekside. I waited as long as I could, but finally had to make the trip up the hill to the restroom. The trip and the minibottle of wine with lunch left me a little groggy, but I persevered up the mountain to Clingman's Dome, the highest point above sea level in Tennessee.

There Kallie and Erin took the half-mile walk uphill to the observation tower, while Kay and I pulled out the folding chairs and sat at the overlook. Eventually I bailed out to the more comfortable car front seat and took a nap while we waited for the girls to come back from the top of the mountain.

From Clingman's Dome we continued on to Cherokee, NC, where our goal was to buy hamburgers and other supplies for a picnic supper back at The Chimneys. Cherokee has a lot more to offer, mostly regarding Native American culture, as the town is mostly occupied by the Cherokee Indian Reservation. I imagine, however, that the biggest draw is the Harrah's Cherokee Casino. We drove past it on the way to the Food Lion grocery store. We probably should have explored more, but Erin had been to Cherokee already and I was still tired and ready to eat and get back to the motel.

Our cookout went well. Kay made sure I could light the fire, buying both Match Light charcoal and giant starter-soaked matches that double as kindling. Not having any way to deal with leftovers, we just ate burgers and a little macaroni salad.

Sac got a little confused on the way back to Pigeon Forge...I'm not sure why given that we were on the Parkway almost the whole trip. But we find our way on our own. Back in town, the girls got their go-kart rides while I took it easy in the room, playing my online Scrabble games and downloading pictures from my camera.

Head over to www.photoblog.com/dadlak for today's pictures. Don't know if I'll have time to add many here.

Tomorrow we ride more than 400 miles to Chester, VA to stay with the Wilsons. I worked with Allen back in Orangeburg. He and his wife Laura have two teenage boys. They all live in a big farmhouse with horses and a pool. We haven't seen them for quite awhile--maybe since we left Virginia in early 1994. (Kay reminds me that we did see them in Baton Rouge on a couple of occasions, most recently at a wedding in Allen's family--he grew up in Baton Rouge and went to LSU).

On To Day Seven

Day Five - On the Road Again

June 11 - Midday today we leave the Nashville area and head east toward the Smoky Mountains. We have a motel room in Pigeon Forge, TN for tonight and Thursday.

Here's a link to our route. Kallie should be able to do some driving at the beginning and end of the trip when we are off I-40. She drove over 40 miles yesterday on our trip to Santa Fe and to the Franklin Drive-In.

White House to Pigeon Forge

OK, I can type now that Top Chef is over. I lost a $10 bet with my daughter. I predicted that Lisa would win based on her final performance. Like most viewers of the show, Kallie didn't like Lisa, and rooted hard for Stephanie. Despite raving over three of Lisa's four dishes, the judges picked Stephanie as Top Chef.

Our trip to Pigeon Forge from White House was longer than I expected and a little more eventful. Fortunately, we left a little earlier than I had hoped--about 11 a.m. We dealt with a couple hours of rain, which kept Kallie from driving. Lunch at a state park took us about 10 miles off the interstate, but we got through a few anxious moments with Sac and got back on I-40 further east toward our destination. At the park we were entertained or distracted by a group of young boys playing and fighting in a sandbox. One boy threw sand while two others brandished logs and branches.

My last turn off I-40 toward Pigeon Forge caused some confusion. Heading east and turning right, I expected to find myself US 321 South. Instead, the sign read US 321 North. Sac was no help, as she wanted me back on I-40. A couple of miles down 321 I saw a church on the left, and turned into the parking lot to pray over the situation. At the same time, Kay consulted a map that showed us going in the right direction. After a couple more miles, Sac signed to our route. Apparently 321, which goes mostly east and west, does head from south to north (in the direction we were heading) over some longer distance.


We arrived in Pigeon Forge at about 5 p.m. (6 p.m. Eastern). The mountains are visible in the distance, but at close range Pigeon Forge presents a relentless array of neon and faux nature tackiness. Our second floor, non-non-smoking room was also a disappointment. We compounded the problem with a sickening lemony spray provided by the front desk. With all that roiling in the air, it was time for dinner at The Old Mill Restaurant across the street.



Even on a Wednesday night we had to wait an hour for a table. The Old Mill specializes in great quantities of food, though we really enjoyed most of what we ate, especially the fried rainbow trout and the corn fritters. Their "signature" corn chowder (made with clam juice, of all things) was disappointing.

The girls thought about go-kart rides, but not on such full stomachs. We headed back to the Vacation Lodge for the countdown to Top Chef.

Check out www.photoblog.com/dadlak for more pictures from the day. Tomorrow we plan to venture into the twisty roads of the Smoky Mountains and perhaps onto the go-kart tracks of Pigeon Forge.

On To Day Six