Day Forty-Six
I got in too late yesterday to see any of the local sights so I decided to stay another night. I don't know what this area is like on a "normal" weekend but there's so much traffic that it takes forever just to get anywhere. I experienced it coming into town yesterday and today it's even worse today.
One thing I remember about driving through Tennessee back in the early 70's was the "Kudzu" which once established literally takes over an area covering everything in its path with this invasive vine. This is what Wikipedia says about it:
Kudzu is an invasive plant species in the United States. It has been spreading in the southern U.S. at the rate of 150,000 acres (61,000 ha) annually, "easily outpacing the use of herbicide spraying and mowing, as well increasing the costs of these controls by $6 million annually".[1] This claim, however, was disputed in 2015 with the United States Forest Service estimating an increase of only 2,500 acres (1,000 ha) per year.[2] Its introduction has produced devastating environmental consequences.[3] This has earned it the nickname, "The vine that ate the South".
I spoke with the lady in the RV park office this morning and she said that if I wasn't here for the shows and dinners I should get out of town and do a loop up through the Great Smokie Mountain National Forest. This sounded like a great suggestion until I got out on the road. Here is a shot of the Smokies. As the day wore on the clouds from the east started to build as the extreme outer circles from the hurricane approached.
The shot below is a view from the mountain of Gatlinburg. There are three towns all connected by Hwy. 441. As you come off Interstate 40 you enter Sevierville, then Pigeon Forge and finally Gatlinburg.
The traffic was so bad that I eventually turned around and went back to the trailer, had some lunch and then took my mountain bike out for a spin around town.
This town is like a redneck version of Las Vegas.
No trip to this area is complete without a distillery tour.
I parked my bike and strolled through some of the tourist shops. Here's something you will never see in Canada. I must be in one of them thar right wing areas.
Remember you can enlarge these photos by simply clicking on them once.
I don't really care for crowds so I took my tour, took my photos and returned to the trailer for a nice quiet dinner and a Netflix movie. This is one of the many advantages of travelling with a large trailer.
One thing I remember about driving through Tennessee back in the early 70's was the "Kudzu" which once established literally takes over an area covering everything in its path with this invasive vine. This is what Wikipedia says about it:
Kudzu is an invasive plant species in the United States. It has been spreading in the southern U.S. at the rate of 150,000 acres (61,000 ha) annually, "easily outpacing the use of herbicide spraying and mowing, as well increasing the costs of these controls by $6 million annually".[1] This claim, however, was disputed in 2015 with the United States Forest Service estimating an increase of only 2,500 acres (1,000 ha) per year.[2] Its introduction has produced devastating environmental consequences.[3] This has earned it the nickname, "The vine that ate the South".
I spoke with the lady in the RV park office this morning and she said that if I wasn't here for the shows and dinners I should get out of town and do a loop up through the Great Smokie Mountain National Forest. This sounded like a great suggestion until I got out on the road. Here is a shot of the Smokies. As the day wore on the clouds from the east started to build as the extreme outer circles from the hurricane approached.
The shot below is a view from the mountain of Gatlinburg. There are three towns all connected by Hwy. 441. As you come off Interstate 40 you enter Sevierville, then Pigeon Forge and finally Gatlinburg.
The traffic was so bad that I eventually turned around and went back to the trailer, had some lunch and then took my mountain bike out for a spin around town.
This town is like a redneck version of Las Vegas.
No trip to this area is complete without a distillery tour.
I don't really care for crowds so I took my tour, took my photos and returned to the trailer for a nice quiet dinner and a Netflix movie. This is one of the many advantages of travelling with a large trailer.
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