Day 13 June 10

Hello All,

We left Cherokee this morning. The town is at the center of the Eastern Band of Cherokee reservation. The Cherokees here are a tiny reminant of the Cherokee Nation who were the victim of a shameful expulsion from North Carolina, along with other tribes from the southeastern US, (the "trail of tears") in the 1830's.   

The town itself is located in the foothills of the Great Smokies near the eastern entrance to the National Park.  It looks a lot like similar towns near the big parks around the country (motels, gas stations, restaurants, etc.) except for the large Harrah’s casino that dominates the smaller, older buildings.

 Stopping at the park Visitor’s Center we talked to a ranger who was originally from Oakland (small world). He noted that because it had rained the night before, we should get great weather and views of the mountains. He was right. They were breathtaking…. We stopped to take pictures and then went to the trailhead to Clingman’s Dome, the highest mount in the park at over 6,000 feet, to admire a view that can extended for 100 miles on clear days. The drive through the park passes through miles of beautiful deciduous forest with spectacular vistas of mountains and clouds well below the height of the park road.

On the west side of the park are Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge, towns that extend for miles along the main highways. Richard thinks that they look to be a combination of mountain resort, carnival sideshow and outlet mall. I thought they looked like a fun place to spend some time but not being in need of any of these services we didn’t stop. With a lot of road construction going on, negotiating through the traffic and congestion was a pain.

The traffic picked up further west and was light through lovely countryside and on through Knoxville, Tennessee and into Alabama, a state I thought we would never return to after leaving in 1970. Northern Alabama along our highway was attractive rolling farmland and the people we have talked to were friendly and helpful.

We stopped at Scottsboro at the Chamber of Commerce and got directions to the Unclaimed Baggage store, local motels and restaurants. The Unclaimed Baggage store is truly incredible. We plan on returning tomorrow. They have everything imaginable and more --but more on this tomorrow. Per recommendations, we ate at a place called “50 Taters”. The owner bakes 50 potatoes daily (if you are customer 51, you are out of luck) and prepares them with toppings made to order. We tried barbecued brisket and pork and both were some of the best BBQ we have ever had the pleasure to taste. Unfortunately for us, the amount of each serving would feed at least 4 people. When we protested that we were on diets, the waitress laughed and said that this was comfort food, not diet food. Oh well, we now have breakfast, lunch and dinner for tomorrow.

We are now at our motel where we will prepare for the next phase of our cross country journey.

Happy Trails to All of You,

Linda and Richard