Great Smoky Mountains 3-3-2019

Great Smoky Mountains 3-3-2019

As we leave the Ashville NC area under overcast rainy skies and the highway takes us over the Great Smoky Mountains. Being from Alaska and the NW we are certainly used to mountains and rugged scenery; these mountains don’t have the height and majesty of our side of the country but are very beautiful with their fast-moving rivers cutting through their valleys. We make a stop at the Welcome Center to Tennessee I-40. The staff was very friendly and informative. The rain is coming down harder and as we get over the pass we are taking Hwy 411 to our next designation Pigeon Forge as we avoid the pools of water collecting in the low parts of the road. The scenery starts to change from rolling hills to bustling commerce at the entry of the city. The Pigeon Forge Parkway is the main street where all the action is, it’s kind of a country Las Vegas with lots of hotels and tourists-oriented entertainment. We are hungry and my co-pilot does her thing to find us a great place to eat, a place with the name of Local Goat must be good. We drive by and the parking lot is full along with the problem of our 42 feet of length to complicate things. At this point the rain is coming down in sheets, parking close is not an option but across the Parkway I see a store with a empty parking lot, we have to ignore the sign that says customer parking only, Angela being a Nervous Nelly goes into the store to get their permission, no hesitation here on Angela’s part as they sell wine. Getting their permission we zip up our raincoats and make the dash across the wide boulevard, the street grates are over flowing as ascend up the hill to the Local Goat restaurant. The place is full and you can tell this is a favorite of the locals. We are greeted and ask to wait for a few minutes, the staff is very friendly and got a table in moments. The menu is incredible with so many choices. It’s hard to say no as the pictures below prove. We leave very satisfied and continue our trip zig zagging across the state hoping to avoid storms. It’s starting to get dark and there are no RV sites in Dayton TN so Walmart parking lot here we come. It’s getting very cold and we will be Wallydocking tonight with the LP heater on. The parking lot is 50 feet above the Hwy and the traffic noise is marginal at best with big rigs and a few hot rodders showing off their engine noise. We bundle up and look forward to morning.