Today, a little over 420 miles traveled but much of that through mountains; the Great Smoky Mountains National Park was worth the slow drive and the hour or two of serious traffic congestion on the approach. Fall is definitely the time of year to visit the Great Smokies; without the fall foliage the park would be much less interesting; nothing much would set it apart from places I've been such as the Bighorn Mountains of Wyoming. After leaving the park we again turned west in our travels and found ourselves able to swing through a very small town called Sewanee, TN. Sewanee's main claim to fame is that it is my birthplace....oh, and the University of the South is located there, which is where my father earned one of his college degrees....some 56 years ago. I suspect the place looks much the same now but I can't really say since I have not been back and my family moved away from there when I was only a year or so old. Both my parents are passed away now and I am thinking how much I'd like to visit with my mom (passed away about a year and a half ago) to let her know I visited Sewanee....Anyway, Sewanee is very small (Canyonville is much larger, I think) but the University buildings are beautiful old stone buildings.
We should cross the Mississippi River tomorrow just south of Memphis TN and get into Arkansas. Then it's a straight run across the Great Plains enroute to the Grand Canyon, Bryce and Zion National Parks, and of course, in all of that, the Rockies!
Great Smoky Mountains, looking south into North Carolina.
The great photographer being surreptitiously photographed. Great Smoky Mountains NP.
More Great Smoky Mountain scenery.
The authors and co-conspirators. We may not come home.
Emily, your mother is taking these shots from within the car. I am driving.
I don't think this fellow appreciated Caren taking his picture. He looked decidedly unhappy.
Our humble abode last night; there's a folk song Caren and I can play on our guitars and we used to sing it a lot with our elementary classes; it's called "Rocky Top" and takes place in 'Rocky Top' Tennessee....so we did not pass up the opportunity to stay in this RV place.....we have frequently been the only tent campers in many of the places we've been. Summer crowd is gone and the older, retired folks mostly are RV'ers....we are exceptional, of course.... :)
A sweeping curve in North Carolina...still in the Great Smoky Mountain NP.
There. We've been to Sewanee. It's a circle of life thing....
Sunset in southern Tennessee, perhaps most interesting is the dirty spots in the photo, which, of course, since Caren took the photo through the windshield, would be.....bug spatter from several states. I did clean the windshield earlier today!
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