From Nashville to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park

'CAT' being 'all cat!

Last Thursday Dave arrived right on time at Nashville International Airport. It was late afternoon so we stayed at the campground in Nashville overnight and then headed east toward Knoxville, and south to Gatlinburg TN which is the entrance to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. It was late but we followed the parkway into the park a little ways to have a look around and as luck would have it, we found a dog; a great big German Shepherd wondering around aimlessly on the road, moments from possibly getting hit by a car so we stopped and picked her up. We had no idea what we were going to do with her but luckily, as we headed back to Gatlinburg for the night we saw a Ranger Vehicle stopped on the side of the road. Once she saw the dog, she mentioned that she had gotten reports of a wandering dog for the last few days and said she would drop it off at the local shelter. It was the best we could do under the circumstances so we handed the dog over to the Ranger with hopes that her owner would come to claim her.

 

We found a campground just down the road in Pigeon Forge TN. The whole area is very touristy being such a pretty setting up in the mountains. Dollywood is located here, for Dolly Parton fans! Unfortunately, I was feeling very sick with a bad cough and pounding sinuses so I didn't feel much like touring but we headed into the mountains to see the area. Thankfully I didn't have to drive now with Dave taking over that task! We found a little town in the mountains called Franklin NC that seemed to have a lot of history associated with the area so this is where we stayed on Saturday. After checking the weather in a one-hundred mile radius, it looked like this would be good place to stay for the entire week so we're booked in until next Saturday the 16th March. Sunday we took the US-64 east to find some waterfalls. There have to be as many as 20 or 30 falls in the area but not a great road for an RV. There was no place to pull over to view the falls so we looped around back to Waynesville and then back to the campground here in Franklin. Monday it rained all day....a good day to get some rest and try to get rid of my cold.

 

 

'Cat' and dog are NOT friends! Houdi now changed his mind and wants to play, but 'Cat' is not falling for that...."once bitten, twice shy" as the saying goes! She has her toys to keep her occupied so you seldom remember she's here. Except for Houdi,

 of course....he hasn't forgotten, not for a minute!

 

 

 

 



So today is Tuesday and the sun is shining and it's just a gorgeous day so Dave is out 'Birding' and I'm resting and feeling much better. There are so many Eastern Bluebirds here, they're beautiful! And Tufted Titmouse!!

 

 

 I'm anxious to know how Mary Lou and Lee are making out with 'Awesome' tagging along with Taz and Peanut! I'm so happy knowing that they have decided to bring him home. They've both put so much time and effort into helping Cinderella Pet Rescue Animal Shelter not too mention all the funds they've raised or donated. This is one lucky dog!

 

'AWESOME'

 

Here's last year's lucky dog!! Houdi and Lee

 





 We have three days left to tour the area and three sunny days in the forecast. Hopefully we can get some good pictures and give you an idea of what's here. Thanks for following my ramblings!