Greetings from Cheoah point campground in Santeetlah, NC

  We went to church on Sunday with our friends before heading to the Smokeys.  The ride here from Anderson, SC was quite interesting.  Thank goodness Chris is such a good driver. It took us most of the day to drive about 200 miles.  We were searching for two places on the way.  We needed propane and a sewer disposal site because our campground had only electric hookups.  (Great deal for $13 a night...old people rate).   We are getting really good at unhooking the jeep.  That's a good thing because one place we pulled into had no exit and unfortunately no propane.  Then an hour later we found a state park with a disposal site but of course we went in the wrong way and again could not back up.  It is so different traveling with a tow this time.

We made it to our campsite which was beautiful and away from the crowds.  I was so tired that I laid down at 6 and did not wake till the next morning.  Monday morning I woke well rested and ready for an adventure.  Chris removed the doors and top from the jeep, we packed a lunch, and headed on a road trip.  The weather was great!  We finally found a place that was not hot.  With the doors off I needed a sweat shirt and a blanket to keep from freezing.  We were headed on a scenic drive that hugged the border of the Smokey Mountain National Park.  By staying in the forest instead of the park we were able to take the dogs on walks with us.  

We did not have any idea of what to expect until we came to two roadside shops and over 100 motorcycles.  We were about to enter TheTail Of The Dragon...318 curves in 11 miles.  It is a famous motorcycle ride.   It was an incredible ride.  At the end of the ride we found ourselves in Tennessee and returned by another scenic drive.   On the way we took a side trip in search of a waterfall.  The waterfall was awesome and people were swimming in the pool at the bottom.  Chris talked me into continuing on the side trip in search of a very thin line on the map that he hoped was a jeep trail.  We did find the trail which ran along the river.  It was quite a trip. He had so much fun, and we justified the purchase of a jeep.  We managed to follow the trail back to our camp.  I had put dinner in the crock pot before I left so we ate and went to bed.  

Tuesday morning we woke to rain so no sightseeing.  We did laundry and I made brownies.  We leave tomorrow to head to Kentucky.  It will be sad to leave the beautiful mountains.  I could live here...in the summer.  

Peace to all,  Barbara and Chris