Great Smoky Mountains Nat'l Park, TN Part II June 22-July 22

We went to this part of the country to visit Great Smoky Mountain National Park.  But, as RVers can tell you, the best thing about traveling are the great surprises encountered along the way! 

Mark found some tennis courts in Gatlinburg near one of the entrances to the Park.  After a quick phone call to G. Webb, the director of the tennis center, we were signed up for the mixed doubles round robin on Sundays  (tennis from 3 - 7 followed by a  pot luck of appetizers and deserts). G (as he likes to be called) also signed us up for the mixed tennis league on Thursday. We  found out many in this group play in Sevierville on Tuesday evening and Pigeon Forge on Saturdays.  We stayed in the area for a month so we got in lots of tennis.  We are going to miss our Tennesee tennis buddies.

Here is the photo that was in full color in the 7/18 issue of The Mountain News showing the winners of the Sunday round robin tournament.  It was the only week we won, but we are both the proud owners of Gatlinburg tennis towels!!!










The tennis group was so warm and welcoming that I wrote a letter to the City of Gatlinburg as well as a letter to the editor of the newspaper commending G. Webb and the group for being such great ambassadors for the City and for the game of tennis.  Turns out there are some celebrities in the group!

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G. Webb is a celebrated Tennessee artist. We visited the G. Webb Gallery (its actually a converted 1910  farm house)  and were awed by the beauty and quality of his work. You can see it for yourself on his website:  http://www.gwebbgallery.com/.









R.W. Blackwood, one of the tennis players in the Sunday group,  is the lead singer in the Blackwood Breakfast Show in Pigeon Forge.  R.W.'s father was a pioneer in the music industry and R.W. has carried his father's legacy forward.  We were seated at the guest table, were personally welcomed from the stage and were overall treated like celebrities.

Here is a photo of us with R.W., his wife and one of the other singers in the show.

This area rivals Branson, Missouri wth an amazing array of tourist attractions including the grandest of them all...Dollywood!

I try to keep the golf course photos to a minimum as we have now played 90 unique courses while on the road!  But, I think you will agree that the signature par three (with the hole on the other side of the river) at River Island golf club is quite impressive!!








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The whole course is loaded with holes framed by the beautiful French Broad River.













The Mountain are just one piece of the majestic beauty on display in this area.  Most roads follow the clear flowing rivers.

You can look out the window and see people tubing, or kayaking, or rafting...
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

...or they are just sitting in a camp chair in the middle of the flow or just wading (as in this photo) in the more shallow sections.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

It just doesn't get any more picturesque than this.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

While we are speaking of amazing sights, where do you think we found this one...
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Yup, a player piano at McDonald's, and without a doubt the most beautiful McDonald's we have ever seen. It is in Asheville, NC near Biltmore Estate, the largest private home in the country. I guess they feel like they have to keep up with the Vanderbilts!

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After all this hiking, bear sightings, tennis, golfing, visiting theme parks, seeing shows, shopping at huge outlet malls, and traveling through out the park, with even a trek to North Carolina, its time to bid good-bye to these majestic mountains and head off to our next stop...Louisville, Kentucky