Rain showers were due overnight and in the morning so we slept in a bit. This view is from the 2nd floor walkway at the hotel. The bike was wet when we got up but the skies lightened up and the threat of showers decreased. We left Cherokee at 10:15 donning our usual travel attire and our rain pants just in case of a lingering shower. Since it was about 50-52 degrees I also hand on my long Janes and wool socks. Thanks Ma for sending them along.
We entered the Great Smokey Mountains National Park to begin our 35 mile trek on the park road through the mountains to TN. This is the first time I had seen this sign.
The road began following along this beautiful mountain stream and we climbed up and up. At about that point I told Allan that my camera had a red flashing light the size of a battery. Then it shut off. He very kindly stopped at the next small pull off and we swapped out batteries. Glad we had a spare.
We stopped at a major lookout point at an elevation of 4800 feet. The views were breathtaking.
I kept snapping pictures and didn't really know what I would get. But at 35 mph the sights didn't wiz by like yesterday.
Today's did you wonder - Did you ever wonder why motorcycle riders wear gloves when they ride?
Wonder no more - They wear them so that nobody will get a glimpse of their "white knuckles".
This is like the sign we saw yesterday. They didn't bother to tell you the grade or the length. The camera told me that we were at 4,800 feet and we knew that we needed to get back down.
And down was not a straight line. We went around curve after curve. At one point it was a bit of a cork screw the ended with a tunnel. Did I mention the possibility of white knuckles...
We continued to snake our way through the mountains, passed through Pigeon Forge, TN and made it to Knoxville at 1:00.
We had a nice lunch with the family. It took a while to get the lunch cooked since it was hamburgers and the grill ran out of gas shortly after it was fired up. A trip to Walmart got a new bottle of gas but the guys couldn't get the gas to turn on. Another trip to Walmart and by the time the errand boy got back with the second bottle of gas the burgers were cooking on the indoor portable griddle.
Terry, Allan's sister, took us for an afternoon stroll on the downtown river walk. We also explored the area where Knoxville hosted the World's Fair in 1982. We went up into a sphere and had a great view of the city.
I was happy to come across this "star" honoring Pat Summit. I have posted it here especially for my good friend Andy to see.
We walked along the downtown and enjoyed a beer at a new Irish Pub that Terry was looking forward to trying. It was nice and the beer was tasty and cold!
Today we traveled about 80 miles. Tomorrow we say our good-byes to our family here in Knoxville and will travel back to Cherokee, NC to begin our journey on the Blue Ridge Parkway.
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