Ride from Hell - Yr 1, Day 297

Pigeon Forge, TN

Well, here we are in Dolly Parton's hometown.  You'd think it would be quaint and rural, but from what we saw, it is as commercially ostentatious as Orlando, Myrtle Beach and other huge touristy towns (although hopefully some time during our stay, we'll explore some of residential areas.  The Great Smokey Mountain National Park is also not too far).  Here are some photos Mitch took along the way.

Mountains in the foreground

More mountains

 He didn't get photos of Ripleys, Wonderworks or MagicQuest -- all also huge buildings along the main strip.  But he got these, just to prove how big and eye catching everything is:

Hatfield & McCoy's

Titanic museum - complete with iceberg

Titanic museum

Hollywood Wax Museum

Also outside the Wax Museum

Now, to describe the title of this post, we thought it would have been an easy ride, being only 125 miles away.  I drove the entire way and I think everything I've ever been afraid of doing, I had to do, including driving on single lane winding mountain roads, driving on parts of the interstate (I40) that were winding and semi-steep, driving through narrow-lane construction zones, driving through a small local town, and driving in heavy shopping traffic.  We also had an hour delay as there was a huge accident on the highway and the road was closed for that long.  We also got stuck twice in construction traffic. But on the bright side, at least it wasn't raining and for the most part, the scenery was very nice.  It reminded us of the Bear Mountains in NY.  And best of all, thank G-d, we made it here safely and without incident.  It was just very frustrating and nerve wracking and a much longer drive than we expected.

As for the campground, we were a little surprised when we arrived as our first impression was a teeny, tiny parking lot.  Indeed, it is a very small park, with only 35 sites which are all very close together.  Fortunately, I had an expert guide me into the space.  It was very much like getting into the spot in Pompano Beach, although there's a bit more elbow space than that.  I'm told there's a huge car show in town this weekend, so it's a bit more crowded than normal.  So walking around the park itself offers nothing, but there's a nice office area and a creek that runs behind it (with a deck with a scenic place to sit).  I'll take some photos of the campground and creek tomorrow.  I understand we can fish (and swim) in the creek so that can be something to look forward to during the week.  We'll be staying here for 10 days, until the rally.

When we were setting up, this little fellow came right up to our steps and was "talking" to us!  He was probably looking for handouts!