Hooray a picture! This is one of the beautiful plantation mansions near Natchez.

We have been driving along the Mississippi and Alabama borders heading toward Great Smoky Mountain National Park in Tennessee. The terrain has gotten more hilly and we actually got up to 1300 foot altitude as we traveled up the west side of the Appalachians. There is a beautiful dark red plant carpeting the side of the freeway that is called Crimson Clover. We are seeing interesting road kill - armadillos, turtles, possum, snakes etc. We actually saw a place called "The Road Kill Grill". We kept driving! We took the Ocoee Scenic Byway on the edge of the Cherokee National Forrest. Stopped at the location of the 1996 Olympic kayaking competition. This area is under the supervision of the Tennessee Valley Authority that was able to control the water flow to benefit the competition. Also passed the National Bird Dog Hall of Fame Museum! (We have seen museums for just about everything!) Also passed preparations on the Tennessee River for a Bass Masters Tournament at Guntersville this weekend. The fishermen were gathering and there were lots of fabulous bass boats. Stayed at a beautiful Forrest Service park. Woke up the next morning to rain, among the trees and next to the river - it felt like the Northwest. Drove along the edge of the Great Smoky Mountain National Park heading toward a specific campground that happened to be closed. Since it has rained there is so much fog that we could not see the views. We assume that's why its called "Smoky" mountains. Hopefully it will clear some tomorrow. We ended up in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee near the Park. The home of "Dollywood". It is quite the tourist trap with a "strip" area that is a mini Las Vegas country style. Our RV resort is near the strip, but very remote with horses next door.

We have a water line break that will need attention tomorrow.