We have been driving around the Great Smoky Mountain National Park for the last 2 days. It is a huge and beautiful area with rivers, and what we would call foothills. There are no snow capped peaks in the distance like mountain parks in the West. It is still beautiful and we have really enjoyed the meandering rivers, waterfalls and trees. There is an abundant wild rhododendron that is not in bloom yet. This is the most visited National Park in the country and we can see why as it is so big and so unique in the East and South. We never did see any bears, but have seen lots of turkeys, birds and butterflies. We have been on some interesting roads - gravel, curves and hills!

Found a really wonderful Christmas Shop in Pigeon Forge. It was a surprise as this is such a hillbilly country and rather tacky area. It was by far the classiest Christmas Shop I have seen in the South. The Gatlinburg/Pigeon Forge area is themed a lot on Dolly and Elvis. However there are also upscale areas and shops and the towns are well designed for tourist needs. We have had some great meals out! There are a lot of big money houses in the Tennessee hills.

Drove around nearby Knoxville, a nice town. It was a beautiful day with low humidity and we had a nice lunch on a veranda overlooking the Tennessee River.