North Carolina and Tennessee

We took a day trip and went into N. Carolina and travelled thru the Great Smokie Mountains. Unfortunately we missed most of the Fall colors, as there was quite a wind and snow storm that went thru the area before we were able to get there. It was still spectacular to see, none the less. We came across snow along the sides of the road as we got closer to the summit. We went up the mountain on the sunny side, then when we started our descent, the snow was still quite abundant and there was even snow on the road. Once on the other side of the mountains we were going to stop and check out Gatlinburg, Pigeon Forge and Sevierville to take in some of the sights. However, most of the sights were right along the highway in the form of a multitude of touristy traps. Those were not appealing to us so we continued our trip back to Panther. We stopped for supper in a little tavern along the highway, to find out that it was one of the first places that Bonnie and Clyde shot up and robbed in their crime spree. That made for on interesting conversation with our waiter. It was a good day and we quite enjoyed ourselves.

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Panther Creek State Park, Tennessee

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Happy Halloween

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Hopefully all the ghouls and goblins will have fun and gets lots of candy this Halloween!!

Cumberland Falls, Kentucky

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Nashville, Tennesse

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We had a great time at the Grande Old Opry. This was our Big Splurge for Tennesse and well worth the cost of the tickets. I didn't realize that the shows there are broadcast live every Friday and Saturday night on radio and the Web! The performers were great and the jokes had us holding our sides. We would recommend that if you are in Nashville to put it on your list of things to do.

I was surprised at the traffic, since I was expecting it to be crazy. However, it wasn't any worse than travelling on the Deerfoot Trail in Calgary. It was actually very easy, even though Rita Rightway (our GPS) took us through the centre of Nashville on our first trip into the city. Luckily I had brought a map of the city with us and was able to guide Wayne over to the proper Parkway to get to Music Valley!

Don't be afraid to go where you have not gone before with your GPS......just make sure to map out your route ahead of time, in case you get sent in the wrong direction. Note to all of you....this happens often with our GPS.

Will catch up with you again soon!

Cooter's Place....Dukes of Hazzard

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Cotton in Arkansas

It is time to catch up with some of our travels. We have been to Arkansas and really enjoyed the country and people we saw and met. Maybe on our next trip we will be able to spend more time in this state. We also found out that the folks that live there DO NOT have eyes growing on the side of their heads!!! LOL We were surprised to find out that they grow cotton in this part of the world though. As we were travelling to Tennessee, we saw many cotton fields along the side of the road. One interesting fact is that once the cotton is harvested, the farmers burn their fields

before the next crop is put in. This must be to enrich the soil as it is very dry and sandy.  It is quite something to see all the huge, white, rectangular bales along the road that still remain white. Especially since the soil is so sandy and is always blowing everywhere. This is what your t-shirts look like before they get to you!

The machinery that is used is huge. When the cotton pickin' machines are on the roadway, they take up most of both lanes. This makes it interesting for passing when you are towing a large 5th wheel behind!

So now we know that cotton is a product that also comes from Arkansas!