Holy Smoke!

The title of today's posting is a cheap shot on my account, as our ultimate destination was Gatlinburg, Tennessee, gateway to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. We exited Asheville around 10:00am when it was already warm and sunny, with temperatures set to hit ninety. Along the way we slowly gained altitude as the trees surrounded us. In fact there are more tree varieties in the Smoky Mountains than in the whole of Europe. The drive was a relatively short one and we pulled into the Doubletree Park View before noon. Fortunately we could check-in early and after a Father's Day Skype with Jenny, we decided to visit the Park and drive the 33 miles from Gatlinburg to Cherokee. We called in the Park's Visitor Centre where we watched a film and Pat bought a Country Music CD .... unfortunately not the melodic sounds that we heard playing there, but something akin to the sound-track for the film 'Brother Where Art Thou'! The journey took us through some stunning vistas in this Southern Appalachian region. Bluish-topped mountains with trees, lots of them. This is bear country!

Reaching Cherokee, we were impressed with the welcome we received at the Visitor Centre, but it has to be said that Cherokee Downtown is a little tacky, but its clean and well-serves the many tourists who were their enjoying themselves. It has to be said that the '5D Shoot'em-up Cinema Ride' and the 'Hill-billy Wedding Service' leaves something to be desired! For today's musical conclusion, here's a taste of Bluegrass: