Gatlinburg

We've spent the last couple of days in Gatlinburg, Tennessee seeing some friends (Ron and Lynn).  None of us had been here before so we didn't know what to expect.  We spent one afternoon shopping downtime and seeing an arts and crafts fair.  I think we were all surprised at how crowded the streets are, but at least they had good fudge!  Oh, and I'm not supposed to tell the story how Ron forgot his car keys and we temporarily didn't have a way back to the RV park.

I took a walk behind the RV park the next morning and saw a small bear!  I'd just heard that the proper way to handle bears was to keep away from them and back away.  The bear immediately ran off into the woods.  At the same time I figured it was time to get back to the RV.  While I was walking away, I was getting ready for the next step where if they threaten you, you are supposed to open your jacket and look as big as possible while making a lot of noise.  Luckily, we both just got away from each other!

The second afternoon we went into Smoky Mountain National Park.  We walked to the top of Clingmans Dome.  It's only a 1/2 mile path but very steep so people were resting on the benches along the way.  Given John's leg, it was quite an accomplishment for him to climb it.  His leg is healing but it will take time.  Great views!  We could see peaks 40+ miles in the distance, though the typical mist that gives Smoky Mountains it's name made it difficult.  From online, "The Smokies are named for the blue mist that always seems to hover around the peaks and valleys. The Cherokee called them ..."place of the blue smoke".