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| Matthews, Virginia |
Blue Ridge Mountains to
Bristol, Tennessee |
Great Smokey Mountains
National Park |
Great Smokey Mountain National Park
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Our next stop was Knoxville, TN. Angela's cousins Marc and Shirley put us up for a few days. They even watched
Betsy for us while we visited Smokey Mountains National Park. (If you know our dog, then you know that that is no
small favor.) That's not Betsy to the left, that's one of their three dogs.
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Entrance to Great Smokey Mountains National Park. |
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This is the John Oliver cabin on the Cade's Cove 11 mile loop. It is one of over 70 historic buildings in
the park. Built in early 1820s, it is the oldest lob cabin in Cade's Cove. Notice the park ranger
on the porch. She was quite nice and very informative. |
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This particular cabin belonged to Elijah Oliver, son of John Oliver mentioned in previous caption. He was born right here
in the
Cade's Cove in 1824. |
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Kids playing in a creek off of Cade's Cove loop, on a trail leading to the Abrams Falls. |
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Abrams Falls |
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The Appalachian Trail runs straight through the middle of the Smokies, and right through Clingman’s Dome.
At 6643ft, Clingman’s Dome is the highest point on the Appalachian Trail,
and for that matter the highest point east of the Mississippi. You can drive up to the top, but the last half-mile
or so is a paved trail that must be hiked. At the very top is an observation tower (shown in the picture). |
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The view from Clingman's Dome. |
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Click here for a hi-res 800x526 copy of the above image. |
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We made a few pit stops on the way out of the Smokies, heading back toward Knoxville. First stop Gatlinburg.
Here we see Ogle's Broom Shop - a fourth generation broom maker, now that's rare. |
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Smokey Mountain Trolls |
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Last stop in Tennessee - Pigeon Forge, birthplace of Dolly Parton. Pictured is a statue of Dolly in the town
square. Can you see the little butterfly on her guitar? That's part of the statue. |
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The very last stop on the trip prior to New Orleans was Birmingham, AL. My cousin Kevin
and his wife Erin had just purchased this house, and they were still settling in.
Kevin is holding his dog Pedro.
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| Matthews, Virginia |
Blue Ridge Mountains to
Bristol, Tennessee |
Great Smokey Mountains
National Park |
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