Great Smoky Mountains National Park

Posts tagged ‘Great Smoky Mountains National Park’

Maggie Valley, NC to Townsend, TN and Back

We spent the week of May 14th on vacation in Virginia and North Carolina. I have been uploading blog posts about our vacation since May 29th. This blog post is about our fifth day of vacation.

I awakened at 6:15 am on Thursday, May 18, and was showered and dressed for the day by 6:50 am.

At 7:30 am we went to breakfast at Pop’s Grits & Eggs, which is located next door to A Holiday Motel. This was our second breakfast at Pop’s in as many days. As we entered the restaurant two of our VROC friends, Lonnie and Rick, saw Bob and me and invited us to join them at their table. Bob and I ordered Western Omelets for breakfast. The food and conversation was great. As we were leaving the restaurant three more VROC friends — Jim, Tim and Paul, came in for breakfast. We chatted briefly, before exiting the restaurant.

Bob and I made plans the previous night to join “Skid” in a group ride.

“Skid”, at A Holiday Motel, preparing for the group ride

We departed A Holiday Motel around 9:30 am en route Townsend TN. The ride that we left on is referred to as “the Townsend Loop”. The Townsend Loop ride originates in Maggie Valley NC and travels via Newfound Gap Road (U.S. Route 441), Old TN-73 and Lamar Alexander Parkway to Townsend. Townsend is a lunch stop. Then the ride continues to (and on) the Tail of the Dragon and back to Maggie Valley. When we attended SEVROC in 2015, Bob and I went on this ride. More than 20 people participated in the ride in 2015. This year our group ride consisted of only five people: “Skid” and Sandy, “Bass Man”, and Bob and I. “Skid” and “Bass Man” rode their motorcycles, with “Skid” in the lead. Sandy rode in the car with Bob and me. I drove; Bob sat in the backseat.

Our first stop was at Newfound Gap, on the North Carolina-Tennessee border.

Newfound Gap is a mountain pass located near the center of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Situated along the border of Tennessee and North Carolina, the state line crosses the gap.

Taking in the scenic view from Newfound Gap

Our Townsend Loop group, minus one — Me!

Our second stop was at Smokin’ Joe’s Bar-B-Que in Townsend TN. We arrived at the restaurant shortly before noon. The restaurant wasn’t busy. We were seated immediately and lunch orders taken. I remembered how good the hush puppies were from lunch 2 years ago, so we asked for a large order of hush puppies. Bob ordered a salad with some kind of meat BBQ. I ordered a pulled pork sandwich. Our main lunch entrees were OK; the hush puppies were just as good as I remembered them.

After lunch Bob, Sandy and I parted ways with “Skid” and “Bass Man”. The motorcyclists left to ride The Tail of the Dragon, before returning to Maggie Valley. Bob, Sandy and I went to Gatlinburg and then returned to Maggie Valley via U.S. Route 441. If we had spotted somewhere to park in Gatlinburg, we would have stopped and walked around a bit. We didn’t see any parking, so we didn’t stop. As we drove through the city, we did see some damage from the November 2016 wildfires. We saw more fire damage from U.S. Route 441.

Fire Damage from Nov. 2016 Wildfires
U.S. Route 441 (TN)

Fire Damage from Nov. 2016 Wildfires
This is the same stop as above, but a close-up of the mountain on the right is shown.

Sandy and I at Chimney Tops Overlook
U.S. Route 441 (TN)

According to the Nashville Public Radio website article , the November 2016 wildfires started November 23 in the Chimney Tops area and turned deadly five days later. Fourteen people were killed; more than 175 people were injured; and at least 2,400 structures were damaged. Two juveniles were charged with aggravated arson in connection with the wildfires.

We made one additional stop before returning to Maggie Valley. Less than 1/2 mile south of Newfound Gap, we turned off U.S. Route 441 onto Clingmans Dome Road. We followed Clingmans Dome Road to a parking lot.

We were not willing to climb the steep half-mile walk to the observation tower shown on the informational sign. I did take a picture, though, that looked like Bob and Sandy were on their way up the trail to the observation tower. I took this photograph to tease “Skid”, to let him think that Sandy climbed that trail. “Skid” wasn’t fooled.

Bob and Sandy on the trail leading to Clingmans Dome

We didn’t have to climb that steep trail, though, to enjoy scenic vistas.

Bob, Sandy and I made it back to A Holiday Motel (home base for the Southeast Vulcan Riders and Owners (SEVROC) motorcycle rally) shortly after “Skid” and “Bass Man” made it back from their ride on the Tail of the Dragon.

Rather than go out, Bob and I ate leftovers for dinner. Later in the evening we socialized with our VROC friends, before calling it a night. I called it a night much sooner than Bob did!

West Virginia and North Carolina Vacation – Day 6 of 9

On the morning of Thursday, May 13, we awakened at 6:15 am and were showered and dressed by 7:00 am.

We ate breakfast at Pop’s Grits & Eggs, which is located next door to A Holiday Motel. At the time, the restaurant had been opened for only a week. Laura F. and “Bassman” joined us for breakfast. The food and service were great, even though the waitress had called in to say she would be a no show that day.

Ready to Roll

We departed A Holiday Motel at 9:00 am en route Townsend, TN. I drove; Bob rode the motorcycle. Sandy R. accompanied me. Sandy and I were at the end of a line of motorcycles, led by “Skid”. We took U.S. Route 19 to the Blue Ridge Parkway, which we followed to U.S Route 441. Sandy and I got left behind when we made a bathroom stop at the Oconaluftee Visitor Center, located about 16 miles from Newfound Gap. We caught up with everyone at Newfound Gap.

Newfound Gap
on the North Carolina-Tennesee Border

Bob and Mike

Newfound Gap

From Newfound Gap we followed Rt. 441 and Rt. 73 to Townsend, TN. We ate lunch at Smokin Joe’s BBQ.

“Skid” and Sandy at Smokin Joe’s BBQ

Jaime and Phillip and their son, Caleb, met us at Smokin Joe’s BBQ.
“Skid” says hello.

Lunch at Smokin Joe’s BBQ

Lunch at Smokin Joe’s BBQ

Lunch at Smokin Joe’s BBQ

Lunch at Smokin Joe’s BBQ

Our lunch group took over a room inside Smokin Joe’s BBQ.

Lunch was very good. I ordered ½ chicken with hush puppies, coleslaw and macaroni salad. Bob had a meat salad (and some of my chicken).

After lunch, Sandy and I parted ways with the motorcyclists. The motorcyclists left to ride The Tail of the Dragon. Sandy and I returned to Maggie Valley via Pigeon Forge and U.S. Route 441. We stopped at a couple overlooks and at a waterfall on our way back to A Holiday Motel.

Sandy at the Chimney Tops Overlook
Newfound Gap Road (U.S. Route 441-TN)

We made a second stop at Newfound Gap because I wanted to take additional pictures.

Sandy and I on the North Carolina-Tennessee Border

Newfound Gap view

Newfound Gap
Rockefeller Memorial and The Appalachian Trail

Sandy and I at Newfound Gap

About 20 minutes after leaving Newfound Gap, we saw water rushing down a hill on the side of the road.

Waterfall along U.S. Route 411-NC

Sandy and I returned to A Holiday Motel around 3:50 pm. Bob returned to the motel about 1 1/2 hours later. He enjoyed riding The Tail of the Dragon but said he would not have enjoyed it as much 2-up. Bob said that I would not have liked it.

Bob “goin’ mad on the Dragon”
(Bob purchased this high-resolution digital image from killboy.com.)

We ate dinner at Guayabitos Mexican Restaurant with Candy and Karl R. This restaurant is located within walking distance of A Holiday Motel. Bob and I each ordered a taco salad with beef tips. The taco salads were delicious, and the service was good. We were sorry to hear that Karl has not been feeling well. He spent the day at the hospital…diagnosis: pneumonia in the lower part, I believe, of his lung.

We spent the evening of our 6th day of vacation, as we do so at every VROC rally … at the “kaw pasture”, sitting around a roaring campfire, listening to music and talking with our friends.

Great Smoky Mountains National Park, NC

The Great Smoky Mountains National Park straddles the ridge of the Great Smoky Mountains, part of the Blue Ridge Mountains, which are a division of the larger Appalachian Mountain chain. The border between Tennessee and North Carolina runs northeast to southwest through the center line of the park. The Appalachian Trail also passes through the center of the park. The park was chartered by the United States Congress in 1934 and officially dedicated by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt in 1940. The main park entrances are located along U.S. Highway 441 (Newfound Gap Road) at the towns of Gatlinburg, Tennessee, and Cherokee, North Carolina.

North Carolina Vacation – Day 5 of 9

It has been two weeks since I last blogged about our North Carolina vacation, which happened in May. You might recall that we planned to spend 3 nights (May 12-15) in Asheville and leave for Maggie Valley on the morning of Thursday, May 15th. We changed our minds about staying 3 nights in Asheville. The weather forecast for Wednesday night and throughout the day Thursday called for rain and thunderstorms. The chance for precipitation was 100%. To avoid riding / driving in the rain we decided to depart Asheville Wednesday afternoon, rather than on Thursday morning, and arrive in Maggie Valley a day early. I am so glad that we decided to arrive in Maggie Valley on Wednesday afternoon, rather than on Thursday morning. Bob would have gotten wet, and it would have been a chilly ride. I want to remind you, too, what brought us to Maggie Valley. We traveled to Maggie Valley to attend the South East Vulcan Riders and Owners Club (SEVROC) motorcycle rally.

We began the fifth day (May 15) of our 9-day vacation in North Carolina at Country Vittles, where we ate breakfast with 10 other VROCers. Bob ordered a three-egg omelet with toast and potatoes. I ordered two scrambled eggs, toast, bacon and potatoes. Breakfast was good, and the conversation lively.

After breakfast, Bob and I went on a drive to Cataloochee Valley in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. My blogging friend Betsy, of Joyful Reflections, suggested that we visit this valley. If you type “Cataloochee” in the Joyful Reflections “Search this Blog” box, you will find many references to the Cataloochee Valley in Betsy’s blog.

According to the National Park Service website, “Cataloochee Valley is nestled among some of the most rugged mountains in the southeastern United States. Surrounded by 6000-foot peaks, this isolated valley was one of the largest and most prosperous settlements in what is now the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Some 1,200 people lived in this lovely mountain valley in 1910. Most made their living by farming, including commercial apple growing, but an early tourism industry developed in Cataloochee with some families boarding fishermen and other tourists who wished to vacation in the mountains.” The drive to Cataloochee Valley was a bit hair raising, especially the entrance road. The entrance road to the valley is a winding, gravel road with steep drop offs and no guard rails. We lucked out, as it did not rain while we were on our Cataloochee Valley trip.

Our first stop was at the Cataloochee Overlook. This overlook provides beautiful vistas over the Big Cataloochee and Little Cataloochee Valleys and to the mountains beyond.

Cataloochee Overlook

Cataloochee Overlook

Cataloochee Overlook

Once we reached the valley floor, we drove to several historic frame buildings.

Palmer Chapel

Palmer Chapel was the only church in Big Cataloochee. This church was built in 1898. Church services were held once a month, on Sunday. Services consisted of prayers, singing and sermons. The sermons were delivered by circuit riding ministers from the Western North Carolina Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church.

Beech Grove School

Beech Grove School

There were three schools in the Cataloochee Valley. Big Cataloochee’s Beech Grove School is the only one of the three that remains. It was built in 1901 and replaced an older log building.

Inside Beech Grove School

Inside Beech Grove School

Caldwell House
(This photo was taken by Bob.)

Hiram Caldwell and his family lived in this stylish frame house. The Caldwell House was completed in 1906. The shingled gables reflected the popular Eastlake house style of the day.

We had to cross a creek to go to the Caldwell House.
(Bob took this picture.)

We walked on a wooden boardwalk across the swampy ground.

There were stone steps that led to the front porch.

The Caldwell House had interior paneling.

We walked upstairs.

This was one of the large upstairs rooms.

We walked downstairs.

We saw some wildlife, namely one turkey and elk, while in Cataloochee Valley.

Cataloochee Turkey

We saw 4 or 5 elk; however, I was able to photograph only one.

One last photograph of Cataloochee Valley

We returned to our hotel in the early afternoon. We spent 2-3 hours hanging out with VROC friends. Around 5:00 pm Bob and I drove to Waynesville. We picked up a few groceries at Food Lion and ate dinner at the Sagebrush Steakhouse. The restaurant was a good choice. Bob said the steak he ordered (ribeye) was the best he had in a while. My sirloin steak was very good as well. Accompanying Bob’s steak was a salad and broccoli. I had a loaded baked potato and cinnamon apples with my steak. Cheddar cheese biscuits, reminiscent of those served at Red Lobster, were provided as part of our meals.

A must-have feature at every VROC motorcycle rally that we have attended is a campfire.

Hanging out at A Holiday Motel

It was a chilly, wet night around the campfire. The weather, however, didn’t stop us from spending an enjoyable evening with friends.

The Beauty Around Us

Showcases Portraiture, Scenic & Nature Photography and Feaures a Photo Journal Blog

Posts tagged ‘Great Smoky Mountains National Park’

Maggie Valley, NC to Townsend, TN and Back

West Virginia and North Carolina Vacation – Day 6 of 9

Great Smoky Mountains National Park, NC

North Carolina Vacation – Day 5 of 9