Smokey Mountains

On Sunday we drove around the Smokey Mountain National Park. We had taken Travis along with for the day so we were not permitted to go on any trails with him. We stopped at Newfound Gap,a sign here marks the boundary line between Tennessee and North Carolina. Tom and Maddy walked a short ways on the Appalachian Trail while Travis and I wandered around the parking lot observing the views of the mountains. We went as far as Cherokee, North Carolina. Cherokee is much less developed than on the Tennessee side. Maddy saw a mechanical bull that kids were riding and wanted to try her hand. After seeing that the operator was being very gentle with kids we allowed her to try it. She rode for a little time without falling off.
On Monday we spent the day at Dollywood. It was a really hot day, concession stands were giving out free ice water upon requests. We had hoped to see more shows but somehow we just ran out of time. We all had a nice time and were glad to get back to the motorhome at the end of the day.
Today, Tuesday, we went tubing on the Little River. It was another hot day so it was a good way to keep cooler. The vans transporting the tubers were quite busy. We went on a section of the river that was for family tubing traveling one and a half miles. Just as we were getting out of the river and were being transported back to where our car was parked a storm struck, sure glad we got out of the water. When coming back to the motorhome we tried to cut across a mountain and ended up getting lost as we drove around on some back mountainous roads. There were some very nice log homes along the way. When we finally got home it was close to 4pm and we had not had any lunch so we quickly showered and headed out for dinner. The Applewood Restaurant is a short distance so we ate there. We had observed this restaurant is most always busy and after eating there we can understand the draw, the food was very good, prices reasonable, and a nice homey atmosphere. Later in the evening we drove to downtown Sevierville, the home of Dolly Parton, to see the statute of Dolly.