Last 14 miles

Cherokee was right over the mountain; only 14 more miles on the Blue Ridge and I would have one more goal completed. We climbed out of Maggie Valley at 8:30 and back on the parkway. The morning was cool and looking like rain. The last 14 miles of the Blue Ridge pretty much wraps up the whole of the parkway. You have several tunnels, easy rolling curves and then some spiral curves which lacking a few yards would be a complete circle; tree covered mountains and then some mountains that are sheer rock wet from the mountain streams trickling through the cracks; assorted flowers and awesome views of the valleys below. I felt a sense of accomplishment as we pulled to a stop at the southern entrance to the parkway only a mile from Cherokee. We were too early to check in at the hotel but they did let us drop the trailers and we headed over the Smokies to Pigeon Forge to see the new Titanic Museum. This is an awesome museum with lots of pictures, artifacts, video presentations and even some locations reconstructed so you feel like you are walking in the Titanic. The rain started while we waited to enter the museum and a light drizzle continued as we headed back over the mountains to Cherokee several hours later. The mountains are called the Great Smokies for a reason – the fog rolls in and covers the tops like smoke from a wood stove with the damper closed; and as expected with the rain and cool temps the fog began floating in until you could not see the vehicle ahead of you but then it was gone as fast as it came. The Best Western in Cherokee has been our home base twice in the past for UTR Rallies and we are not disappointed this time either; very nice accommodations.