2010 Pigeon Forge Jeep trip
Day 2
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January 16
 I stumbled out to the porch and let the cool air wake me up. I checked the food scraps I had left out the night before. The raccoons had been there! I had wondered if they were still around.
A great view for thinking. I went in, took a shower, checked my email and Facebook. Facebook is slow on dialup. Have I mentioned dialup sucks?
For one of the few times during my stay I ventured into the loft. I played a couple games of pool with myself. I sucked. While playing pool and staring out the window I heard some songs I really liked. "Red Light" by David Nail. "Need You Now" by Lady Antebellum. "Til Summer Comes Around" by Keith Urban. "Outside My Window" by Sarah Buxton. I texted the song names to my home email so I'd remember to download them. After piddling around for a bit I decided to check out the other cabins nearby. I've always been curious about the cabins further up the mountain and other cabins nearby with equally good views. It would be nice to have more options than just the two I've stayed at. Since it's the off season I'm hoping there won't be many people around to possibly disturb. I drove to the top of Renatta Way. There were only three cabins there...all listed by Fireside Chalets. All had good parking areas for bikes. He he he. I drove to the other end of Renatta Way and found several other decent cabins. Here is a map and a list:
Angel's Nest
After some manly exploring I decided it was time for food and a trip to Walmart. I took the back way via Goose Gap and New Era and Cate roads. This got me to the main drag north of Walmart. I stopped there and found two pairs of the fleece pants! It's funny how being in a place triggers buried memories. I remember buying supper supplies with the bike gang, buying towels and stuff with Sarah, and supplies with Mike. The more I travel the more fond I become of Walmarts. They're everywhere and most are open 24 hours. A great place to find something, use the restroom, or take shelter from rain. Steak sounded good so it was a short trip down the strip to Logan's Roadhouse. I've eaten here with Sarah and Mike. I ordered steak and shrimp...and it was delicious. My waitress, Brandi, was cute too, which always makes things a little nicer. Loved her southern accent.
 I'd planned to spend one of my two days driving around, and the other one doing some shopping. As I headed down the strip the weather report called for sunny skies today and rain tomorrow. That decided it for me. Today I'll drive and tomorrow I'll shop. I planned to drive a familiar loop. US321 to the Foothills Parkway, over to Deals Gap, to the Fontana Dam, then US441 over the mountains back to the cabin. 
The Wears Valley area west of Pigeon Forge. US321 is a nice mixture of curves and straights.
Headed west on the Foothills Parkway. This part of the road had a lot of gravel on it.
The GPS showing one of the highest parts of the Parkway.
Turning onto US129 was this very motorcycle friendly sign. Too bad I was in the Jeep.
I stopped and took some pictures of the lake. There are a series of dams and several different lakes in the area. Update March 2010 - About a month later this hill side broke loose and blocked US129 for months.
On the 'Tail of the Dragon'. I saw a lot of fresh rock fall over the weekend. I had just shut off the camera when I passed an Ultra Classic and a line of Goldwings. Excellent!! I stopped at a popular pulloff for this view of a dam and reservoir.
At the North Carolina end this truck had missed a curve. He should have heeded the warning signs.  I've been to Fontana Dam a few times, but I've never taken the lower road to the power plant. Today I did for a different perspective of the dam. The two tunnels to the right are the spillways.
 I had two things to do at the dam. Use the restroom and get a coke at the giftshop. Restroom break was successful, but the store was closed. I'd have to wait on the coke. In 2006 Sarah and I had went to Cades Cove, drove the Foothills Parkway and the Dragon. We thought we might find a restaurant somewhere but didn't. By the time we got to the dam we were pretty hungry so we feasted on a meal of pop and ice cream from the giftshop.
The lake was lower than I've ever seen it. I had barely gotten into the park when I experienced the two-lane scourge. People driving way too slow. In this case it was a tour/shuttle bus type of vehicle. At first he was going 5-10 mph under the speed limit. As we crested the mountains fog joined the rain. He slowed to 15 mph at some points. I don't mind someone driving slower if they feel more comfortable...but PULL THE HELL OVER and let people pass. Going down the north side of the mountains there had to be 30-40 cars backed up behind this guy. It looked like a freight train of headlights. If you've driven this road you know there are lots of places to pull over. There's no excuse for being a jerk.
 The slowpoke continued on the Gatlinburg bypass so I pulled off at an overlook to check out the city lights and stretch after two hours of driving since Fontana Dam. This picture doesn't do it justice. This place reminds me of being here with Sarah in 2008. She just stood and watched the shadows grow on the mountains as the sun went down. She thought it was so pretty. I miss her. Not in a girlfriend way...just in a buddy way. Her appreciation and good naturedness are contagious and rare. The cold air felt good, in the dark, in the parking lot all by myself. A few minutes later some other cars pulled in so I headed out. I decided to stop at Arbys on the way back and pick up a roast beef sandwich I could warm up later. I didn't want to make another trip into town. As I headed into Pigeon Forge I noticed a Krispy Kreme store. Hmmmmm. A donut sounds good too. The traffic was kind of heavy tonight and it took awhile to get across the road to Arbys. After I picked up my Arbys I headed down to Krispy Kreme. Yikes! The cars were backed up in the drive thru down to the street and people were lined up outside the store. I don't want a donut that bad. On the way to the US321 turnoff I had an epiphany. Vanilla shake! I whipped in Burger King and I was good to go. Back at the cabin I did my usual. Email, Facebook, hottub, enjoy the view. Ate my roast beef but saved some for the raccoons. Used the fireplace. Searching thru the DirecTV I found a channel that I love. DIY Network. Awesome shows! I watched it for three hours!! Comcast at home doesn't have this channel. Bastards. I like to watch HGTV but it leans towards decorating, whereas DIY does a lot of construction. Very manly. I might have to investigate satellite again. (Update: I now have DirecTV.) It was late when I went to bed and it didn't take long to fall asleep.
168 miles. Click here for the next day's adventure. |
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