East Tennessee

 October 10 – 24, 2022

Anxious to check out east Tennessee, we made reservations at Dumplin Valley Farm RV Park located outside of Kodak, Tennessee.  This was a pretty unique RV park in that it had clearly been a pasture not so many years ago!  The charming farm house at the entrance to the campground welcomed us and, on our way to our campsite, we drove past the barn and silos!  It really was a nice set up.  We had a full hookup site and actually loved having full sun shine on our camper and warm it up a bit after the chilly nights.  Nighttime temperatures dropped into the low 30’s on several occasions.  Daytime high temperatures ranged from the mid 50’s to upper 70’s during our stay. 

I loved the heart shaped rock in the farm house chimney!

Knoxville was only 20 miles from the campground and proved really fun to explore!  In 1982, Knoxville hosted the World’s Fair.  Today, one of the few remaining structures in World’s Fair Park is the Sun Sphere.  Although we didn’t go up (I don’t have an appreciation for elevators!) the view it offers must be amazing!

While finding our way to World’s Fair Park, we inadvertently wandered through Market Square!  In 1854, Market Square had its modest beginnings and, before long, became a three-story building that was pretty much an indoor farmers market.  Apparently, the fish stall and other venders gave this market house quite the pungent smell!  Controversy surrounded the 1960 demolition of the original structure, but today it is a delightful pedestrian mall, filled with all sorts of stores and restaurants.  Outdoor farmers markets continue to be a regular event in this square.   

John Sevier was elected as the first governor of the state of Tennessee in 1796.  Sevier served six terms and rests in peace under a monument to him on the lawn of the Knox County Courthouse, along with his wife.

The founding fathers of Knoxville were James White and William Blount.  Blount’s Mansion is available to tour; however, we only had time to tour James White’s Fort.  It was interesting to try to envision living in the very first house built in Knoxville!  Being the only existing house, fort walls were added to keep out wild animals and provide protection for the chickens and other animals the Whites owned.  

The Knoxville Visitor Center hosts a daily Blue Plate Special at noon.  The day we were in town, guest musicians were Emily and Laura Jane.  It was great to sit and enjoy a bite while listening to these talented women strum and sing a few tunes!

While we were strolling past the shops on Gay Street, we stopped in a coffee shop for a cup of Joe.  While there, we asked the barista about his favorite things to do in Knoxville.  He mentioned Ijams Nature Center, so off we went!  Maybe we should do a little more planning, but we find we get the best tips from the local residents.  This tip was no exception!  In 1910, Harry and Alice Ijams purchased 20 acres of land along the Tennessee River.  Harry was an avid ornithologist and Mary was a passionate gardener, so this land suited them well!  Harry and Alice became active in the community, creating bird sanctuaries and a local garden club in addition to helping create the Girl Scouts organization.  I’m sure they would be surprised and thrilled to see their original 20 acres is now part of the 175-acre Ijams Nature Center!  Even a nearby marble quarry has been added to their property and is slowly returning to a more natural state.  Hiking on a few of the trails on this property was delightful.  We especially enjoyed walking on the boardwalk along the river!  It was also fascinating to hike on the property that was once quarried for its beautiful marble.  Some of the marble in the Lincoln Memorial came from this spot!

The quarry's Keyhole!

One year ago, Joan and Steve were our neighbors at a campground outside of Yosemite National Park in California.  Coincidently, we were able to connect with them again while visiting Acadia National Park in Maine!  Well, Tennessee was the third state in which we were able to get together with them, as they live not terribly far from where we were camped!  Joan suggested hiking the Margarette Falls trail, which was a fantastic recommendation!  The fall colors along the trail were stunning and the company was delightful!  Joan and Steve spend a few months in Florida during the winter, so we are hoping to see them again sometime in February!  

On our way home from the hike, we drove through the city of Greenville, home of Andrew Johnson.  I really knew nothing about this president until after we stopped here for a quick tour of his home.  Johnson was born in Raleigh in 1808.  His father died when he was a young boy and Andrew grew up in poverty.  He was apprenticed to a tailor as a child, but ran away to Greenville where he opened up his own tailor shop.  His tailor shop became a local gathering spot for political debates and before long, Johnson was active in the political scene, eventually becoming a member of the House of Representatives and the Senate.  Johnson opposed the secession of Tennessee when the Civil War broke out, which made him a hero to the North and a traitor to the South.  As Lincoln’s vice president, Johnson became the 17th president of the United States after Lincoln’s assassination.  Johnson was tasked with the difficult position of reconstructing the southern states following the end of the Civil War.  His presidency was filled with controversy and he was eventually impeached and acquitted in 1868.  In my opinion, trying to bring the North and South together following the end of the Civil War was next to a no-win situation!   Today, Johnson’s tailor shop continues to be in the same location; however, they have enclosed it and it is part of his museum.  Right across the street from it is the home he lived in!  He didn’t have far to go in order to get to work!

Andrew Johnson's tailor shop!

Our favorite pork and beans just happen to be Bush's Best Beans.  When we saw Bush’s Best Beans are processed not far from where we were camped, we were tempted to go and tour the site.  When Joan also suggested touring it, it became irresistible!  Their visitor center is really well done with a museum explaining the history of the company.  Across the street from the visitor center is the original home of the founder of the company, A.J. Bush.  There is also a nice gift shop that includes an unbelievable variety of baked beans.  I had no idea they made these many types of baked beans!  They also include a delightful café on site.  Of course, the café brings baked beans (instead of dinner rolls) as the complimentary appetizer, includes chili on the menu and offers pinto bean pie as a desert!  Although I like my chili a little spicier, the pie was fantastic!  Bonus: As you are heading for your car, they send you home with a 6 pack of one of their new varieties!

The city of Sevierville (pronounced Severe-vull) was adjacent to our campground, so tromping around that city was a given.  This city is where Dolly Parton grew up and they have done a wonderful job paying tribute to this generous woman!  We enjoyed a wonderful latte at Penny’s Café, where Dolly used to come hang out.  At the time, it was another business, but it was fun knowing she would frequent that same building.

"Love is Like a Butterfly"!

Dolly Parton statue in Sevierville

Dr. Massey's bird dog delivered the cash pouch to the bank daily!

Just down the street from Penny’s Café is The Cherry Pit.  From its name, I wouldn’t have guessed it, but it is a wonderful QUILT SHOP!!  When we inquired about how it got its name, we learned the original owner of the store was George Washington!  This George is a cousin seven times removed from the first president of this great country.  Of course, I found a fun, scrappy style quilt project to make from this shop!  

We had heard The Apple Barn and Cider Mill was a not-to-be-missed stop, so off we went!  This is an apple stop on steroids!  You can buy apples, cider (no surprise, right?) in addition to apple wine, caramel apples, Christmas decorations, candles of any scent, fudge and, of course, enjoy a meal at the café!  

Moonshine is another staple of this community, so we found ourselves at Old Tennessee Distillery tasting a variety of their offerings!  With Autumn Maple, Salted Caramelicious, Apple Pie, Blackberry Bramble (to name a few) to choose from, we soon found ourselves playing a game of checkers as we paced our tasting and deciding!  It sounds strange, but their Chocolate Merriment Moonshine tastes exactly like a Girl Scout thin mint cookie!  You know some of that made its way back to our camper!  It’s a perfect after-dinner sipper!

We also met Steph and her husband at the distillery and, in chatting with them, discovered they had been on a Pink Jeep tour which they highly recommended.  Several years ago, we had been on an amazing Pink Jeep tour in Sedona, AZ where we rode through terrain not accessible to cars and saw really cool pictographs.  With this great memory, combined with Steph’s recommendation, we found ourselves on the Roaring Fork Pink Jeep Tour in Great Smoky Mountain National Park.  Although we didn’t go off-roading anywhere in the national park, it was nice to just go along for the ride without the worry of driving and finding parking spots.  A big takeaway from the tour was discovering a fun photo trick where you can find yourself in a single photo twice!

The town of Pigeon Forge was a fun stop, where we found a craft fair and beautiful fall colors along their river walk.  Workers were busy installing cable to light up what will be an amazing Christmas light display along this river walk.  It lights up in a couple of weeks, so we won’t be able to see it, but the lucky people who live here are certainly in for a treat!  As we were walking to the river, we came across an unusual tree.  I’d never seen a Dahoon Holly tree before (or even heard of one, for that matter!), so that was pretty cool!  

Dahoon Holly tree

Our final day in this area was spent taking in Clingman’s Dome and the sights along the way!  Clingman’s Dome is at the peak of the highest mountain in Great Smoky Mountains National Park with an elevation of 6,643 feet.  I was surprised to learn the Appalachian Trail passes here as well!  We didn’t hike far (maybe a mile), but it was fun knowing we were hiking on the highest spot along this 2,192 mile trail!  It was fun picturing the group we met in Shenandoah National Park walking this section of trail.  Although they hiked here, while we drove here, I’m sure they arrived long before we did -- a perfect application of the tortoise and hare story!  Our favorite moment of the day was enjoying our picnic lunch just off the Appalachian Trail.  From where we sat, we looked down the 6,600 feet to the valley filled with all the fall color of deciduous trees.  At the same time, we were surrounded with the sweet scent of the pine trees that thrive in the higher elevations.  What an amazing gift God gives us!

Highway 141 runs through the park and happens to be the boundary line between Tennessee and North Carolina!  It was fun finding the state line marker in the parking lot of Newfound Gap.  

The fall foliage throughout the park was amazing!  It seemed particularly stunning around the Chimney Tops pull off.  It was such bright color; it was almost like looking at a yellow blaze of fire!  What a treat it was to explore the eastern region of Tennessee, filled with all of the glory of fall!

Great Smoky Mountain's Chimney Tops

Up Next:  Chattanooga