2007-26 Great Smoky Mountain National Park, Tennessee
Hello All,
Lightning was flashing and thunder was cracking the day we left Kansas. The line of thunderstorms followed us into Missouri and caught up with us when we spent the night in Popular Bluff. It was wonderful as the daytime temperature was about 20 degrees cooler than it had been for weeks.
Departing Poplar Bluff we went southeast across Tennessee towards northwest Alabama. Our trip took us through the little town of Adamsville, TN. Now you ask what is so significant about Adamsville. Well, have you heard of Sheriff Bufford Pusser and the movie Walking Tall? Adamsville is where he lived and served as sheriff of McNairy County from 1964-1970. We saw his home and museum. Even the town’s water tower has his picture on it. As for the town, we don’t think it has changed much since the 60’s and 70’s!!
Our next stop was Florence, Alabama, where our friends Mike and Marie put us up for a couple of nights. A wonderful host and hostess they are. They have a new pontoon boat, and since they had never locked through a dam before they asked us to go with them their first time.
From the marina on Wheeler Lake where they keep their boat we cruised to Wheeler Dam. After about a 45-minute wait we locked down into the Tennessee River and then went to Florence Harbor Marina for lunch. After a nice break we proceeded back to the dam to lock back up into Wheeler Lake. This is when the lock master broke the bad news. He had two large tows ahead of us and it would be a 2½ to 3-hour wait! We cruised around for a while and then anchored the boat and went for a swim. Finally, after 3½ hours and a bit of frustration with the long delay, we were able to lock back up into the lake. We made it back to the marina just in time to snap a few photos of the sun setting. We definitely made a memory.
After saying our goodbyes to Mike and Marie we drove northeast towards Tennessee. We made a stop at the Unclaimed Baggage Store in Scottsboro, AL. This is where the airlines send unclaimed baggage and their contents left by passengers on airplanes. You wouldn’t believe all the different stuff they have for sale. They said they receive over 7,000 new items a day--jewelry, Ipods, CD’s and DVD’s, cell phones, cameras, bags, GPS’s, and lots of clothing. Barb found a nice skirt that would sell for about $30. It was priced at $4. However, when we went to check out the clerk advised there was a 75% “end of season” discount on it. Including tax we ended up paying $1.09 for the skirt!! We like this kind of shopping!!
After thirty straight days of 90 degrees or higher a cold front finally made it to East Tennessee. It dropped temperatures into the mid 80’s. So we headed for The Great Smoky Mountain National Park where we have wanted to make the hike into Laurel Falls. It is less than a 3-mile hike but we had to pace ourselves since Dave’s ticker has been acting up. He’s scheduled for a nuclear stress test on the 10th to see what’s going on. We snapped lots of photos; however, the water level is low with the draught and the area was thick with people. The falls should be spectacular during spring runoff.
After hiking back to the truck we noticed bushes with lavender/pink flower clusters on them. The flowers weren’t attractive but the butterflies and bees loved them. We spent the next hour snapping photos of them--hence the photo of the week.
Lightning was flashing and thunder was cracking the day we left Kansas. The line of thunderstorms followed us into Missouri and caught up with us when we spent the night in Popular Bluff. It was wonderful as the daytime temperature was about 20 degrees cooler than it had been for weeks.
Departing Poplar Bluff we went southeast across Tennessee towards northwest Alabama. Our trip took us through the little town of Adamsville, TN. Now you ask what is so significant about Adamsville. Well, have you heard of Sheriff Bufford Pusser and the movie Walking Tall? Adamsville is where he lived and served as sheriff of McNairy County from 1964-1970. We saw his home and museum. Even the town’s water tower has his picture on it. As for the town, we don’t think it has changed much since the 60’s and 70’s!!
Our next stop was Florence, Alabama, where our friends Mike and Marie put us up for a couple of nights. A wonderful host and hostess they are. They have a new pontoon boat, and since they had never locked through a dam before they asked us to go with them their first time.
From the marina on Wheeler Lake where they keep their boat we cruised to Wheeler Dam. After about a 45-minute wait we locked down into the Tennessee River and then went to Florence Harbor Marina for lunch. After a nice break we proceeded back to the dam to lock back up into Wheeler Lake. This is when the lock master broke the bad news. He had two large tows ahead of us and it would be a 2½ to 3-hour wait! We cruised around for a while and then anchored the boat and went for a swim. Finally, after 3½ hours and a bit of frustration with the long delay, we were able to lock back up into the lake. We made it back to the marina just in time to snap a few photos of the sun setting. We definitely made a memory.
After saying our goodbyes to Mike and Marie we drove northeast towards Tennessee. We made a stop at the Unclaimed Baggage Store in Scottsboro, AL. This is where the airlines send unclaimed baggage and their contents left by passengers on airplanes. You wouldn’t believe all the different stuff they have for sale. They said they receive over 7,000 new items a day--jewelry, Ipods, CD’s and DVD’s, cell phones, cameras, bags, GPS’s, and lots of clothing. Barb found a nice skirt that would sell for about $30. It was priced at $4. However, when we went to check out the clerk advised there was a 75% “end of season” discount on it. Including tax we ended up paying $1.09 for the skirt!! We like this kind of shopping!!
After thirty straight days of 90 degrees or higher a cold front finally made it to East Tennessee. It dropped temperatures into the mid 80’s. So we headed for The Great Smoky Mountain National Park where we have wanted to make the hike into Laurel Falls. It is less than a 3-mile hike but we had to pace ourselves since Dave’s ticker has been acting up. He’s scheduled for a nuclear stress test on the 10th to see what’s going on. We snapped lots of photos; however, the water level is low with the draught and the area was thick with people. The falls should be spectacular during spring runoff.
After hiking back to the truck we noticed bushes with lavender/pink flower clusters on them. The flowers weren’t attractive but the butterflies and bees loved them. We spent the next hour snapping photos of them--hence the photo of the week.
Until next time,
Dave & Barb
The Traveling Browns
Dave & Barb
The Traveling Browns