Days 24 & 25

 We left our campsite in the Smoky Mountains around 7:30 AM and arrived in Asheville, NC early enough to have breakfast at the Sunny Point Cafe, a funky place in the funky part of town.  We love it and we weren't disappointed.

The Blue Ridge Parkway was built with WPW funds during the Depression to join Shenandoah National Park to Smoky Mountains National Park.  As we head north from Asheville we will attempt to follow this route as much as possible.

The Grove Arcade

The Basilica of St. Lawrence

Monday was Joni's birthday, so we celebrated at Vinny's Italian restaurant.

Spaghetti Carbonara for me

Chicken Parmesan for Joni

Our campsite #21, at North Mills River Recreation Area in the Pisgah National Forest

Our campsite was surrounded my Mountain Laurel, unfortunately it hasn't blossomed yet.

The Biltmore, constructed between 1888-1895 by George Washington Vanderbilt, who was the youngest of eight siblings of Cornelius Vanderbilt's son, William Vanderbilt.  William was the oldest son of Cornelius Vanderbilt. (Yes,that's confusing!)

The Biltmore estate required 1000 workmen; it has 250 rooms, 35 bedrooms, 65 fireplaces, 175,000 sq. ft. and it's located on 8,000 acres.

View from the rear terrace looking toward Mt. Pisgah

Monet

Renoirs

Days 22 & 23

We've been pretty much off the grid for the past two days; no internet & no showers, but we're loving it!

Our first stop of the day was the National Cemetery in Chattanooga where, among many others, are buried Andrews Raiders who stole the train in Kennesaw, Georgia.  The eight raiders who were caught were all hung; nine others escaped.

The grave of James Andrews who led the raid.

An adorable display in front of a dog kennel in Chattanooga.

The Smoky Mountain Railroad Model Train Museum in Bryson City, NC.  Over 4000 cars & engines combine to make this display, and another 3000 cars & engines are in storage awaiting another layout.  For those who want to know, these are 99% "O gauge" trains.

One of the many tourist traps in Cherokee, NC.

Poplar Tulip

Our campsite, B-24, at the Smokemont Campground in Great Smoky Mountains National Park

We may have been off the grid, but that didn't stop us from celebrating Derby Day with a couple of Mint Juleps.

We started Day 23 at this museum in Cherokee.  This museum not only focused on the Cherokee tribe, but covered the earliest Native American settlements in North America.  Although there was a lot of repeat information that we'd encountered in other museums, it was still very informative and we were glad we went.

This simple map gives an indication of how large the Cherokee lands were before they were forced to give them all ups and move to Oklahoma.

Plotting our next stops for the upcoming days.

After leaving the museum in Cherokee, we returned to the Smoky Mountains National Park, driving over the Newfound Gap, elevation 5,049 ft., which crosses the Appalachian Trail.  Newfound Gap is also the dividing line between Tennessee and North Carolina, with Tennessee to the north.

This stream ran parallel to our campground and provided just enough white noise to block out any noisy campers who were running air conditioners or portable generators.

Sunday night dinner:  pulled pork, brisket, baby back ribs, beans, & a biscuit.

Our travels for days 22 & 23.