Tuesday, November 12, 2013

Walland RV Rally – Oct. 2013

A belated Thanks To All Of You Veterans And Veterans-To-Be out there.

The week of Oct. 21, ten RVs from the Tennessee Travelers chapter of the FMCA assembled for a rally at Misty River Campground in Walland, TN – the first ever rally for Bev and I.  The rally hosts had a nice week planned including breakfasts, dinners, and day trips.

Breakfast meals were provided at the campground and dinners were a mix of restaurant and campground meals.  The day trips included a drive along the Foothills Parkway with picnic lunch, a tour of the Heritage Center in Townsend, and a drive up the old Tremont logging railroad bed along the Middle Prone of the Little River where I got a few shots.

This area was extensively logged in the early 1900's and per Wikipedia - "While the logging operations provided an economic boost to the northwestern Smokies, the rapid deforestation of Little River's watershed proved devastating for the river's ecosystem. With the formation of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in 1934 and the end of logging operations in 1938, however, the forest quickly regrew. The Civilian Conservation Corps converted Little River Railroad's railroad beds into roads and trails. Today, other than the occasional stray skidder cable or railroad tie, there is little immediate evidence that logging ever took place in the area.


In 1969, Maryville College, with the help of the National Park Service, established the Tremont Environmental Education Center at the site of a former Job Corps center in Walker Valley. The purpose of the center was to provide a first-hand approach to understanding the environment and ecology of the mountains.[14] In the early 1970s, the center hosted the Youth Conservation Corps during the summer. In 1980, the Great Smoky Mountains Natural History Association assumed control of the education center, and in 1985 the name was changed to the Great Smoky Mountains Institute at Tremont to further acknowledge its ties to the park."



On the way out, we stopped at the Tremont Visitors Center.


This is the old bridge to the visitors center - note the stones that the flowing water has deposited on it.
The final night, we had a hot dog roast around the large fire pit at the campground – as more of a camper than RVer, this was my favorite event.  Sorry I didn't get more pictures but weeny roasting, visiting, and sitting around the fire got in the way - the fire was completely surrounded by people, especially as the sun began to set.

Supper was followed by a showing of the movie "Christy: Return To Cutter Gap", which was filmed in part in the Smokies.

Bev and I had a very nice time and really enjoyed the folks in the group – I’ve come to realize that RVing for me is more about the people we interact with than the places we go – although I like that too. 

Photos best if enlarged by clicking on them.

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by Almost Heaven South.

Larry

10/21–10/25/2013 event date

12 comments:

  1. Hot Dog Roast reminds me of growing up in Kansas. Whenever a tree would fall my dad would gather branches, build a fire and we'd roast hotdogs. He'd also make spears out of branches to hold the dogs. Man were those good. Never had a hot dog cooked outside the house any other way until I got my first grill in my 20's.

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  2. What a lovely area and so glad you both had a nice time. You are a people person Larry and have a way of making everyone feel comfortable. I can understand why you enjoy meeting people and these RV rallies.
    Sam

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  3. I really like the smaller rallies. I'm glad I went to a couple of the large ones because I learned so much. But getting to know the folks at the smaller rallies is what I also liked the best. That's one of the reasons I like going to Q in January. You get to meet up with folks you haven't seen for a year and also to meet some new ones.

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  4. Larry, Yup! From others I've know that are in to RVing, its all about the social camaraderie involved. It's like a close knit shared experience tribal experience... Take Care, Big Daddy Dave

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  5. That is so cool - more about the people you meet. Lovely thought!

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  6. Sounds like a wonderful group and adventure... We love the Tremont area ---and have done alot of hiking WAY up that road and also up the Greenbriar road toward Cosby....

    Glad you are enjoying getting to know the people you are meeting...

    Hugs,
    Betsy

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  7. Great area to visit and it looks like you had a great time!

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  8. With digital cameras all around, sometimes I think we pay too much attention to taking pictures, and not enough to just enjoying the event! Glad to see you had such fun; Walland really is very pretty.

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  9. There is no better way to enjoy an event than with food and good company.

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  10. Sitting around and roasting hot dogs would have been my favorite part too. Looks like another fun time in the RV.

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  11. Little River Road is one of my favorite drives. It blows my mind that all of that stone work for the bridges and walls were hand crafted, a lot from just one guy if I remember correctly. The CCC did a lot of good work on both sides of the NC/TN border.

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