All About April (Part 3)–Fri, April 25 to Wed, May 7, 2014

Continuing our Two Week Stay at River Plantation, Sevierville, TN
 
00 - April Travel Map                                     
                                     A – Huntington Beach State Park, Murrells Inlet, South Carolina
                                     B – Buck Hall Recreation Area, McClellanville, South Carolina
                                     C – Magnolia RV Park and Campground, Kinards, South Carolina
                                     D – River Plantation RV Resort, Sevierville, Tennessee


(D) Sunday, April 27  to Tues, April 29th – River Plantation RV Park, Sevierville, TN
 
On Sunday, April 27th, we took the day to recover from our AT  Trail hike:o))

   It was a wonderful hike but, by far, the most strenuous hike we had done since last summer when we were in Acadia National Park.  So we needed a day of rest!!  That’s exactly what we did…NOTHING!!!


 
On Monday, April 28th, we drove to Smokemont Campground.
 
We had one more GSMNP campground to checkout for future stays in the park. 
 
Smokemont CG is located near the Cherokee entrance to GSMNP.00- Map to Smokemont Campground
 
If we like Smokemont CG, that would give us access to hiking in another part of GSMNP.
 
We left River Plantation and headed south on Rt 441 which changes to Newfound Gap Road.00b - Map to Smokemont Campground
 
We drove directly to the park without stopping on our way.
 
The views were beautiful and we decided to save pull-offs for on the way home. 

01 - Newfound Gap Road through GSMNP  02 - Approaching Newfound Gap

 
It was about a 90 minute drive to Smokemont Campground!!

 
Click on any photo to enlarge or hover your mouse on any photo for a description.
 
03 - Turn to Smokemont Campground   04 - Road to Smokemont Campground06 - Bridge to Section F - RV Campsites - no tents   06b - Bridge to Section F and creek runs along Section F

 
The campground is located along a beautiful creek. 
 
Loop F, the RV only loop, has several beautiful sites along the creek:o))
05 - Smokemont Campground Map
 
The F Loop is only open May 15 – Oct 31.
 
 
Every site in F Loop is long and level.
08 - Every Site in Section F is level, large very doable
 
Any one of the sites would be nice, but we did have two FAVORITES!!
 
 
Site F8
 
07 - Site F8 - Long and level07b - Site F8 - Backs up to the Creek07a - Site F8 - Blows Bill's mind

 
 
Site F34
 
07c - Site F34 - Our Favorite Site  07d - Site F34 - What a Back Yard
 
 
Sites F36 & F 38 are on the creek also and more open for those with solar panels;o))
 
 
There are no hookups but there is a bath house with flush toilets and sinks.
09 - Bath House - flush toilets, drinking water and sinks
 
 
There is a nice dump station and fresh water access station!!
09 - Dump Station and Fresh water station
 
We both agreed that this beautiful campground would make boondocking enjoyable:o))
 
If your rig is longer than 35 ft.,
 
I would not choose Elkmont, but Smokemont could handle larger rigs.
 
 
 
We took our time and enjoyed a few scenic pull-offs along our ride back.10 - returning on Newfound Gap Road - view of The SMOKY mountains
 
 
We stop for lunch at this pretty spot with a waterfall across the road!!10a - returning on Newfound Gap Road - one of many beautiful pulloffs10b - returning on Newfound Gap Road - beautiful lunch spot10c - returning on Newfound Gap Road - view of Falls across the road
 
 
When we reached Newfound Gap at the end of our hike on the AT Trail,
we didn’t take time to check it out.  So we stopped on our way back today.
 
Click on any photo to enlarge or hover your mouse on any photo for a description.
 
Beautiful View!!
11b - Newfound Gap Stop - View of Newfound Gap Road from the viewing area
 
11 - Newfound Gap Stop - The state lines
 
 
Lots to Learn
 
Click on any photo to enlarge


11c - Newfound Gap Stop - People of the mountain11e - Newfound Gap Stop - Land of Blue Smoke11d - Newfound Gap Stop - Land of Diversity11e2 - Newfound Gap Stop - A Mountain Sanctuary
 
 
The Appalachian Trail runs through Newfound Gap.
11f2 - Newfound Gap Stop - Appalachian Trail11f - Newfound Gap Stop - Appalachian Trail
 
 
Rockefeller Memorial
11f3 - Newfound Gap Stop - Rockerfeller Memorial11f4 - Newfound Gap Stop - Rockerfeller Memorial
 
 
Mount Le Conte  -  Our last view of the day:o)14 - Last View of Day - Mount Le Conte
 
“Man has created some lovely dwellings-
some soul-stirring literature.
He has done much
to alleviate physical pain.
But he has not…
created a substitute for a sunset,
a grove of pines,
the music of the winds,
the dank smell of the deep forest,
or the shy beauty of a wildflower.”
Harvey Broome, Naturalist
 
 
 
On Tuesday, April 29th, the RV-Dreams Rally begins.
 
This is our third RV-Dreams Educational Rally. 
 
Bill and I, along with several others, volunteered to help with Rally Registration.
 
Click on any photo to enlarge or hover your mouse on any photo for a description.
 
01 - Reporting for Check-in Duty at the Conference Center
 
Great facility for 175 people!!
 
02 - Great Facility for 175 people  02b - Great Facility for 175 people
 
03 - Checkin Table and Helpers are ready
 
The Registration Table is set up and the Helpers are ready.
 
03b - Lots of Helpers03c - Lots of Helpers03d - Lots of Helpers03e - Lots of Helpers
 
Let The Games Begin!!!
 
4 - Let The Games Begin  5 - Let The Games Begin
 
Yep… I think it’s gonna be a fun time :o))
 
7 - Yep, I think we will be having some fun
 
After registration, there was a catered dinner and the rally icebreaker.
 
No one captures the action better than Howard, so check out his blog post.
 

 




6 comments:

  1. We gotta get back to the Smokies some time. Nice to know that the Smokemont Campground would handle our rig.

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  2. That look like a tough decision between those two sites, but somebody has got to do it! Shame on us, living so close to the Smokies and never visiting. We have to rectify that situation.

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  3. Great coverage of Smokemont. Thanks for the mention of more open sites for solar.....hopefully :-) Your pictures of the mountains are just gorgeous. Love Mt. LeConte. H&L are hiking it tomorrow. We should band together and get reservations to do it. You'd love it.....a tad expensive to stay at the top but worth the experience.

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  4. Looks like a great time both in the Smokies and at the Rally!

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  5. We really loved the Smokies when we were there for the last rally in Sevierville. We're definitely spending more time there in the future. Looked like it was a great rally!

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  6. Wonderful pictures! You certainly make the most out of everyplace you go :)
    I'll bet the rally was great fun! Howard's blogs documented it well.

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