Coast-to-coast: San Francisco to Savannah (Part 18)

This entry is part 18 of 29 in the series Coast-to-coast: San Francisco to Savannah

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Coast-to-coast: San Francisco to Savannah

April 18, 2024

Coast-to-coast: San Francisco to Savannah (Part 18)

By Simon J. Lau

This morning we visited the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Located on the border of North Carolina and Tennessee, it spans over 500,000 acres and is one of the largest protected areas in the eastern United States. The park is named for the “smoky” mist that often hangs over the mountains, created by the dense vegetation and high humidity.

I had a friend visit the Great Smoky Mountains on his motorcycle, and he let me know it was some of the best riding in the country. Although I didn’t visit here with my bike, I can see what he means. There are many twisty and meandering roads that would make for great motorcycle riding, and with endless routes, I could just imagine how much of a playground this would be for me. Next time I’ll bring Wilbur, my little dual-sport motorcycle.

As for us, hiked the Gatlinburg Trail, which is one of two trails in the park that allow dogs. It wasn’t great. It bumped up against the road, and at the tail end, converged with a road. That said, I appreciated that there was a dog-friendly trail option that we could explore at least parts of the park.

When we left the park, it was total chaos. There was the Spring Rod Run 2024, an automotive gathering in Pigeon Forge. In hindsight, I should have stopped by and explored, but we had a long drive ahead. Besides hot rods, the most interesting sighting I came across were many people (young and old) riding around in those motorized scooters that elderly people use. It was a hoot! I also saw some souped-up mini motos, which are my favorite. Here’s a video someone shared on YouTube of the event (there’s even a retro Honda Monkey at about the 2:20 mark).

For lunch, we stopped by Stock & Barrel in Knoxville. I tried The Bernie, which is a less spicy version of a Volcano Burger (a classic burger with a spicy twist, Knoxville is known for this). This was already too hot for me, so I’m glad I didn’t go for their Ring of Fire Burger. Bruno ended up with most of the fries, and we split the onion rings. After lunch, we explored downtown Knoxville and the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.

I discovered today that Dolly Parton was from Tennessee. I passed by the Dolly Parton Parkway, Dollywood Parks, and this mural. I can’t say that I think of Dolly Parton often, but I thought of her often today.

UT Knoxville, for its part, was very hilly! We drove through it, but there were so many hills they even built a sky bridge connecting two parts of campus. Featured here is Smokey, a bluetick coonhound dog, who has been the official mascot of the University of Tennessee since 1953. The live version of him shows up often to games! I’d love to meet him someday.

We arrived in Chattanooga late in the afternoon. Given all the driving, I decided to take it easy for the rest of the time. We’ll have more to report tomorrow!

Finally, our route from Asheville, Great Smoky Mountains National Park, and Knoxville to Chattanooga. (234 miles or 377 km).

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