Yesterday, we headed to Smoky Mountain National Park, which is just about forty miles south of Knoxville. It was a very nice drive until we got to the touristy Pigeon Forge, filled with family vacation entertainment that made my stomach roll. (Seriously, it was like entering the Twilight Zone!) But, above is our caravan into the Smoky Mountains. How I love it when trees form a canopy over roads!
This was a lookout point where you could see Gatlinburg below and Mt. Le Conte above at 6600 feet. A great contrast!
The drive was, to say the least, stunning. You could spend days, weeks, trying to see it all!
There was some fall foliage but, unfortunately, the camera cannot adequately capture the vibrant, amazing colors. 
There were streams and waterfalls, though we didn't get to any of those, and the temperature dropped by fifteen degrees as we ascended into the mountains. Everything was just gorgeous!
All in all, it was a great drive and the perfect prelude to my birthday.
I'm sure if Uma knew that she was going to be the star of today's blog, she'd have looked at the camera. Ha!
I got into Knoxville yesterday afternoon and everything I've seen so far has been beautiful. The trees and mountains flying in were just gorgeous! Fall foliage isn't exactly abundant yet but some trees are starting to change. I'll have more pics of this tomorrow.
For now, you get Uma, who I hadn't seen in three years. She's put on a little weight since then, but she's still a sweetie. Her skinny sister, Chloe, is less excited to see me again. Ah, well, cats! More interesting pics tomorrow!
I'm off to Tennessee today to visit a friend. The original plan was for me to drive as I'm longing to take a road trip. But, practicalities got in the way. I want to be back on Friday; that's too much driving in a very short amount of time.
However, there was some good news. I'd earned enough miles for a free ticket. Going to Europe has it's advantages! The bad news is that the plane is a small one. After my traumatic flight home from Rome, I'm a little hesitant about flying and small planes are always worse. Ah, well, suck it up, Doniamarie!
Anyways, hopefully I'll have some pics - of some kind - for tomorrow.
