Seveirville, Tennessee--Day 2

River Plantation RV Resort
Seiverville, Tennessee
Site #133

The Mid Atlantic Montana Rally is in full swing.  It's so nice to reconnect with everyone and to also meet new people.  Yesterday we took Marilyn and LC Boyer back to Smokey Mountain Knife Works.  Bill was in his glory!

These animals in the background move with the music.

It's not a very good angle but if you look just to the left of the black sign you can see a huge knife right below the light.

Marilyn is smiling because we finally got the guys out of the store.  Right next door is the Coleman outlet and the Lodge Cast Iron Cookware outlet.  I did see on TV last night that this cookware is made in Pittsburg TN and has been family owned the entire time.  

By the time we returned it was almost time for Happy Hour.  Marilyn made Summer Breeze drinks for everyone.  They were made with Absolute, Blue Moon Beer and lemonade.  They really were refreshing.  

We were all glad that the conference center was a short walk away.  Our catered dinner was very nice, but the AC in the center was even nicer.

Didn't think to get photos taken during the dinner.

Everyone sang "Happy Birthday" to Bill, Ted and Linda.  Can you imagine three people in this group having the same birthday?

White Elephant gift exchanges are very popular with the Montana group.  Pat Bohmer was in charge and she really had the group going.  This year it seems a gooney bird brought more laughter than anything.  I do believe that one man was going to be sleeping in his truck, if he didn't "steal" the gooney bird back for his wife.  

More fun today!

Turtle Safely.......

A Man's Day in the Smokies

River Plantation RV Resort
Seveirville, Tennessee
Site 133

Yesterday I drove the rig from Crossville.  Had planned to take 140 over to Seveirville and missed my turn.  Oh well, I had practice driving through downtown Knoxville.  Now you ask, what could make Bill so happy?  Why my pulling into the RV park and backing it into our site.  Yep, I did it! 

We spent the rest of the day relaxing and went to the lazy river to have a dip in the pool before dinner.

Today we drove up to the nearby Smoky Mountain Knife Company.  There were four floors of merchandise.  It was full of men, but they didn't have any couches or chairs for the women to sit on.  Any type of knife from the tinest pocket knife to the biggest you could imagine, could be found there.  

We stopped there last year so I thought we'd get through the store sooner this year.  After a couple of hours, we went up to the register to pay.  They have clerks everywhere, and you just give them your name and what number door you entered and they take your merchandise to that checkout.  Of course, by the time you checkout, you forgot about all the things you were buying.    

Bill did get a very nice Masonic pocket knife.  He was going to buy one last year, but by the time we went through the whole store, we forgot to go back and get it.  

Now what else could make a man happy?  We are now in Yuengling country and he can buy his favorite beer.  

The Montana's really rolled in today.  It was so nice seeing friends we haven't seen in a year.  There are a few new owners that have never before attended.  

Meet and Greet is always the kick off event and this one was great.  It's unreal the amount of food that was out, and nearly every dish was empty, by the time the evening was over.

All this fun and Bill's birthday isn't until tomorrow.  

Ted Uhler also has a birthday tomorrow, but we figured out Bill is old enough to be Ted's father.  Bill will be 79 tomorrow.  

Let the fun begin, this is only the first day of the rally.  

Turtle Safely...........

World's Largest Tree House

Crossville, Tennessee
Bean Pot Campground
Site #15

Bill and I took a very short drive to visit The Minister's Tree House.  We knew before going that it wasn't open as the fire marshal shut it down, but we wanted to see the exterior.

The tree house was down a one lane dirt road.  We passed three different signs that said it was closed before coming to these signs.  

As we walked up to the fence surrounding the tree house, we saw another couple with their grand daughter.  They told us they had been inside a couple of times. The lady told us there is a chapel inside.  About this time we saw someone way up in the tower and then the bell rang.  

There was a hole in the fence and a man walked out carrying and infant.  He said the kids were playing inside the tree house while he watched the baby.  

I thought a little while about going through the fence but the weeds were at least four feet high and I didn't want to meet any of the local Tennessee creatures and I was without my Deet.  

The Minister, Horace Burgess, was on ABC TV showing The World's Largest Tree House.  I would suggest you check out the photos on the internet because the ones we took wouldn't do it justice.  There are also photos on Roadside America.

We were a long way from it.  

Our next stop, The Homestead Tower Museum,  was also nearby.  Bill and I were the only visitors in the museum for awhile.  There was a short video on how Roosevelt began the New Deal in 1933 and the homestead was enacted.

The museum was small but full of a lot of information.

All the red dots show where the programs were located.  Can you imagine our surprise when we found out there were 60 homes in our hometown that were on the program?

Bill said he really felt old because he remembered all the items they had displayed.

Bill said he wondered if his dad learned his profession as an electrician from this program.

The homesteader's worked for one third of their wages.  The other two thirds went to pay back their average $2,100 for the 20 acres.

We walked up partway inside the water tower, but it was very humid and hot and no air movement whatsoever.

I started up a little ways, then I had flashbacks of my ladder accident.  It was difficult to get back down the few steps I had taken.  

I'm sure the view would have been great, but I wasn't going to push the envelope. 

There was an original homestead house about a mile away, but it was closed today.  

We're always enjoying history, but this was definitely in a different time period than most places we visit.  I'm glad we stopped.  

Turtle Safely........

We Found Hoffa!

Crossville, Tennessee
Bean Pot Campground
Site #15

Yesterday I drove the 100 miles or so to Crossville.  The weather was picture perfect.  I must say Bill wasn't the best co-pilot on the road leading from the Corp of Engineers campground.  The road was very windy with no shoulder whatsoever and a ditch along side it.  He finally relaxed once we were down on the interstate.  

When we arrived at Bean Pot RV park we tried to find a site without trees.  Lots of luck in this part of the country.  I thought the street names were cute--Kidney Bean Lane, Navy Bean Lane, Pinto Bean Lane, Lima Bean Lane and Baked Bean Lane.  

The weather has been perfect even though when we watch the news, the newscasters talk about the high heat.  It will be in the 60's tonight.  

We left early this morning for the local flea market.  I must say it really gave us a flavor for the locals.  The "parking lot" was a maze through the trees.  People parked everywhere.

These were permanent structures that had a piece of plywood that opened up for their "stores".   The wood looked like the kind people pay big bucks for from an old barn.

How many times have you been to a flea market where they sell pigs, chickens, roosters, rabbits, chicks, turkeys, fish, birds and dogs?

The one thing Bill and I both commented about were the smells.  You had to watch where you were going as people were spitting tobacco.  Lot's of smokers and some other strange smells, we couldn't identify.  This may be pretty country but it's definitely a different part of the United States.  

 Now we have dreamcatchers in Arizona, but not like these Redneck Dreamcatchers made with panties and beer cans.  

We bought some great looking tomatoes, peppers, corn, and peaches at a stand near the truck.  It was a lot of walking up and down the hollers and I was happy to get back to the truck and breath truck air.  

I'd noticed that there was an Easy Spirit shoe store at the outlet mall and wanted to see if there was anything I could find that would give me good support like my heel risers that I wear all the time.  

If Easy Spirit only knew how often people stop me in the street to ask about those shoes, they would have never discontinued them.  

There were only a handful of stores but we did find a treasure there.

It's a store in the mall dedicated to model railroads enthusiast.  

The detail in the settings is unbelievable.

The trains were running and there were buttons you could push to make some of the things animate.

There were signs that asked if you could find things such as a dog peeing on a fire hydrant, a woman crying at a grave site or a woman hanging laundry. 

How about a drive in movie theater with the screen playing?

The different towns were done in different time periods and the vehicles matched perfectly.

The military was well represented.

There were different sizes of the trains.

This was helpful in learning the different scale size of trains. 

Notice the travel trailer in this scene?

I wish amazed at all the detail of the buildings and vehicles.

Crossville airport was included with a working helicopter.

All of the local industries must have been represented.

It's hard to explain how large this place is.

Lastly, if you ever wondered what happened to Jimmy Hoffa, we found out today.

He's into cement.  Notice his stretch limo?

A wonderful display and all of it was free.  I finally had to ask if there was a donation jar and some of the men showed us a discreet jar on a low table they were standing in front of. 

It was a great day and we topped it off going to the pool.  It was a little cool, but after awhile the water felt great.  

Turtle Safely........