A very comfortable, quiet nights rest at Wal Mart, Chattanooga.
We picked up Interstate 24, but only for a few miles, since we don’t like freeways, and love the back country roads.
We took TN 11 north, through Athens and Philadelphia (we do get around) and stopped for a tour of a dairy farm, and cheese making plant.
This farm had over 700 milk producing cows, lots of calves, and just a couple of bulls.
The cows are milked 3 times a day, round the clock, and produce on average 10 gallons of milk per day. They are kept in a huge air conditioned barn, with unlimited food and water, and it is interesting to note that there is a social pecking order between them. We also found it fascinating that when one cow peed, several others followed suit. Typical females, have to go to the bathroom together!!
The young girl who showed us round was extremely smart, knowledgeable and witty.
About 80 % of the milk produced goes for drinking, and the rest is processed into cheese.
They have a wonderful array of flavors, and we bought some special reserve, made in 2002. Excellent tasty!!
Afterwards, we looked and looked and looked for corn mazes, but could not find any that were open. We are sure that sis in North Carolina knows of hundreds locally to her, and will be delighted to show us some!!!
We then got to Pigeon Forge. This is the home of Dolly Parton and Dollywood.
To be polite, it was not to our taste. It was another mini Vegas, or a bigger version of Branson, a long strip full of all kinds of glitzy stuff, and rides for the kids.
Great if you have family and are easily entertained.
So, we didn’t stop, but went down the road to Gatlinburg, right on the edge of The Smokey Mountain National Park.
Marlipops liked this place, it was a street lined with a thousand little shops and stores.
We drove for a few miles up into the park, and the mountains, then turned round and came back. They were very pretty, and we could see the haze from which they get their name.
We left the area, and headed onto Interstate 40, through the mountains, and the tunnels,
leaving behind a most spectacular sunset, with the blues of the mountains being topped with clouds, which had gorgeous pinks and reds from the sun backlighting them. Unfortunately, we were on a part of the freeway which was wiggly wiggly and uppy downy, so we could not stop to take pix.
Tonight, we have once again landed at a Wal Mart, this time in Asheville, North Carolina.
Wildlife watch today was a gazillion cows, and one fat 16 year old pig..
