Today we left our nice little spot we stayed in last night in Pigeon Forge, TN (Bear Cove Village) http://bearcovevillage.com/. We were able to have a nice relaxing morning with an11am departure and even made coffee in the new ride for the first time. For me that was the last real thing that needed to be done to break her in. Once we left Pigeon Forge we entered the gateway to the Smoky's, Smoky Mountain National Park (http://www.nps.gov/grsm/index.htm). This would make it Solomons first national park, so we had to stop and get him a patch for his newly started collection. As we entered the park it was breath taking. I hadn't driven through this part of the country since I was a kid and must say this gives the Rockies a run for their money. It was view after view and slow driving (35-45mph) for about 2-3 hours. It put the new ride to the test with its 9% grades for 3-4 miles up and down. We took every advantage of pull offs for photo opportunities while Solomon slept. After our last major decent we entered the Cherokee Indian reservation (http://www.nps.gov/grsm/learn/historyculture/cherokee.htm) on the edge of the park. This was nothing like the reservations of the west. These were luscious and green thriving with life. It reminded me of a scene right out of "Last of the Mohicans". So we decided to stop and walk around for a bit so Solomon could stretch and get some fresh air. After an hour or so and some boiled peanuts we made our way to the Asheville, NC area, were we are going to stay (KOA RV Park) the next 2 days to relax and catch up on work before we see the Biltmore (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biltmore_Estate).