At the Base of the Great Smoky Mountains!
Trip Start
Aug 29, 2010
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Trip End
Sep 05, 2010
Pigeon Forge, Tennessee
Monday, August 30, 2010
We started out this morning at the Museum of Appalachia in Norris, TN. "This village-farm complex includes dozens of log structures, exhibit buildings filled with thousands of historic Appalachian artifacts, gardens surrounded by split-rail fences and a variety of free-roaming farm animals. Also on the grounds is the Appalachian Hall of Fame, which pays tribute to the people of Appalachia. Among the hall's exhibits are American Indian artifacts, quilts, baskets, folk art and early handmade musical instruments."
Some very interesting old buildings to view including Tom Cassidy's (1920-1989) cabin which he lived in until his death. The cabin was originally located in Beard Valley, in Union County, TN. The structure was bought from Tom's surviving brother and moved to the museum in 2007.
The Mark Twain Family cabin (moved to the museum from 'Possum Trot, TN) once served as the home of Mark Twain's parents and some of their children. (Mark Twain was born 5 months after the family left TN).
Barb and I would have loved going to the Big Tater Vally Schoolhouse which was moved to the museum from nearby Big Tater Valley!
Also enjoyed looking at a still built for the museum in the 1990's by "Popcorn Sutton". At the annual museum homecoming event, Sutton was told to run nothing but water through the still. But with the crowd expected to be in the 1000's and Gov. Don Sundquist also expected, he decided to cook up some real sour mash and dispense it to the crowd in little paper cups. "Popcorn is getting everybody drunk," the governor's Highway Patrol escorts complained and when the museum's director told him to stop, Popcorn packed up and left. He was convicted in 2009 of illegally producing distilled spirts and being a felon in possession of a gun. The week he was to report to prison for 18 months, he committed suicide. A used copy of the book Popcorn wrote about his experiences as a mountain moonshiner called "Me and My Likker" is currently on Amazon for $245.00.
Took a drive over to the Norris Dam (part of the Tennesse Valley Authority) near Clinton. "Norris Dam is a hydroelectric and flood control structure located on the Clinch River. Its construction in the mid-1930s was the first major project for the Tennessee Valley Authority, which had been created in 1933 to bring economic development to the region and control the rampant flooding that had long plagued the Tennessee Valley. The dam was named in honor of Nebraska Senator George Norris (1861-1944), a longtime supporter of the TVA."
"Norris Dam is a straight concrete gravity-type dam. The dam is 1860 feet (570 m) long and 265 feet (81 m) high. Norris Lake, the largest reservoir on a tributary of the Tennessee River, has 33,840 acres (137 kmē) of water surface and 809 miles (1302 km) of shoreline. The dam has a maximum generating capacity of 131,400 kilowatts."
Original Post on Monday, August 30, 2010Hello!
Yes, we are in Pigeon Forge, TN, which is the Dells of the Tennesse and home of Dollywood! No, we are not going to Dollywood!
We did, however, have a fabulous baby back rib dinner at Bennetts...brought half of it home to have as a picnic lunch tomorrow as we do our touring of the Great Smoky Mountains. Have some nice drives planned tomorrow starting at the Sugarland Visitors Center in Gatlinburg.
We have once again run out of gas as the day draws to a close. Spent time after getting back from dinner planning our day tomorrow...so probably no pics tonight...which you say you can't see anyway - HA! Well, maybe just one,,,my favorite shot of the day (and of the trip!)
L & T
