Back from vacation

For the first time that I can remember we were on vacation for the 4th of July.  We went to Gatlinburg, Clinton, and Chattanooga, TN.  We thought it would be cooler up in the mountains of Tennessee, we were wrong!!!  The first couple of days it was 105, as hot as it had been here in Atlanta.  Our first stop was the Smoky Mountain National Park, the few buildings there were decked out with flags.  I loved seeing the flags on the old churches and houses.

One of our favorite places in the park is Cades Cove.  There is an 11 mile loop that you can drive and you always see wildlife, usually we see deer, bears, and a variety of birds.  This year we only saw deer.

This is Abrahms Falls in Cades Cove, it was about a 5mile hike.  Luckily we started early in the morning before it got too hot.

After doing our thing in the park, we decided to go to Dollywood.  It is a huge amusement park, with everything Dolly Parton.  It was a lot of fun, but been there done that.  Don't need to go back.

I seem to find pigs everywhere.  This was on one of the buildings in Dollywood.

After leaving Gatlinburg we went to Clinton, TN  to the Museum of Appalachia. It is a wonderful museum.  One reason I wanted to go was to see the anvil shoot.  What is an anvil shoot?  I had always heard my dad talk about doing this when he was a child, and knew what it was, but really couldn't imagine what it would be like to see it.  You use two anvil's, one large one on the bottom, a smaller one on top.  The one on top is filled with black powder and a fuse.  The fuse is lit and the top anvil blows up into the air with a huge boom!!!  Fireworks for people who couldn't afford fireworks.  I am so glad that I was able to see this.

The Museum also had a wonderful collection of antique Tennessee quilts.

This was a state quilt, made when there were only 48 states.  It is made from feedsacks, one from each state.  In the middle of each block the state was cross-stitched. 

Vacation is always too short, but we had a great time.