We drove about 500 miles from Brown County, IN on Sunday and arrived at the Happy Holiday RV Village in Cherokee, NC at about 5:30pm. This is this year's site of the annual Aliner Owners Club North American Rally. There were about 149 campers and 270 people there. Most of the campers were Aframes, but there were some S.O.B's (some other brand), like ours, there. We were allowed to attend because we once had an Aliner Aframe camper and we pay our dues to continue our membership.
The campground is actually on an island with a lake in the center of it. The island is formed by a stream that splits up at one end of the island and rejoins itself at the other end. Pretty cool!
After we arrived, we explored the campground and enjoyed the sandwich dinner provided by the rally. It was early to bed after a long day on the road.
Monday was a day to relax and register for the rally which started that day. We wandered around and checked out the campers and chatted with rally goers. The evening's entertainment was provided by Davy Arch, a local Cherokee artist and story teller.
Tuesday morning dawned with a large flock of quacking ducks practically outside our door. We were fairly close to the lake. After breakfast, the white water rafting bus picked us up at 9:00 for the 30 minute ride to the rafting headquarters. The pictures of us actually in the raft were taken by the rafting company. If you think all guides are the same, check out the rafting pictures. BTW, Capt. Ron is 80 years old!
We were back at the campground by 2:30 and had a snack so we wouldn't spoil the rally-provided BBQ pork dinner. After dinner we watched the entertainment. It was a great day. Marsha said she got to cross white water rafting off her bucket list and she didn't even know it was on the list! She had a ball!
Wednesday was the day for our trip on the Great Smoky Mountain Railway. We were in the "first class" car, so we had lunch and libations served at our table. You will se mention of Fontana Lake in the pictures. That's the name of the town that was covered by the lake after the dam was built. It was a nice relaxing trip into the Nantahala River Gorge. When we got to the upper end of the gorge, the engine disconnected onto a siding and went back to what was the rear of the train and pulled us back out of the gorge.
On the way back, we stopped for about an hour at the Nantahala Outdoor Center, a spot along the Appalachian Trail for sportsmen, including kayakers. Some of the U.S. Olympic teams trained here. They have tents available for people hiking the trail.
After the train trip, Cindi, Loren, Jim, Jan, Marsha and I pitched in and had our dinner in the quiet of Jim & Jan's campsite rather than joining the rally potluck. We finished off the day sitting by Chuck & Val's campfire with friends.
Thursday, we didn't do much but relax. The rally provided fried fish for dinner. And, of course, there was more entertainment.
On Friday morning, the 18th, we took our time breaking camp. We drove up Rt. 441 thru the center of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and took a few pics along the way. There was a car show going on in Gatlinburg which had collector cars lined up for at least three miles on each side of the road.
We stopped and visited friends in Cookeville, TN on Friday afternoon. We went to dinner with John & Rebecca. They have a little campground on their property where we were able to plug in and camp for the night. On Saturday, we said goodbye and drove 450 miles to get home about 7:15.
Great trip!
