This one room school house was built around 125 years ago. When the area became the Great Smoky Mountain National Park, people around this area had to move away so the school closed down. Now there are volunteers who sort of teach visitors here on certain days.

It was a cloudy, rainy and dreary day. Not a good time to take pictures with “lauyah” disposable camera. Anyway here is one view from the top.

I was telling Becky that lightning must have struck all those bare dead trees near the top of the mountains. It was only later that I learned that it was actually some bugs called adelgids, that was brought in from Europe, that killed all those fir trees.

Somehow this structure reminds me of the land of the Ewoks in the Return of the Jedi. Not that the ewoks would build that but it could be a lookout point build by the Empire. And the waterspots make the grainy photo even more authentic.

Well, here is the highest point in Tennessee. It’s actually a 0.5 mile hike up to this place. The steep trail is paved, sort of like the road up to Penang hill from the Botanical Garden.

Here is a rather poor picture that sort of shows why the smokies is called the smokies.

We went to the Cherokee Indian Reservation just outside the Smokies. The place where we visited was another over-commercialized area, lots of souvenir shops selling non-Indian-made stuff. This is the only souvenir I bought from the Smokies area – a native american-made tomahawk keychain. However it does look kind of flimsy so I probably won’t ever use it as a keychain.

Here is Laurel Falls. It was Rhododendron time, lots of rhododendron flowers blooming everywhere.

Bugproof and “waterproof” tent. Quite comfy except that I need a better sleeping mat and a thicker sleeping bag, maybe better if I can bring my own bed Once zipped up in the tent, it’s quite an amazing feeling…like you’re part of the woods but at the same time also not a part of it. The only thing between me and the heavy downpour was thin sheets of nylon.

Frontcountry camping – you can park your car, SUV, truck or your luxurious ginormous recreation vehicle (RV) beside your tent. Some people came with their RVs and did not even set up any tents. Some RVs are equipped with microwave, tv, shower, toilet, nice beds – actually all the comforts of a tiny apartment on wheels. Except for not having a shower, the Elkmont campsite came with toilets (with toilet paper), running tap water and even drinking fountains, so we didn’t even need to bring gallons of drinking water with us. For $20 a night, you get a raised platform (to set up your tent), a parking spot, a campfire pit, a picnic table with benches, a pole to hang a lantern, the continuous sound of running water of the Little River, plus the company of tall trees, insects (fireflies and long legged bugs) and arachnids, and maybe even an occasional black bear. The whole national park is equipped with bear-proof trashcans and all food must be stored in the trunk of the car. I did not have a black bear encounter – fortunately or unfortunately – but I did see numerous Made-in-China black bear toys in the Sugarlands Visitor Center.

In case you are wondering, that red car is a Saturn Vue.

I didn’t get to tour the home of country music. This picture of downtown Nashville was taken from the LP Fields stadium.