Dismeet in the Smokies 2021! Y'all Come!

[garneska]

On the road by 8:20. Just like @Bishoparc DW Josie, Mallory cried when we left. Have not hit the highway yet to see how the lube pump chirps but Mallory has already started.

 

[Born 2 Fish]

We had a great time in the Smokies. We got to meet a great group,
Mallory, Fred & Cletus, Sierra & Hercules, Belle, Maggie May, The Savage Sisters and Reba. And of course the great group of humans they brought with them. And let's not forget the humans that sniffed out their own way to The Smokies.

It was very nice to put a face with the board names and see people we knew from the last DisMeet we attended.

We had an official Food Fest on Monday night. Dissers really know how to lay out a spread. It was so good everyone forgot pictures and dug in. And we had 2 birthdays to celebrate with .

I didn't do any fishing but did watch a bird beat the heck out of a rock bass too big to swallow. So the bird left it in the water and we watched a turtle come along and have a feast.

We saw first hand how kind, generous and selfless some people can be when one of the group needed help. It was heart warming how everyone pitched in.

We want to thank the entire group for a wonderful time.

A special shout out to my Christmas Monkey buddy that put the meet together, tiggerdad! It was truly a pleasure.

 

[bama_ed]

No idea what tomorrow morning holds but we'll move down to Birmingham tomorrow night before finishing the drive to FL on Sunday. Night all.

You got time to go back to TVRR and ride the steam train in the morning.
See the steam loco turned on the turntable.
Take the shop tour and see where they make all that magic happen.
Stand on the rear platform of the last car and watch the railroad ties pass behind you.
Say hello to my favorite, the 4501 locomotive, over in the shop area.

There's no such thing as too much train.

ED

PS - have a safe trip home. And there's a Home Depot across the road from your Bham campground if you need to pick up something.

 

[garneska]

On the drive to 40.

That is @tripleb



Here are some pics of the cabin.







My FIL thought it was small the rest of us campers thought it was great. I will say am pretty sure FIL won’t camp with us again. I don’t think it’s his thing. Have to go back to cruising.

 

[JETS70]

I want to Thank Steve and his wife for leading us on a great ride on Sunday.

You are welcome @PaHunter Teresa and I had a great time also. Looks like Hershey may be a possibility for a future Dismeet. You and Jen will have to show us around your neck of the woods. Stay strong and know that we are praying for you brother.

Steve and Teresa

 

[tiggerdad]

Thanks Frank and Denise for your kind words, and those who chipped in to help our fellow Diser in need. Bert and Randy especially for willingness to make big sacrifices without any hesitation. You guys earned a mountain of respect from me.

 

[garneska]

We did pretty decent on time no traffic till Atlanta. Got to storage in 4 hours and 20 minutes. Spent about 40 minutes reconfiguring car. Boy are we loaded down. Heading home now.

So Mallory chirped and the lube pump did not until after we stopped for gas. Restarted the engine and it chirped the rest of the way. Thankfully we stopped for gas and only had 30 miles to go.

Had a great time everyone. Thanks to everyone for helping out.

 

[tripleb]

Alrighty folks, we drove around the Great Divide via I40 to Hwy 74 to Bryson City. Staying at Smoky Mountain Campground for a few days. Gonna do the train ride and just chill.

For those of you wondering about this campground ... it's an old one, maybe 30 sites very close together. Gravel/dirt/mud parking pads, picnic table, fire ring, full hook up with 14 channels of "cable tv". Most of the sites are level enough although my drivers side tires are off the ground ...we are backed up to the river with room to unhook and park the truck. If you want concrete pad, and some grass, you need to pass this campground up.

If anyone needs pictures, let me know.

 

[friendofeeyore]

This was great to see! My Daddy worked for Railway Express so we could ride the trains for free. I took the last Katy out of Kansas City going to my BFF wedding in Odessa, Tx. The baggage cart brought back so many memories.

 

[friendofeeyore]

Prayers for PaHunter still in force.

 

[friendofeeyore]

PS: Kris, Thank you for the pictures of the cabins. They are very nice & not too small. I know, be quiet Gloria, but I am so unhappy with myself that I just didn't come on by myself.

 

[bama_ed]

This was great to see! My Daddy worked for Railway Express so we could ride the trains for free. I took the last Katy out of Kansas City going to my BFF wedding in Odessa, Tx. The baggage cart brought back so many memories.

Gloria,

That's cool that your Dear Father (DF) worked for the Railway Express Agency (REA). It was the UPS of its day focused on express delivery of freight (not passengers) like Amazon is today. They had distinctive green/red box cars with their logo on it and their own office in most mid/large size town railroad depots to facilitate the handling of the packages.

Packages/freight would come straight off their own REA boxcars/reefers to their own REA office in the depot to their own REA delivery vehicles (truck or horse/wagon in the day) to the customer's home. The more things change, the more they stay the same, no?

Just for that reason, I'm gonna get an REA box car for my model railroad at home at some point this fall (was gonna get one anyway but this is a reason to pull the trigger sooner).

We did miss you, Gloria, at the DISMeet. @garneska shared pix of her DFIL cabin and I loved those wood walls. Thanks for following along.

Bama Ed

PS - my kids think that Amazon Prime (quick package delivery) is a new invention but I have told them about REA (that's why I wanted that green/red boxcar). Every new idea is just an old idea in some new wrapping paper and ribbon.

PPS - and you got to ride trains for free? The REA families were VIP's indeed!

 

[Bishoparc]

Traveling To B’ham
We unfortunately slept in this morning so we didn’t get to do anything other than pick out some other campsites we’d like at Harrison Bay. I will 100% be back at that campground. Words can’t describe it.


Traffic was pretty rough on the way down. The GPS kept trying to send us all sorts of back roads to the campground in B’ham. When we arrived the lady told us that there was apparently a car chase and a shoot out on I-65 so that explains it. We ended up taking some back roads that I wasn’t really comfortable with but we made it.

Per @bama_ed’s recommendation we are staying at Birmingham South RV Park in Pelham, AL. It’s a quaint campground. Not somewhere I’d stay multiple days but it’s nice. They greet you at check in and actually lead you to your campsite. I was quite impressed. The sites aren’t level but it’s ok. It’s hard because we are only around 3/4 hours from home but I feel much more relaxed taking our time getting home.


We will get up early in the morning, empty our tanks, and finish the drive up. Still missing our DIS family.

 

[bama_ed]

That PARTICULAR campground is not our best, @Bishoparc. It's a private campground because there is nothing better that is closer.

The local Oak Mountain State Park nearby has crappy campsites (and I'm being charitable when I say that ). It is fantastic for bike trails and day hikes and I did them (up to 12 miles) for decades. but the campsites? Spill your black tank on the ground - that would be better .....

Maybe one of these days our Alabama State Park system may give some money to improve the campgrounds of the State Park in the most populated/passed entitity in our system.

Bama Ed

PS - have a safe trip home, Arc.

 

[Bishoparc]

That PARTICULAR campground is not our best, @Bishoparc. It's a private campground because there is nothing better that is closer.

It’s just fine for an overnight (other than this family that keeps cutting through our campsite.) The staff was super friendly.

Already booked myself the weekend before thanksgiving at Harrison Bay again. We’ll plan on doing thanksgiving in PF again. Going to book my train tickets tonight Ed.

 

[SouthAlabama5er]

Bert and Randy especially for willingness to make big sacrifices without any hesitation. You guys earned a mountain of respect from me.

I absolutely hate the circumstances but I wouldn't have let you go on that adventure alone! Bert seen first hand what kinda trouble you and I always get into!

 

[tiggerdad]

I absolutely hate the circumstances but I wouldn't have let you go on that adventure alone! Bert seen first hand what kinda trouble you and I always get into! View attachment 581700

Glad to have you both!

 

[bama_ed]

View attachment 581700

Bert looks like he's asleep in the back seat, tbh

 

[rocketmom]

Left Pine Mountain at 10 am and arrived home at 2. My first DisMeet is in the books! I had a great time and got to meet some really great people and fur babies! It was nice to put a name and face with the Dis screen names. Thanks to everyone who made the newcomer feel welcome. The dinner on Monday was amazing, with so much food! You all are really kind and generous people, who I discovered will go to great lengths to help out a friend. PaHunter, I didn't get to meet you personally, but I hope you feel better soon and you and Jen can get back home to Reba. I really enjoyed the week in Pigeon Forge! Loved seeing the Disney campsite decorations at all your campsites. Next DisMeet I will have to up my game on decorations Thanks again for a great week, and it was great to meet all of you!

 

[garneska]

Bert looks like he's asleep in the back seat, tbh

Not a chance every time you hit a bump Bert bounced to the ceiling and back. So glad we could help out and i appreciate all the help I got @JETS70. taking the rig back out on July 17 and I will start some easy turns. Turning and speed scare me so we will be working on getting me comfortable which means making me do it.