August 2009
We flew from the Twin Cities to Knoxville, TN where we were met by our good friends Ed and Barbara Prichard who formerly lived in Poulsbo, WA but moved to Madisonville, TN this spring. We miss them so much! Barb and Beryl put on their “Maude and Mavis” skits at church so Beryl’s Southern accent was ‘fair to middlin’ before she arrived.
Robert has long wanted to visit the Great Smoky Mountains so this was a perfect chance to do so. Ed went to college in nearby Maryville and fell in love with the mountains there. He was a great guide showing not only the great views but also the history of the settlers and the Cherokee Indians that resided there.
We also visited Oak Ridge, TN where the atomic bomb was developed during World War II. The science of atomic energy was interesting but to Rob the impressive story was the construction of a whole secret city and five production sites in remote Tennessee hills at a critical time.
Civil War history is alive in this area as well so we visited the Battle of Chickamauga and the related Battle of Chattanooga sites.
