Timing...

 

Joan's suggestion of getting a car for the week was perfect timing.  I don't like to ride the scoots in the rain (slippery, bad visibility, even with rain gear you get wet, always a mess to clean the bikes afterwards) if it can be avoided... and I make the effort to avoid it.

So, instead of being house-bound (motorhome-bound?), we are free to travel about in dry comfort.  It isn't raining this morning, but the precip is predicted for this afternoon, tonight, tomorrow, and Sunday - that's as far out as I trust the forecast.

We'll get out for some touristing today and make a stop at the store... and not have to limit what we can stock up on, since we don't have to be concerned about getting it all in or on the scoots.

To be accurate, it hasn't rained (yet) this morning and there was a short "sun break" (I haven't used that term since we were in the Pacific Northwest).  But there has been enough rain here that the ground is saturated.  When putting the scoots away yesterday, Joan said to check the front wheel on the cargo trailer... yep, it is a couple inches into the ground, even though it is on gravel.  I will jack it up at some point and put a block of wood under the wheel to keep it from sinking again.

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What is the most-visited National Park in the US?

If you said, "Great Smoky Mountains National Park is the most visited National Park in the US," you get 15 bonus points.  If you can say why it is the most visited, you get 20 more bonus points. 

This was often discussed with guests when I was driving the cruise boats in Grand Teton National Park... not to take anything away from the Smokys (Smokies?), but the Tetons is a truly spectacular mountain experience.  The reason the Great Smoky Mountains National Park is the most visited is... location.  It is within a one day drive for over half of the US population.  You have to work harder to get to The Tetons or Yellowstone.  As long as we're talking about visitation numbers: how is it that Yellowstone is the #4 most visited National Park, but The Tetons are #8??  Seriously, they are nearly next door to each other, but Yellowstone gets 4.5 million visitors annually, while Grand Teton National Park sees 3.4 million visitors.  That means there are over 1,000,000 visitors who go to Yellowstone, but take a pass on seeing The Tetons.  I am biased - I think Yellowstone is the most diverse park, but the Tetons are far more spectacular to view.  And, I am digressing once again... this is about visiting the Smokeys.

We did an auto tour today, and for good reason: the rain came pounding down at times.  There will be some photos and video clips (trying something different).  Into the park, we stopped at the Visitors Center...

Joan got a new mug...

 Then, back into the car, and some video clips...

Trying something different today... I've been shooting video from a motorcycle or scooter the last few years, but I thought we'd get some video in the car so Steph can see what we're doing.  Joan took some video of me opening cards from Steph yesterday, and Steph said she really liked that - so, here's a look at us touristing about.

For those not familiar, this blog got started back in 2008 so our daughter Stephanie could see what we were doing on a somewhat daily basis.  We used to do a written travel newsletter once a week or so for family.  Doing this as a blog is more timely and eliminated the need for us to carry a printer along on our travels and "fun summer jobs."