Well today we did a bit of driving.  We started off by going through Gatlinburg ñ which is kind of like the Banff of the south.  Lots of candy shops, toyshops, houses of horror and tacky t-shirt shops.  We went through Ripleyís Museum which was interesting.  Apparently itís the one that inspired the TV show.  Lots of weird, wacky stuff.

Then we drove through (and stopped along the way) Smokey Mountain National Park.  It was gorgeous all the way through.  We hit patches of sunlight, clouds, rain and even some fog that you could actually see rolling past us.  Amazing.  Beautiful views and way too many places to stop and take pictures.  Weíre planning on heading back tomorrow to do a couple of hikes before we head to the Cove.  We had a nice dinner in Asheville at a fancy-schmancy restaurant.  Best dessert of the trip thus far.  Weíll see what Billy Graham and his wife can cook up for us this weekend though.  Time to go to sleep so that Iím not too cranky for tomorrowís hikes!