Smokey Hollow

 

Nashville to the Smokey Hollow Outdoor Resort is a 370km drive through beautiful country. We had no idea what to expect when we got there but we will be staying in Chuck Wagons and Tepees.

 

Although the temperature was cool the sun was up and we cruised through the beautiful State of Tennessee. We set Waze to take us off the interstates and avoiding tolls and the result was a fantastic route. Every town we pass through has a series of totally homogenous stores, cafes and restaurents and by coffee time it was a relief to come across Berta's Cafe, packed full of local workmen having their coffee

 

We had no mechanical challenges today and given the beauty of the day Nigel and Bumble shot off ahead. The country was hilly, wooded with occasional wooden houses and everything very neat and tidy. There's absolutly no question that they love to mow in Tennessee!

 

You notice a number of things as you drive across America, a truly fantastic country full of some of the kindest and most generous people possible. The country seems to have lost confidence in itself. Its papers, politicians and commentators constantly tell the people that it is all over for the US and people are beginning to believe it. As an outsider I can categorically tell our readers that this is not the case. As you travel across this country you can see the unbelievable ability, when America turns its attention to an issue, for it to apply resources to solve any issue, above and beyond any other country on earth. The second observation I would make is that American’s are constantly fed a diet of fear making their assessment of the dangers of travelling in other countries or even in certain parts of their own country completely incorrect. As we arrived at the border from Mexico the border control officers could not believe that, driving the cars we are, we had survived the roads of Mexico. We have experienced no danger or threats in any country or City we have visited. As I always say ‘our cars are our passports’ and they do seem to help us in our travels. If you remember back to our approach to traffic jams in South America, ‘Smile, engage, perceiver’. It is a good approach to meeting anyone in any part of the world.

 

 

The Smokey Hollow Outdoor Resort is priceless. We were the only guests and occupied the four chuck wagons and a tepee. Barbara and Sophie cooked a delicious chilli con carne with baked potatoes cooked in the open fire. They had been lucky that Adam and Erica who live in a trailer by the entrance to the resort lent them the necessary spices to make the whole dish delicious.

 

After dinner Adam and Erica turned up to look at the cars and stayed to chat over a few beers. It was a fascinating, if challenging, take on the perspectives of rural veterans  on issues such as veterans, guns, politics, vaccines,  Trump, Kennedy and many other topics. It is extraordinary the difference in the interpretations of current news and the ability to believe that Government plots are behind absolutely every unfortunate global and local news event. Where their news comes from and who disseminates it, God only knows.

 

Paddy had no heating in his Chuck wagon so spent a very cold evening whilst the rest of us slept likes babes in the wood.

 

Tomorrow, as they say, is another day.