Tellico Plains
September 24-26, 2020

Pictures

Finally!  I've been struggling with pictures and albums.  The link above is to an online Flickr Album.  It's in the order I want and if you scroll down a bit you can see my file name/caption. <s>

On to Tellico Plains.  First order of business was lunch at the Tellico Grains Bakey.  My sandwich was good.  The pizzas I saw going past me looked great.

Then the Charles Hall Museum.  Actually that's why I came to Tellico Plains.  A fellow Radio Amateur told me about the museum and his telephone equipment collection. Charles and his wife, Billie, owned and operated the Tellico Telephone Company from 1954 until 1985.  Memories.

There was a light drizzel as I headed out the Cherohala Skyway and turned down River Road in search of a campground for the night.  Suprisingly River Road runs along the Tellico River.  Curves, trees, river.  Then the decision point - up the gravel road to North River Campground or continue on the paved road to the next campground.  I choose the gravel road and North River Campground.  As I was touring the campground I encountered a woman on the road.  I asked if this was a good neighborhood and she said yes, no party lights.  So I pulled into a site, got an envelop and put my $4 in the box.  It rained hard all night.  I had supper, read, slept well.  This was the first night with my new refrigerator so I was happy to see that my 50 amphour lithium battery was still 78% charged.  So it looks like I have a big enough battery.

The next morning my advisor and husband wandered by and we had an enjoyable chat.  They are real fans of Forest Service campgrounds.

The ride out was even more enjoyable than the ride in.  I stopped by the Ranger Station on the bay back to the Skyway.  The Visitor Center Lady had told me it was closed, but I was hoping for cell service.  Forest Service Campgrounds don't have cell service.  Neither did the Ranger Station. The Tellico Plains Ranger Station is a restored Civilian Conservation Corp (CCC) camp. It was the first CCC camp in the southeastern United States, and one of the first in the nation. CCC Company 1453 from Fort Oglethorpe, Georgia established the camp, constructing the Ranger Station and associated buildings. The station is in use today by the Cherokee National Forest but it has been lovingly restored to retain its 1930’s architectural integrity. A portion of the station is dedicated to displaying CCC memorabilia.

Back to Skyway and on to the Indian Boundry Campground, General Store and hopefully cell service.  No luck, but the feller at the General Store told me 1st overlook eastbound.  Success.  I checked in with the boss.

As you can see it was pretty foggy.  The Skyway is a fine paved road and I'm sure spectular scenery on a good day, but I enjoyed River Road a lot more.

Onward to Robbinsville, The Hub for BBQ lunch and Cheoah Point Campground.  Cheoah Point was quite different from North River.  Close to US 129, showers, water and flush toilets.  $10 with a Old Farts Card. Lots of young families in tents. Ate the leftover half of my sandwich, watched a movie and slept well.  Battery at 71%.

I was expecting a fairly boring ride home.  Mrs Garmin had a different idea.  Instead of going around the mountain we went over the mountain.  Single track gravel road.  Quite an adventure.

Stopped at a BBQ joint on the way home and saw the Johnny Cash poster.