OT Vacation

Being of like mind with several people on here Does anyone have any thoughts on a good place to just go on a senic drive or 3 or 4 day vacation in Ark Tenn or Kentu? Might even get to see some diff tractors. Wife dosent care for Blue grass and we dont care for Theme parks like six flags and such. Thinking about going in the next month or two.Thanks

Mid-South Tractor Parts in Decatur, Alabama is a nice stop- big boneyard, lots of stuff to see. They even lent me some tools to relieve a couple of Olivers of their gauges.

Pigeon Forge, Gatlinburg is on our list. Google/Send for tourism books from each of those states. Many attractions for all interests.

I'll tell you one of the prettiest drives I've been on. I wish I had the map or could tell you the name of some of the roads in Georgia and Alabama,I've been there and could drive it again,maybe somebody like LAA knows the names of the roads through there,but.......Depending on which end you want to start on,if you start from the south,Gadsdon Alabama,up through Ft Paine,Mentone,over in to Georgia. By the way,just south of Mentone,follow the sign to Desoto Falls. It's quite a sight,but pretty much unknown. A big double water fall, One dumping down to another one. But then east to the Georgia line and north across Lookout Mountain to Chattanooga. Then hop on US 127 and head north. Up through Dunlap Tennessee,the Sequatchie Valley,Crossville,Jamestown,Pall Mall,hometown of Sgt York,up to Albany Kentucky. If you want to take a little side trip from there go east toward Somerset Ky and go to Cumberland Falls,up to Renfro Valley for the Barn Dance show and a tour of Rock Castle County.
I'd head back over west then. You can head north on 127 again back over by Albany and go across the dam at Lake Cumberland and head north for a beautiful drive up through Liberty. If you want to take a cave tour and want to actually see some formations head west from Danville over through Campbellsville to Horse Cave. Just northwest of town there's a small privately owned Australian themed zoo with a cave tour included in the admission. It's a neat little place. The Cave tour is great.
If I was driving,those are the places I'd take you. I think you'd be pretty impressed.
When you pass through Clark Range Tennessee on 127,give Lee Little a holler. Heck of a nice guy. You'll be glad you did.

Boy,shaking my head here. To each his own I guess,but once was enough over there for me. The only way you'd get me back to that over priced tourist trap would be if you killed me and dragged my lifeless body. We spent four hours on a Sunday moving up through three traffic lights. I made the mistake of mentioning it to a local. He about turned purple and said "How do you think we feel?!! We have to live here!".

Sevierville,Pigeon Forge, Gatlinburg TN area!
There is something that should interest everyone in that area. Just don't go at peak tourist times.
We were there on black Friday last year. Traffic was insane. Saturday traffic was not a problem whatsoever. We had a very enjoyable time. By Sunday it was a ghost town.

There's all kinds of touristy and entertainment stuff, or if that's not your thing there's an aviation museum, muscle car museum, national park, and many great restaurants. There are numerous hiking trails in the park. Or just driving through the park is nice. There is some beautiful scenery there.
If you're into racing there's a dirt track and a drag strip in Seymour which is nearby.

Check with the Chamber Of Commerce in Pigeon Forge. They might have a tractor show.

I highly recommend the Log Cabin for breakfast, and the Peddler for the best steak you'll ever have for supper. There's an old fashioned soda fountain out in the arts and crafts area in the hills that is worth the drive.
Get some local maps and you'll be able to avoid much of the tourist traffic by taking a few alternate routes away from the main tourist area.

(quoted from post at 14:34:37 04/25/14) Boy,shaking my head here. To each his own I guess,but once was enough over there for me. The only way you'd get me back to that over priced tourist trap would be if you killed me and dragged my lifeless body. We spent four hours on a Sunday moving up through three traffic lights. I made the mistake of mentioning it to a local. He about turned purple and said "How do you think we feel?!! We have to live here!".

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We had a family reunion there at the end of September last year. We were there 4 or 5 days. The only day traffic was an issue was on Saturday.

My wife and I were there again after Thanksgiving. Traffic was terrible on (black)Friday, but it's that way many places that day. Saturday it wasn't an issue at all.
The main highway through Sevierville was under construction so traffic was a little slow there, but if you know your way around you can bi-pass some of it.

We had been to Sevierville several times but not to Pigeon Forge or Gatlinburg until last fall. We'll return but not on black Friday or peak tourist holidays.

A drive thru the Blue Ridge Mountains would be my choice.

I agree about the traffic in those areas rrlund. However here I am heading down there tomorrow for a weeks vacation at a condo in Sevierville. So I guess I"ll see how bad the traffic is this time of year. We plan to stay off the main routes this time and use alternate back roads to get where we are going.Can"t always do that,..but we will do the best we can. Gonna hike in the National Park,maybe do white water rafting and a shortened Zip line. All depends on the weather. Wish us luck on that one.

I found a link to that map I was looking for. It's Lookout Mountain Parkway. Beautiful drive. When you get to Chatanooga be sure to stop in and see Ruby Falls. The Incline Railway is right there too if you have more guts than I have and can get on it.
The view from Signal Mountain just north of town is something else too.
Lookout Mountain Parkway

i have some property near mountain home arkansas. real pretty county down there. the south end of lake northfork has a dam with a hydro power plant, and has a state trout hatchery there open for tours. pretty neat!! also, i have always wanted to drive down by little rock to crater of diamonds state park. its an open to the public state park where the only diamond mine in the U.S. is. you get to keep what you find. lot of big diamonds have been found there. here is a link
poke here

Be sure and visit the Jack Daniels DistilleryTN Near Winchester.

Well you are going to be over in my parts, Do not have to go all the way to East Tennessee. Lots to do and see in Nashville. As the other poster said good half day at the Jack Daniels place. We live mid way between Nashville and Memphis and lots of two land roads in these parts are pretty drives. A national recreation area called "Land Between the Lakes" South entrance us 79 between Paris & Dover . Not crowed too bad this time of the year. Deer, Elk, Buffalo and more. Country Music Hall of fame in Nashville just re modeled is nice. E-mail is open I can give you all kind of ways to go. I do exactly what you did when I go out west and have really had good luck with the responses received.

When the kids were a bit younger we did a few caves in the area (Tom Sawyer in Hannibal Mo., Mammoth Caves in Kentucky) Land between the lakes on the Kentucky/Tennessee line is nice with a park and battlefield and local history tours dealing with the war, there used to be a coal mine museum in Southern Illinois that was an actual mine. A lot of Elvis stuff in Memphis and some jazz heritage stuff and good BBQ, the Jack Daniels distillery in Southern Tennessee or you can go up to Bardstown Kentucky and tour quite a few distilleries in their immediate area or even do the whole bourbon trail, Kentucky Horse park up near Louisville, Carter Caves in Eastern Kentucky and you can spend a day down in Berea Kentucky going through the College's store and the offshoot businesses in town of the same ilk. Nashville of course has the music attractions, Murfreesboro Tennessee has a big civil war battlefield. If in south east Mo try eating a Lambert's Cafe (Sikeston). Branson Missouri always has a lot of music and shows going on. The Chattanooga Choo Choo in Chattanooga Tennessee and the tow truck museum.

Check out Breaks Interstate Park on Ky/Va border; it"s the largest canyon east of the Mississippi, very pretty and rural. Mark

I want to thank each one of you for the info. We have to make up our mind now on which to do first.I think we will just do a mostly road trip first to see how the wife does. She has a bad leg that bothers her and also in about her fifth year of alzheimers.Thanks you all.