Tanya
Well Known Member
A trip to Tennessee had been planned for last fall, but instead we executed a cat caper for a long time friend and flew two cats from New Mexico to a place more likely to find adopters. Limited vacation dictated the trip had to be rescheduled. Yes, the kitties did find new homes.
![cat.jpg cat.jpg](https://vansairforce.net/data/attachments/45/45977-7382bb7d7e0d919456519440b288c37d.jpg)
![.5.jpg .5.jpg](https://vansairforce.net/data/attachments/45/45964-76a063e0266af1e28ea49a7fefc6b51e.jpg)
Since said cat caper, there have been numerous comments from Cort about the number of Stein air shirts in my possession. So, what would I do? Embrace the comments, of course, and make it a central theme of the trip. Only Stein Air shirts would grace the suitcase, except for some base layers for warmth.
Day one took us from Austin, TX to meet Roy and Sandy Thoma at their new airpark home at Hensley Airpark in Chuckey, TN. It was a long overdue visit, and I couldn't have been happier to finally make it there. We stopped in Greenville, TN to fill up the fuel tanks.
![1.jpg 1.jpg](https://vansairforce.net/data/attachments/45/45965-e4df877347c8075309d1b332f75f4a09.jpg)
Day two was a tour of the local area thanks to Roy and Sandy. We headed out for a short 20 minute car ride to the trailhead of a beautiful hike up to a waterfall. I'm super jealous that something like that is in their backyard. 22C had a safe place to rest for a few days with one of her Caribbean traveling buddies.
![IMG-7799.jpg IMG-7799.jpg](https://vansairforce.net/data/attachments/45/45967-19d9da5f7b75072e29c00dc9aa4ba277.jpg)
![IMG-7819.jpg IMG-7819.jpg](https://vansairforce.net/data/attachments/45/45968-ce7a1c1d545dca7c9e8227bbbb632331.jpg)
![hangar.jpg hangar.jpg](https://vansairforce.net/data/attachments/45/45966-a2fa2f3bff89050a989d17a557a11491.jpg)
We traveled down to the Great Smoky Mountains after the waterfall hike and woke up on day 3 to start our exploration of the national park. We got great advice from our friends to stay near Townsend instead of Gatlinburg. It made the drive into the park trivial, and beautiful.
![red.jpg red.jpg](https://vansairforce.net/data/attachments/45/45969-053e906ee26f47915ad45970e8f1c1eb.jpg)
Day 4 gave us a picture perfect description of how the mountain range got its name. It was a rainy day, so we decided on a leisurely morning and then headed out to a tourist trap that had been on Cort's list for a while, The Lost Sea. It's the largest underground lake in the US. We enjoyed the walk down to the water through the cave and boat ride more than we anticipated. On the return, Fort Loudon was just a couple miles off the road home, so we took a quick detour. The fort wasn't much to write home about, but the location in the bends of the river was very well worth the detour.
![smoky2.jpg smoky2.jpg](https://vansairforce.net/data/attachments/45/45979-f4cde824a780f510d9b4959961619b4d.jpg)
![smoky4.jpg smoky4.jpg](https://vansairforce.net/data/attachments/45/45994-6f188886a757e2085cbb9b1ea4f61a7b.jpg)
![cat.jpg cat.jpg](https://vansairforce.net/data/attachments/45/45977-7382bb7d7e0d919456519440b288c37d.jpg)
![.5.jpg .5.jpg](https://vansairforce.net/data/attachments/45/45964-76a063e0266af1e28ea49a7fefc6b51e.jpg)
Since said cat caper, there have been numerous comments from Cort about the number of Stein air shirts in my possession. So, what would I do? Embrace the comments, of course, and make it a central theme of the trip. Only Stein Air shirts would grace the suitcase, except for some base layers for warmth.
Day one took us from Austin, TX to meet Roy and Sandy Thoma at their new airpark home at Hensley Airpark in Chuckey, TN. It was a long overdue visit, and I couldn't have been happier to finally make it there. We stopped in Greenville, TN to fill up the fuel tanks.
![1.jpg 1.jpg](https://vansairforce.net/data/attachments/45/45965-e4df877347c8075309d1b332f75f4a09.jpg)
Day two was a tour of the local area thanks to Roy and Sandy. We headed out for a short 20 minute car ride to the trailhead of a beautiful hike up to a waterfall. I'm super jealous that something like that is in their backyard. 22C had a safe place to rest for a few days with one of her Caribbean traveling buddies.
![IMG-7799.jpg IMG-7799.jpg](https://vansairforce.net/data/attachments/45/45967-19d9da5f7b75072e29c00dc9aa4ba277.jpg)
![IMG-7819.jpg IMG-7819.jpg](https://vansairforce.net/data/attachments/45/45968-ce7a1c1d545dca7c9e8227bbbb632331.jpg)
![hangar.jpg hangar.jpg](https://vansairforce.net/data/attachments/45/45966-a2fa2f3bff89050a989d17a557a11491.jpg)
We traveled down to the Great Smoky Mountains after the waterfall hike and woke up on day 3 to start our exploration of the national park. We got great advice from our friends to stay near Townsend instead of Gatlinburg. It made the drive into the park trivial, and beautiful.
![red.jpg red.jpg](https://vansairforce.net/data/attachments/45/45969-053e906ee26f47915ad45970e8f1c1eb.jpg)
Day 4 gave us a picture perfect description of how the mountain range got its name. It was a rainy day, so we decided on a leisurely morning and then headed out to a tourist trap that had been on Cort's list for a while, The Lost Sea. It's the largest underground lake in the US. We enjoyed the walk down to the water through the cave and boat ride more than we anticipated. On the return, Fort Loudon was just a couple miles off the road home, so we took a quick detour. The fort wasn't much to write home about, but the location in the bends of the river was very well worth the detour.
![smoky2.jpg smoky2.jpg](https://vansairforce.net/data/attachments/45/45979-f4cde824a780f510d9b4959961619b4d.jpg)
![smoky4.jpg smoky4.jpg](https://vansairforce.net/data/attachments/45/45994-6f188886a757e2085cbb9b1ea4f61a7b.jpg)
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