Our first visit to Dandridge was on a rainy day, so we didn’t stop to see a few of the sights along the way. We returned, because we liked what we saw the first time. One of our stops was at Douglas Dam, which is part of the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA). TVA was created in 1933 to provide flood control of the Tennessee River, generate electricity and to boost the economy in the Tennessee Valley, which was greatly affected by the Great Depression. Currently, TVA employs approximately 11,000 workers.

Along with flood control and supplying power, the TVA’s management of the Tennessee River system provides navigation and recreation, as well as a stable water supply to cities and a suitable habitat for fish and game. Before the TVA the Tennessee River frequently flooded entire towns and farms, washing away fertile soil and making for dangerous river navigation.

The TVA’s purpose for building Douglas Dam in 1942 was to furnish the surrounding area with much-needed electric power. Power was supplied to two important World War II industries: aluminum production and the Manhattan Project operation in Oak Ridge, TN. The operation was a nuclear development site that played a leading role in the creation of the atomic bomb. The 202-foot high by 705-foot long dam was completed by 6,220 laborers working around the clock, over a period of 384 days. This was possible because TVA had completed nearby Cherokee Dam a few weeks earlier. Immediate availability of drawings, experienced engineers, construction workers and heavy equipment contributed to the speed with which Douglas Dam was constructed.

The dam can be visited from three levels. The first is the up close and personal lower level. A grassy two-tiered park rises high above the dam. Restrooms and a pavilion are located on the upper level, which makes sense because this is where the best scenes can be viewed.

TVAs Douglas Dam powered the Manhattan Project, a nuclear development site that played a leading role in the creation of the atomic bomb. Photos by Beverly Kehe-Rowland

One of our afternoons in Sevierville was spent playing a favorite dominoes game and then having dinner with my husband’s high school classmate and her husband, who coincidentally were staying a few miles away in Pigeon Forge. Sharon and Chuck reside in Texas but travel in a large motorhome with a pick-up truck in tow for much of the year. This trip happened because of a need for them to oversee the mountainside construction of their daughter and son-in-law’s home. We were invited to ride up the mountain with the Van Tassels to check on the builders a few days later.

The log home had been built in another state, completely disassembled, log by log, and transported to the site on two low boy trailers. Since the building site was on the side of a mountain and had a steep driveway with no room to turn the big rig around, the crane used to lift the logs actually lifted and turned the trailers around. One trailer was set on the other and one of the tractors that had brought them up the mountain, towed them back down. Sometimes behind the scenes happenings can be very interesting.

After we spent the afternoon high up on a mountain near Pigeon Forge, we went to Ripley’s Aquarium of the Smokies in Gatlinburg. This was our second visit to a Ripley’s Aquarium, the first being in Myrtle Beach, SC. This particular location had been voted Best US Aquarium and housed over 10,000 sea creatures made up of more than 350 species. Poisonous frogs, sharks, sting rays and penguins were just a few of the common varieties represented, but there were far more uncommon creatures. Some less common to us were Ornate Cowfish, Plumnose Anemone with their frilly tentacles and the Pot Belly Seahorse, whose males brood between 300-700 young at one time.

The displays gave visitors the impression they were seeing the creatures in their natural habitats. A people-mover carried guests though a winding 100-yard underwater see-thru tunnel through Shark Lagoon. The aquarium had a program set-up where children could spend the night in the tunnel. There were a few hands-on activities for kids and adults. My husband is the information reader. I am more taken with the shapes, colors and expressions, if aquarium dwellers can have expressions.

We don’t consider a trip complete without at least one small world story, such as the time we were on a boat in Glacier National Park and met a NY State Trooper and his wife. They lived in Jamestown and had both recently retired. This trip’s story took place when we attended the church of a lady I met in TJ Maxx in Sevierville. After the evening service, we learned her husband had grown up just 30 minutes from where we live.

Male Pot Belly Seahorses brood 300-700 young at one time, which can take place as many as four times per year. Photo by Beverly Kehe-Rowland

Since internationally acclaimed singer-songwriter-actress Dolly Parton grew up in a one-bedroom log cabin on Locust Ridge Road outside of Sevierville, there were reminders of her in many places. Dollywood Theme Park and Dolly Parton’s Stampede, a dinner attraction set in a 35,000-foot horse arena, are possibly the most popular. A six and one-half-foot tall statue of Dolly with guitar is located on the Sevier County Courthouse lawn.

After our week in Sevierville, we drove toward Nashville, but not by way of four-lane highways. Since we had the time, we traveled the way we most prefer, on the roads that wind in and out of small villages. This enabled us to stop whenever something caught our eye, such as another dam and a tiny, secluded waterfall.

Our next stop was at a supermarket to stock up on a supply of my current obsession of avocados. We made the decision to carry a large umbrella into the store, because the sky had an ominous appearance. At the check-out, we could hear heavy rain hitting the store’s roof. We formulated a plan as we were watching the rain from the bagging area, near the exit door, while holding six avocados, my husband’s iced coffee and a 40-inch diameter nest swing (think very large hula hoop). I was going to get the car while carrying the lone umbrella and my husband would wait with the clumsy gift we had purchased for our grandchildren. Before I made my exit, a somber woman came along stating she had just come from the hairdresser and had no umbrella. Suddenly, my husband was going to sacrifice and walk the woman to her car, while covering her with our umbrella and I was to wait inside with our purchases. Soon a drenched Fred Rowland drove our minivan to the door, I ran out with the bunglesome purchase and a stranger with dry, perfectly-coiffed hair drove away.

To be continued.