Big -- because there were close to 50 campers at Big Meadow Campground in Townsend, Tennessee; little – because they were all tiny trailers! I don’t know the final total, but there were a multitude of TAB’s in every color of the rainbow, a nice representation of TADA’s, two R-PODS, a Shasta, a Scotty, and the Silvermine! We wait for this rally to come around for an entire year, and it is the high spot of the TAB world! Hosted by Sharon Sigmon, this is the 6th year she has gathered the gang together for a celebration in the mountains of Tennessee and North Carolina! At the beginning of the school year Tom applied for two personal days so that we could leave on Wednesday (April 24) right after work. We knew the Big Meadow office would be closed when we arrived after 11:00 p.m., but they graciously told us to just pull over in front of the locked gate and spend the night. It wasn’t the same as boon-docking at a roadside rest or a WalMart, but it had the wonderful advantage of waking up in the morning and being right where we needed to be! Already in place were rows and rows of brightly-colored campers, all decked out in a variety of awnings, tent rooms, and screen houses! Several "Sister on the Fly" friends joined this rally, and I was charmed by the Bookmobile with all her depictions of family and display of favorite books. Thursday morning started out with crafts in the Pavillion; Sharon had cut out wooden signs in made-to-order trailer shapes to be painted and decorated. All she had to do was show us her finished Splash-TAB example and turn us loose with paints and beads! Johanna, in her Tink 'R Pod, had company for a couple nights when friend Gayle came up to see what camping was all about. Here is the cutest picture of the two of them tucked in for the night. Friday morning thirty-eight of us went on a hayride around Cades Cove. The road was newly paved, the truck was cushy with hay and a nice set of springs, and the cove was as lush as I have ever seen it in new spring-green colors, and the weather was perfect. Pork Chop was our driver and tour guide, and what he didn't know about the Cove's history -- he made up! We saw deer and turkey on the 11-mile loop road drive. The trees were in bloom and the roadway creek-crossings were full.
Back at Big Meadow Campground for lunch, a beautiful, sunny afternoon waited to be filled. Tom and I had our new bikes and rode some of the beautiful back roads around the campground and even pedaled the easy ride to the Townsend grocery store. As beautiful and sunny as Friday was . . . . that is how dreary and rainy Saturday was. Small lakes appeared in some campsites causing TABs to be relocated, and elevated boardwalks to be erected. The following photo of Diane seems to have gone viral in the TAB world! This post is getting very long, and there is still a lot to tell about the Blue Ridge Rally. However, I am going to wind it up with some pictures of my BRR peeps: I have been home for 48 hours and have cleaned and repacked the Silvermine . . . . ready to leave out again in 15 hours! Some of the BRR folk have worked their way up to My Old Kentucky Home State Park, and I am heading down tomorrow morning to join up with them! You'll have to come back early next week and read all about it!
1 Comment
Susan
5/1/2013 10:10:47 pm
Loved your blog on the BRR!!
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October 2021
We don’t go camping any more . . . we go ‘streamin’ ! The “SIlvermine and His” is our 2018 25' Airstream Serenity with Salsa interior and front twin beds., and ‘streamin’ is the name we use to describe our adventures. Stream along as we document everything from weekend trips to longer summer excursions and full-blown vacations. You know what they say: if you’re not in an Airstream – you’re just camping!
Tom & Ella Brown |