Greg’s Truckload Volume 17                                                                                  Hello Truckers, I’m not superstitious, but I think the groundhog in Pennsylvania was right about not being an early spring. I have stayed home with these kids for 2 and a half weeks since winter break. That is nuts. I never missed so much school, even with the epic winter storm 94. Anyway, spring is fighting back. My daffodils are pushing through the snow and will likely flower within a few weeks. They were blooming in the smoky mountains when we were there last week. I had my own mulch complete this time last year, but with all the weather delays, there is a good chance I won’t even put out mulch at my house this year. We will see I may have time to squeeze it in.

Our trip to Smokies was fantastic. With all the rain, area waterfalls were kicking, and river rapids were raging. In fact, with such a strong weather system in place, not only were our phones blowing up with weather alerts for flooding back home, but the winds were so strong that the park shut down the parkway going from Gatlinburg to Cherokee. The higher elevations had gusts over 60 mph, and trees were falling across the road. Staying low and chasing waterfalls was our only choice. The park now has its fee system in place, so keep in mind that when you visit, you’ll need to acquire a parking pass. There are kiosks conveniently located throughout the park, but it’s easiest to just stop at the visitor’s center and get one there.

I was adamant that I would pick up some local stone ground grits at some point during this visit, so we stopped at the old mill in Pigeon Forge, where they use the river’s power to mill all of their grain. While walking back to the car, we passed the Iron Mountain metal craft, a blacksmithing forge where you can make your own knife from a railroad spike. It is operated by Robby Bowman, from the TV series “forged in fire”. He was there that day, so I took my picture with him. Elliot and I pounded hot metal under instructions from staff and eventually had a pretty cool souvenir to bring home. A fun experience that I would recommend if in the area. About a 5-hour drive from Louisville, the Smoky Mountains are a nice long weekend away. I recommend allowing at least 2 full, nontravel days per visit. We make this trip often as the area offers so much to do. I’m hoping that we can make a midweek trip to Cades Cove on the western side of the park this coming summer. A roughly 11-mile one-way scenic loop gets closed to vehicle traffic on Wednesdays. Yes, bikes and hikers only. This has been on my bucket list for a while, and this is possibly the year to do it.

In other news, I mentioned last time that I was putting together a garden plant swap, and it is official that it will be at the beautiful 3rd turn at Oldham Gardens on Saturday, April 12th, from noon to 4. In addition to the swap, we will have a market area for those who are more into purchasing their garden plants. There will be more than just plants, so mark your calendar and come out. Also, the highly anticipated wisteria above the dining tables will likely be in full bloom, fingers crossed, as this event does fluctuate a bit with the weather.

As you probably already know, I have more exciting news because I blasted almost all of my contacts about being in the top 8 of the Kentucky Derby Festival’s best burger contest. I appreciate your support. Please keep the votes rolling, and maybe I’ll make it to the final 4 and get a chance to prepare the brielicious burger on live TV. Till next time, enjoy the great thawing out that we shall experience this week. Keep Truckin!