Pigeon Forge Car Shows

There are two weeks of antique and hot rod car shows in Pigeon Forge. The cars line all the parking lots along the main road through town. I did not count cars but they were everywhere. The town was really crowded and traffic was a mess. I found a parking spot and walked a couple blocks to see some cars so here are a few photos. How many of these can you name?

Two Rivers Landing RV Resort

We arrived here the day after Labor Day. The manager called and asked us to start work here early (original start date was November 1st working through April 30th). Our site is free and includes electric, water, sewer, WiFi and cable TV. All sites are concrete. We work three 1/2 day's then off four days. There are four of us here to do the work. So far we have been learning our jobs. Mary is in the office so she has the brain work to handle. I don't need much brain power to do my jobs which are Pool Boy, Janitor and Landscape work. I did not know a thing about pool cleaning and maintenance, now I am an expert. The pool will close soon so I won't be Pool Boy much longer. The weather is in upper 80's this week so outdoor work is more difficult. I hope for cooler weather soon. We will NOT be working here for the summer season!

Directions are I-40 to Exit 407 which is the Smokies exit. Go south for 3.5 miles, cross the French Broad River bridge, turn right at the Smokie Mountains Knife Works. Go to the second stop sign, turn right. You will see the resort along the river bank. This really is a "Resort", unlike many that say they are but fall short. It's spotless everywhere and that's my job to keep it that way. There are 50 sites total so it's not too large. 

Please stop and see us if you are vacationing in the Smokies. We are on site 53. Better yet, if you bring your RV stay here a few days. RV's are restricted to Class A, B, C, 5th wheels and hard sided travel trailers. To popups or tents. We know a lot of friends that make this a favorite area to visit so we hope to see you here even if it's just for a visit. Tennessee and the mountains is our favorite place to be.

Two Rivers Landing RV Resort

My morning Pool Boy duties are here.

Mary in the office.

Lots of RV's coming and going

Plenty of landscaping to keep us busy.

River front sites on the French Broad River.

Johnny's RV wash is here quite often.

Our motorhome. We get the back row since we are staying here free.

Sunsets at Two Rivers

Our Antique Cars

After seeing the Studebaker Museum, I decided to list all the cars we have owned. Some are antiques but of course we don't own them now. Some of the later photos are original but many others I had to locate photos, some are the same colors while others are just the model we owned. I don't believe I missed any but memory can slip. My description of model year may also be off but close to actual.

1964 Nash Rambler. My first car belonged to my parents but I was allowed to drive it to Milan High School school in 1967.

My first real car was a 1967 Pontiac Tempest. I had that car about two years. I bought it with my own money while I worked at the local Mobile Station in Milan, Indiana.

1967 Mustang. I should have stored it somewhere but who knew then? I had added a few engine modifications to the 289 engine. It rumbled and roared quite a bit. Police did not like the loud exhaust. I finally gave up on it, costing me too much money so I bought my first new car after this one.

1971 Ford Torino. Purchased new in 1971. I was working at the GM dealer in Milan Indiana at the time. The owner at the dealership was not happy about it. It was parked right in front of the dealership every day. The only red car I ever owned because red is a target for other drivers. A driver came over the center line and hit me head on a week after I purchased it. It was repaired but the paint never matched well. It was hit a couple more times before I sold it to another mechanic at the GM dealership. His sister drove it and guess what, another accident. I believe every body panel on that car had been replaced. 

1961 Ford Pickup. My first truck,  I had this in 1969 for a short time and sold it for a profit.

1973 Chevrolet C10. Purchased new after the Torino. Our truck was tan, not real great looking.We added a custom shell on it, used as our first "camper". It also pulled our first travel trailer, a 16 foot Intrepid. We made our first vacation trip to South Carolina in it.

1961 Chevrolet, Mary's first car. Purchased used from a friend in Milan.

1973 Chevrolet Vega. Purchased new for my ride while I was a Prudential Insurance agent. OK car but we did not keep it very long. The aluminum engine was not great.

1977 Ford Van. Purchased new in 1977 for $5500.00. Ours was actually solid bright blue. We had it repainted once because the paint that year was very poor. I drove it to many fires in Moores Hill when I was Fire Chief. 

1971 Dodge Dart Swinger. Mary drove this for a while when we lived in Moores Hill. It was a rust bucket but everything worked well. Our young daughter was embarrassed to ride in it since it was rusted all over. We purchased it for $500.00 from a neighbor.

1976 Olds Cutlass. Bought it used from someone near Moores Hill. The engine started hammering a couple weeks later. Bad valve lifters were the problem so we got taken on this one. Bought cheap and sold cheaper.

1973 Chevrolet S10. Bought used in Cincinnati because we needed a pickup truck. We had just moved to Lawrenceburg in 1990. It was a good truck, cost us almost nothing to operate. A fellow I worked with bought it and he drove it for several years.

1983 Ford Grand Victoria. A big boat. We decided we wanted a better car so we purchased this used in Lawrenceburg. It had bad brakes but the dealer made it good after raising hell with them. It turned out to be a good car for a few years.

1993 Chevrolet Astro Van. Purchased new in Lawrenceburg to replace the Ford Grand Victoria. We had it until we sold it in 1999 and purchased the 1999 Ford Explorer.

1984 Explorer. Purchased used with lots of miles on it from a friend. It was a great vehicle and finally sold it to purchase the 1999 Ford Explorer.

1999 Ford Explorer, purchased new in Lawrenceburg. It was an OK vehicle but not as good as the white Explorer.  The V6 engine was a problem. My extended warranty replaced on cracked engine head. The engine always had spark knock unless premium gas was used. Gas prices were rising and we decided to get something smaller.

2003 Pontiac Vibe. My best car ever owned. It was small but very universal. I drove that car to work for 13 years, never costing anything but gas, tires and regular service. We gave this car to my grandson Zach when we retired.

2004 Pontiac Vibe. We liked our 2003 so well that we purchased another one. Mary drove this one and it was silver so we could tell which was hers. We gave this car to my sister when we retired.

2000 Jeep Wrangler stick shift. We purchased this used in 2006 when we purchased our Class C motorhome. It towed behind the motorhome and went everywhere with us. Another good vehicle, never cost us much to operate. We sold it because Mary could not drive the stick shift, then purchased our 2004 Wrangler. Drove it seven years, purchased for $8,000.00 and sold for $8000.00. Wranglers really do hold their value. Can't do that on any other vehicle!

2004 Jeep Wrangler. Purchased used to pull behind our 2012 motorhome. Here it is on a beach in St. Augustine, Florida. Mary drove this one with an automatic. Great vehicle, cost very little to operate. Drove it four years, purchased for $12,500.00 and guess what, sold it for $12,500.00.

2016 Jeep Cherokee. Purchased new last July, now our only vehicle. Tows behind our 2016 Tiffin motorhome. We wanted something more comfortable to drive, more cargo space and better gas mileage. The Wranglers got about 15 MPG, this one gets about 25 local, about 30 on the highway. Not bad for a 4WD vehicle.
Maybe this will be our last car???

RV Hall of Fame

The RV Hall of Fame opened in 1972.  It is located in Elkhart near the I-80 toll road. They have quite a collection of antique campers. The camping gear from early times have the same basic features as the campers made today. Trailers, popup, tent, and motorized were usually hand built. Some early manufacturers are still in business today. The difference today is they build large, expensive RVs with everything you can have in a house.

I took lots of photos and here are a few of them. 

I hope my photos don't exceed my blog storage space.

1915 built in California on the back of a Model T Ford roadster.
An early idea with multiple slide-outs on this vintage model.

1946 Kit Teardrop.
The modern version seen on the road today
looks almost the same as this 1946 version.

Only one built, a 1955 Airstream prototype 

1928 Pierce Arrow Fleetcar.
Only three were built before the 1929 recession.

An early outdoor kitchen, just like modern RV/s with that feature.

You thought this was something new today?
No, It was invented many years ago.

1916 Cozy Camp pop up tent trailer

1932 Gilkie Camp King pop up tent trailer

1955 Ranger crank-up trailer built in California

1969 Pace Arrow first Fleetwood Motorhome.

1937 Hunt Housecar built by movie producer Roy Hunt.

1954 Holiday Rambler Travel Trailer

1967 Winnebago RV. The company started in 1958.

About 1962, a truck camper on a Studebaker pickup truck.

In 1972 I worked at the GM dealer in Milan, Indiana.
This is a 1974 GMC motorhome. The owners son bought one.
I was not a camper at that time but I remember it was a big deal.

1968 Jayco Jayhawk the 40th popup built that started Jayco.

1954 Shasta

1931 Mae West Housecar. She was a movie star in the 1930's.

1931 Tennessee Traveler on a Ford AA chassis