The peaceful side of the Smokies

Townsend, Tennessee, is about an hour or so south of Knoxville.  It calls itself "the peaceful side of the Smokies" mainly because it's nowhere near the madness that is Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge (where Dollywood is).  It's a collection of houses, businesses, galleries, and craft stores that lie along the Little River along US-321, also known as the Tuckaleechee Road after a band of Cherokees that used to live in the area.  It's a sleepy little place with no real "downtown" to speak of and we enjoyed its peacefulness tremendously.

We spent some time at the Little River Railroad Museum, although we mainly explored the outdoor exhibits because it was incredibly hot and the indoor part had no airconditioning.

but the main attraction was the quietness of it all.  Even Pandora understood.

While we were in Townsend, we visited Cades Cove and Laurel Falls in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.  That's next.