Old Mill, Big AZ, and Laundry

Saturday, June 15th

Today, we were so tired from the excursions yesterday, that we didn't get moving fast enough to do more sight-seeing of the National Park. It's a long drive into the park for the areas we wanted to see, and it just wasn't feasible to try. That's OK, we had a great time, saw many areas of the park the past two days, and enjoyed it. There is still a lot we can see the next visit!

We finally got moving and headed to the "Old Mill Square" area of Pigeon Forge. In the early 1800's, a water-powered gristmill on the banks of the Little Pigeon River became one of the main hubs of activity in the small mountain community of Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. In those days, the mill faithfully produced the meals and flours that were crucial for the day-to-day existence of the Smokies' early settlers. In fact, The Old Mill even furnished electricity for the town until 1935.

One of The Old Mill's most distinctive features is the giant water wheel that harnesses the flow of the Little Pigeon River. Inside the structure, an antiquated yet reliable system of shafts, belts, and pulleys still gets the job done, working to turn the 4600-pound stones and grain elevators.

Today, The Old Mill is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and just as in the 19th century, it's still one of the most popular places in the Smokies.

We decided to eat at the Old Mill Restaurant. Granted, with our diet, we haven't had chicken-fried steak in a while, but this was to-die-for!

Chicken fried steak (double portion was served), green beans, and mashed potatoes.

The Old Mill outside 

The Old Mill paddle wheel on the Little Pigeon River

After lunch, we did some shopping in the area, but because we had leftovers from lunch we decided to take those back to the Mammoth, then continue on.

After dropping off our items, we headed to WalMart, with the intent to get fuel for the truck and big-tank. We had seen on gas buddy that there was a Murphy's station with the lowest price in town, and we assumed it was at the WalMart. It wasn't, so we located it and headed there. Unfortunately there was no association with WalMart at this station, so no additional fuel discounts, like the Murphy's on WalMart property in our neck of the woods. Oh well, like I said, best price in town at $3.59 a gal.

Because we were using a credit card and the amount of fuel needed exceeded the pay-at-the-pump limit, I went inside to make the transaction. While I was waiting for Tony to pump the fuel, I saw this sandwich.

That's one "BIG AZ" cheeseburger! 

We finished our fueling and went back to WalMart for our needed additional food and other items.

Once we arrived back at the RV Park, Tony went over to see if the laundry machines were available. They only had 2 washers and 2 dryers, and every time we've checked, they were full. He called me to say they were open, so I hoisted some full laundry baskets and headed over. We got our three loads done, and were happy to get it done before we got to Goshen. We then worked on getting things put away and ready to pull out tomorrow, as we head to Kentucky.

Although it wasn't the most glamourous day, we got a lot accomplished!!