SKP ACRE - Sevierville, TN

The SKP ACRE rally for 2015 was held at the River Plantation RV Park in Sevierville, TN. SKP is an abbreviation for Escapee and ACRE stands for All Chapters Rally East. There were a lot of states east of the Mississippi represented at this event. It was a good one and one that we would really like to come back to. The timing and location of the rally are to attract those who have been "down south" or "out west" for the winter and may be on their way back home to summer haunts. Good plan, good location.

While there we saw many different styles and types of rigs. A lot of the people there were full timers.

This rig caught my eye - a Newmar 5 th Wheel, which they don't happen to make any more.

This one caught Mary's fancy. The coach was big enough for the sewing machines and the trailer just about the right size for all the fabric.

The park was not lacking for wildlife. Besides a pair of Canadian Geese that wandered around quite a bit over in the area of the creek, we had rabbits and ducks.....

This mama duck made her nest in traffic island at park entrance - right in front of the office

Here she is after she hatched her brood....marching them down to the creek and the small pond 

Their first swim

There were a number of classes put on covering various topics of interest to RV'rs. Among them were Jim K and his class on RV Safety

And Sue S's class on photography and taking good pics....

Andrew from Coach-Net (the RV'rs AAA) put on an excellent class.

This was a highly informative class

And then there was the dinners and the fun. One thing we did do - we ate well. Every meal was very good and drew comments and high praise from all.

The breakfast line

 And I couldn't forget about the Happy Hours - although down there they called them Social Hours.

On friday and saturday night we had entertainment. And were they ever good.....

Dr Phil and his partner were regulars on the dance floor

And all too soon, the week was over. The last unofficial event was the Smartweigh program - for those that signed up and paid the fee. Surprisingly there were almost 30 rigs. When I saw that it was Just Jim & Lisa, I volunteered to help. They were very appreciative. We got started at about 7:45 on tuesday morning and finished up just before noon. For me, it was an interesting and rewarding experience.

We had an interested observer to our Smartweigh Program

And finally some final thoughts on our week. Once again it was the people we met. I especially enjoyed talking to Wayne and his wife Loiselle, from Hickory, NC. Wayne has an automotive background so I had an interesting time talking to him about racing, NASCAR, and some of his experiences. Especially enjoyed hearing about his daddy, who was associated with the auto dealership that became Dale Earnhardt Chevrolet. Not to be outdone, his wife asked me if I knew who her neighbor was growing up? Ned Jarrett.

On the last night we had visitors to our site - Herb & Ginger (the Spices) from the Northeast Kingdom of Vt and now full timers on the road. We had a very interesting discussion and for sure made promises to get together next winter in Benson, AZ. before they head to Yuma.

Lastly a couple of pics that should speak for themselves.....

Saw this and wondered where Ellie Mae and Granny were....

This is something we have to do next time

A day earlier and we would have been catching all the traffic exiting the race grounds. This was on the way to Virginia after leaving Sevierville.

I was told that there was in the vicinity of 107 rigs here at the event and just shy of 200 people. We have been told that they have begun making plans to have rally at same location and in about the same time frame next year. If this is true, Mary and I will definitely make an attempt to be here for it. This years was that good.