Tennessee License Plates

We moved here from Texas where, as far as I know, there is only one license plate. At least that is all that I ever remember seeing. You could get personalized plates, but except for the letters and numbers, they all had the same design.

The picture of the new for 2006 Tennessee plate was my first ever posting on this blog. This plate is beautiful. It looks just like the mountains around here....that is until the numbers and letters are added. Then the mountain layers are obscured and you can't tell what the picture is.

However, if you don't like the new standard plate don't dispair. By my count you have up to 116 other choices...not counting personalization of the letters and numbers. There are 13 different plate designs for Club/Groups, 42 for Colleges, 22 for Military, 32 Miscellaneous, 5 for emergency personnel, 2 for the disabled, and finally 1 for the Tennessee Titans. (there are at least 5 for the University of Tennesse Volunteers)

Even though the speciality plates cost more than the standard plates, the extra cost usually goes to support the subject of the plate. For example the extra cost of the Bear Plate on my car goes to support the species and the enhancement of their habitat. Cool!

Nancy's car has the Bluebird Plate. The extra cost for this plate goes for the protection of non-game species.

If you live in Tennessee you can go to this site Tennessee License Plates to view your options.

If you like choices and you like to support some cause through your license plate and your contribution, then this is the state for you. Happy motoring.

2 Days in the Smoky Mountains

Here we are in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park for 2 days of hiking with the Fairfield Glade Hiking Club.

The weather was perfect! It was in the 70's both days and that is about as good as it gets this time of year in the mountains. 34 of us traveled the 90 miles to GSMNP on Thursday morning. The first day, we hiked 5.1 miles on a 3 trail loop.

As you can see in this photo, the streams were running higher than normal due to some recent rain. We had to build log bridges or wade at a couple of spots that we had just stepped over a couple of weeks earlier.



This picture is along the trail the 2nd day. This hike was 6.1 miles long. It was also the combination of 3 different trails. Near the end of the trail at a graveyard near the Great Smoky Mountains Institute at Tremont, Bob Callis gave us a little history lesson about the early part of the century (the last century, not this one).

You might have to click on this last photo to get a better view. This was taken in Cades Cove after the hike. Cades Cove is a flat valley in the heart of the Smokys that at one time was where most to the settlers and farmers lived in these mountains. Today, Cades Cove has an 11 mile driving loop where we have often seen bears and deer. However. the animals in this picture are horses.