Hotel Check-In and Road Scholar Orientation/Evening Presentation On Cherokee Tribes

Afternoon: Hotel check-in begins at 4:00 pm. Road Scholar registration will be in the lobby of the resort starting at 4:00 pm. Orientation will be held in conference room at 5:00 pm followed by dinner at 6:00 pm.

Dinner: Dinner will be at the resort.

Evening: A presentation will be on the Cherokee Indians, their homes and exodus. It will include the influence they had on the region and cultures on this new generation.

Lodging: The Ridges Resort & Marina

Meals Included: Dinner

Cherokee County Historical Museum/Appalachian Trail Hike/European Settlers

Note: The Appalachian Trail hike is approximately one mile one way. If a person does not want to go the distance, they may turn around go back to the motor coach or resting area and wait for the group. Trail can have some large rocks and one needs to use caution.

Breakfast: Breakfast hours are 6:30 am - 8:30 am in the lobby of the resort.

Morning: Participants will visit the Cherokee Museum. This is a delightful museum in Murphy, NC. What is even better is the knowledgeable and entertaining guide that will enlighten you as to the history of the area and then will show you all the museum artifacts...a real show. Everyone loves this museum and loves the guide that goes with it.

Lunch: Lunch will be at the hotel restaurant called The Oaks.

Afternoon: Hike a portion of the Appalachian Trail. Approximately 3 hours. If a person is unable to go the distance, they may go a portion of the trail and go back to bus or to the picnic area and wait on the group to return. We have had people to do this before, who wanted to see what the trail looked like. A naturalist will guide the trip and explain the flora and fauna and medicinal uses of the plants.

Dinner: Dinner is at the resort.

Evening: Lecture - The European Settlers

Lodging: The Ridges Resort & Marina

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Cherokee & Great Smoky National Park trip/Cherokee Indians Exit From Georgia/Museum

Breakfast: Breakfast hours are 6:30 am - 8:30 am in the lobby of the resort.

Morning: World renowned for its diversity of plant and animal life, the beauty of its ancient mountains, and the quality of its remnants of Southern Appalachian mountain culture, this is America's most visited national park, the Great Smoky National Park. Great Smoky Mountains National Park preserves a rich cultural tapestry of Southern Appalachian history. The mountains have had a long human history spanning thousands of years-from the prehistoric Paleo Indians to early European settlement in the 1800s to loggers and Civilian Conservation Corps enrollees in the 20th century. Visit the Museum of the Cherokee Indian, an official interpretive site for the National Park Service "Trail of Tears National Historic Trail," authorized by Congress in 1987. The Trail covers more than 2,200 miles of land and water routes in nine states. The museum hopes you will learn who the Cherokee are and why they are still here. Your excellent instructor will be along and will talk to you about this on your motor coach ride to Cherokee.

Lunch: Picnic lunch.

Afternoon: Cherokee & Great Smoky National Park trip. You will return to the hotel by 5:00 pm.

Dinner: Dinner is held at 6:00 PM at the resort.

Evening: Free evening to enjoy on your own. The film "Song Catcher" will be played in your classroom for anyone interested. Set in the Appalachian mountains of 1907, this 2000 movie tells the story of a musicologist who arrives in the mountains to visit her sister who runs a rural school there. She discovers the locals singing the Scottish and Irish folksongs preserved for generations by the seclusion of the area. She ventures into the most isolated areas of the mountains to collect the songs. In this quest, she is enchanted not only by the music but by the local people themselves.

Lodging: The Ridges Resort & Marina

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Breakfast: Breakfast hours are 6:30 am - 8:30 am in the lobby of the resort.

Morning: John C. Campbell Folk School provides experiences in non-competitive learning and community life that are joyful and enlivening. Located in scenic Brasstown, North Carolina, the Folk School offers year-round week long and weekend classes for adults in craft, art, music, dance, cooking, gardening, nature studies, photography and writing. Our group will be greeted by an on-site instructor who will be our guide. It is a 28 minute ride to the folkschool.

Lunch: Lunch is at the resort.

Afternoon: Participants have the afternoon off to rest, fish, meander through the rhododendron garden located 1/4 mile from your hotel or visit the local historic area.

Dinner: Dinner is in the hotel dining room.

Evening: Lecture - Railroads in the Appalachians.

Lodging: The Ridges Resort & Marina

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Breakfast: Breakfast hours are 6:30 am - 8:30 am in the lobby of the resort.

Morning: Enjoy Bluegrass music and Appalachian stories while traveling along the Tennessee and Nantahala Rivers. The historic Trellis Bridge takes you across Fontana Lake and into the beautiful Nantahala Gorge. The Fontana Lake Trestle spans 780 feet and stands 100 feet above the water. Take in magnificent views on the lake. We will take our lunch and eat on the train. You will see beautiful mountains, trees, and flora and fauna. We will depart from Bryson City and end up at the Nantahala Gorge. Our motor coach will pick us up from this point to return to the hotel. The train trip is 3 hours long one way. We will not make the return trip but instead go ahead on our motor coach and enjoy the mountain scenery going home a different way for part of the trip.

Lunch: We will take a box lunch and enjoy it on the train.

Afternoon: Continuation of day trip.

Dinner: Dinner will be at the resort.

Evening: Entertainment is a delight! Your group leader is your entertainment as well. He has made several CD's of Appalachian music and was invited to perform at New York's Carnegie Hall.

Lodging: The Ridges Resort & Marina

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Breakfast: Breakfast hours are 6:30 am - 8:30 am in the lobby of the resort.

Morning: A presentation on Appalachian Folk History will be given by your instructor.

Lunch: Farewells and Departure between 10:30 - 11:00 am. Hotel check-out is 11:00 am.

Meals Included: Breakfast