Welcome to TJ'S Woodshop

This page shows some photos from my trip to Judy Gale Roberts place in October 2010 for a advanced intarsia class. While I was there I drove down through Gatlinburg and into the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and up to Newfoundland Gap.  Before I left for home Judy gave me a giant walnut burl.  This thing was so big I had to trim on it with a chainsaw for 20 minutes to make it fit in my truck.

I-40 in East Arkansas

Just crossed the bridge coming into Memphis.

I-40 on the east side of Jackson Tennessee, starting to get in some pretty country.

Some kind of old mini tank.

Getting close to Nashville Tennessee.

I stopped for the night at Cookeville Tennessee. October 5th, just left Cookeville and watching the sunrise.

Made it to Roberts Studio. This picture doesn't even come close to showing how really STEEP her drive way is.

It was too early and she wasn't open yet so I headed on into Pigeon Forge to check into my cabin.  You don't expect to see the Titanic sitting beside the road when you're coming into Pigeon Forges city limits.

Below are a few photos of the A frame cabin I rented from Foothills Campground and RV Park. This was the third time I have stayed there and I am always impressed by how clean, comfortable and inexpensive the cabins are.  
 Here's a link to Foothills website if you ever plan a trip to Pigeon Forge.http://www.foothillsrvparkandcabins.com/

Pulling into the old industrial park where Jefferies Wood Works is located.

The photos below are from inside Jefferies, I love this place! They let you wander around looking at everything and picking what you want. If you find a board that has grain you like on one half but not the other, they will cut off the part you want and sell it to you without making you buy the whole board. Then on top of that, they will cut and plane the board to whatever size you want. Here's their contact information.Jeffries Wood Works Incorporated(865) 573-5876 8807 Valgro Rd, Knoxville, TN 37920

The next evening I headed down through Gatlinburg into the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and up to Newfoundland Gap which is on the border between Tennessee and North Carolina. The link below has some infomation about it. http://www.shannontech.com/ParkVision/GreatSmoky/GreatSmoky3.htmlThe photos below are of the drive in the park once you leave Gatlinburg.

The two photos below were taken at the Newfoundland Gap.

Next morning in Pigeon Forge, a wagon and farm animals made from hay.

A truck load of cool old bikes going through town.

Judys front porch. Beautiful weather and a great place to relax and enjoy lunch.

Just wandering the backroads one evening after class.

There are wild turkeys roaming all over the countryside.

Lunchtime the last day and everyone there was helping get the giant walnut burl Judy gave me ready for the 700 mile trip home.

Saying bye to everyone before heading home. The guy in the white shirt who is laughing is the guy that dented my truck with the bobcat loader while we were loading the burl. He didn't want his photo taken, lol.

Telling Judy bye, I just spent 20 minutes trimming the burl down with a chainsaw to fit in the truck and was soaking wet. She was a good sport and posed for a photo with me, I wouldn't have if I were her, lol.

 If you're interested in taking a class from Judy and I highly recommend it! Here's the link to her website.

http://intarsia.com/ 

Later that day on the way back home.

A billboard for canned tomatoes with giant tomatos hanging down.

Stopped at a rest area, you wouldn't believe how many people came up and asked about the burl.

Back in Arkansas and I can assure you, this is the best way to see eastern Arkansas. At night, doing about 70 MPH.  

I'll probably hear about that last comment from some of my friends over in eastern Arkansas.

Before anyone over there sends me a nasty email, just keep this in mind. We have mountains over on the western side, ya'll dont. Enough said!