Hey disneydad! Thought I'd check in to see what's going on in your thread. I love visiting the mountains of NC and TN. I've never been to Sapphire Valley, but I see that it's close to Highlands, NC which is one place I've been wanting to visit (after seeing some photos someone posted in another forum). We visited the Smokies three years ago and instead of staying in Gatlinburg as we normally do, we decided to stay in Maggie Valley, NC instead. Not as much to do there as in Gatlinburg, but it was nice to escape the TRAFFIC of Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge.

It's also closer to the Blue Ridge Parkway which we drove from Cherokee to Asheville. BEAUTIFUL!!!
Last fall, we visited Big South Fork on the border of TN and KY (north of Knoxville) and Cumberland Falls (we got to see the moonbow over the falls...very cool). Then we drove through Cumberland Gap and through Viriginia to see the fall color along the Mount Rogers Scenic Byway (the closest place where the colors were at their peak at that time--early October) and also visited a great historic town--Abingdon, VA.
We're planning to head back to the mountains this fall but haven't decided where to go yet. We've visited Helen, GA a couple of times in the last few years and enjoyed it, but I always like to discover new places (within a few hours of Birmingham) that we've never been to before. Any suggestions?
And Chattanooga ROCKS (this message brought to you by Rock City...LOL)!