Kayak in The Park

In April I was riding in the park on my way to Townsend and I saw many folks in kayaks as I often do in the spring. I stopped by the side of the road to watch these people. They had to portage some of the boats and patiently waited for until everyone was ready before heading downriver. This was just about 2 miles east of Townsend.

It was fun to watch them. The fella in the orange kayak stopped to talk to me about his adventure. They were heading to Townsend and he agreed the water was VERY cold this time of year! But they were wearing a kind of wet suit for kayaking. I was on my motorcycle so he explained it was similar to the rain suits we have for biking. It looked like a real adventure, but I’d have to be much younger to try this anymore!

There are outfitters in Gatlinburg area that will teach you how to kayak and rent you the equipment. Otherwise if you have your own kayak, take it along on vacation and enjoy the water. But be careful out there, rivers and rapids can be dangerous.

http://www.rapidexpeditions.com/smoky_mountain_kayaking.html
http://www.noc.com/whitewater-rafting/pigeon-river/

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Dinner Shows and Movies

I must confess we don’t attend many of the dinner shows in the area, but it’s not because there are limited choices. We aren’t opposed to dinner shows, we just prefer to spend our time in the park during the day and are usually pooped out by the time the sun sets. If you like the nightlife a dinner show or two might be just the ticket to complete your Smoky Mountain vacation.

Comedy Barn (Photo credit: fahrenheit45one)

When you travel to Gatlinburg from the north the advertising starts on the Interstate and continues to bombard you about all the different dinner shows in the Sevierville/Pigeon Forge/Gatlinburg area. Most of them are in Pigeon Forge.

Just a few of the dinner shows that come to mind are Fanny Adams, Comedy Barn, Dixie Stampede, Lumberjack Feud, and the Smith Family something or other. These apparently did the best job of advertising as I remembered them, and I’ve only been to one of them!

Phil (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I’ve been to the Dixie Stampede and can tell you that the setup is similar to Medieval Times, and I think many of the other dinner shows are similar. You are seated around the arena or stage at a table facing the show. The food is prepared en masse and served while the show is taking place. Food at the Dixie Stampede was abundant and good, although I wouldn’t attend just for the food, and the show was very entertaining. It was a fun evening.

Show listings by city:
Sevierville
Pigeon Forge
Gatlinburg

If you are interested in a movie date night you’ll find The Forge Cinemas in Pigeon Forge. There is also a Movie Theater in Sevierville, their schedule can be found at Fandango.com.

Smoky Mountain Area Wineries

We’ll be in Gatlinburg soon for yet another vacation week – and as usual I can’t wait! One of our favorite things to do when we travel is visit local wineries, and of course experience a tasting and hopefully buy a bottle or two of wine.

When people consider vacationing near Smoky Mountain National Park I don’t think the first thing that comes to mind are wineries.But there are a few in the area and we’ve been to two in Gatlinburg.

Smoky Mountain Winery

We visited Smoky Mountain Winery a few years ago and as I remember they didn’t have a lot of wines made from local grapes, which is why we like to visit local wineries. We bought a bottle of wine, but weren’t very impressed so we haven’t been back. You may like it though. Check out what others have to say about Smoky Mountain Winery on Trip Advisor.

Sugarland Cellars

Our favorite winery in Gatlinburg is Sugarland Cellars. They are right downtown, just north of stoplight #10 on the right side. They are new to downtown and have a beautiful new facility where they make the wine, bottle it, offer samplings, and of course sell wine! They also have a large parking lot for guests which is a bonus in downtown Gatlinburg. We’ve been there on every trip we’ve taken since they opened, a tradition I think needs to continue! We will be going again at the end of the month and taking others with us as we’ve done in the past. Should be fun.

There are other wineries in the area to visit, some in Pigeon Forge and Sevierville. We’ve not been to any of those, but probably will venture to some of them in the future.

Gatlinburg Holiday Light Show via Trolley

Gatlinburg Trolley Ride of Lights November 2012 to January 2013

Every year Gatlinburg lights up the night with millions of lights in displays throughout downtown and the surrounding area including Highway 321. There are many different scenes depicted and some even appear to be moving. Kids and adults alike can enjoy the night-time scenery.

Lighted displays

Over the past 23 years Gatlinburg has changed their lights from incandescent to LED resulting in a huge electricity savings, over 95%. The amount of electricity now used to power the lights for 120 days previously powered the lights for only three days!

River Road Covered in Lights

The light show runs every year from early November to the last day of February. You can drive the Gatlinburg area yourself to see the lights. We like to take the Trolley which is available right next to the Ripley’s Aquarium at traffic light #5. This season the Trolley Ride of Lights will run until January 26, 2013. For $5 you can hop on the Trolley and a local resident storyteller will fill you in on the history of Gatlinburg. It is a fun and fascinating ride, and I recommend it!

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Oktoberfest in Gatlinburg

Ober Gatlinburg is a Gatlinburg destination atop a mountain with family activities and a ski hill.  Elevation of the mountain is 2700′ at the base and 3300′ at the top. The mountain and lodge are open year round with all kinds of activities. You can take a tram ride from Main Street Gatlinburg to the lodge at Ober Gatlinburg.  This year Ober Gatlinburg celebrates their 50th anniversary!

In the fall Oktoberfest is the event to see and do at Ober Gatlinburg.  They have free music daily, serve German food and steins of German beer, the men are in lederhosen, there is German music and dancing, accordions  cow bells, and just a fun atmosphere. We’ve been to Oktoberfest the past three years and I am sure we’ll be attending again. The hubby really likes the German food, and the pints of beer aren’t too bad either!

Admission to the lodge is free, but on occasion we had to pay to park, it was about five bucks. And you don’t want to miss the Bavarian Fun Band’s rendition of the beautiful and tranquil song Edelweiss played on cow bells!

Also the view from the lodge is quite spectacular in autumn. Take the tram or drive your car, either way you’ll enjoy what Ober Gatlinburg has to offer once you’re on top of the mountain.

Ober Gatlinburg aerial tramway. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

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Marry me?

I’ve heard that Gatlinburg as a wedding location is second only to Las Vegas.  And I wouldn’t doubt it with the number of chapels in the area.  You see them on the main roads and the back roads.  Some are really fancy, and others are simple little chapels.  Some couples get married on a mountain or in a vacation cabin.

In addition to the number of chapels as proof you can always spot newly-wedded couples by the congratulatory messages painted on their car windows.  Lots of the stores have trinkets and treasures geared to the honeymooners as well.  The local salons cater some of their services to brides and the bridal party.  There is a huge bridal store on the main road into Gatlinburg, and there are even bridal shops where you can rent gowns, tuxes, and whatever else you may need!

One must admit The Smoky Mountains as a wedding venue is beautiful, and what better place to profess your love and begin a lifetime with the one you love than in the mountains?  Need to convince your intended to marry you in the Smoky Mountains?  Perhaps the links below will help.

Gatlinburg Weddings
Jim Eastin Weddings
Start planning your wedding here
Stuff to know about getting married in TN
Wedding Deals

Hiking Map 1941

When we bought Southern Serenity, our Gatlinburg Log Cabin, we wanted to do some redecorating to make the cabin our own.  It was evident a fresh coat of paint and some updated furniture and decorations were in order.

In the loft there was a pair of decorative snow shoes hanging on the wall, but since they were hung on either side of a picture they looked more like tennis rackets!  Here is what the loft looked like before we had our way with it.

Before

I really liked the theme of hiking and wanted to keep that going in the loft.  I had seen large maps of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park all around Gatlinburg that were really cool and interesting, the challenge would be to find a map that was suitable.

I found a map of the park that was very old looking and I loved it!  I bought it and we hung it on the freshly painted wall in the loft next to the snow shoes.  Here is a picture of the guys hanging the map and snow shoes (and being very patient!) on our freshly painted wall.

Almost After…

I often wondered where the original map was from.  It was obvious an old map was used to make this picture of a map.  I could tell it was probably an ‘official’ map as it had topographical markings, the mountain peaks are identified, and there are distances for driving and hiking.  The people in the pictures are dressed in styles from the mid-20th century I thought.  You could also see where the fold lines were in the original.

Then one day while I was trolling the internet I found it – our map!  In fact it is the same EXACT map we have on the wall in the loft at the log cabin!  How do I know this?  On closer examination it looks as though someone took a red marker to a location on the original, and that same red circle can be seen on our map.  This was probably the only copy the government had left to archive.

The first image below is the map I found while trolling the internet (you can also see it at this government website).  The second image is the map hanging in our cabin loft, you can see the red circle in the bottom right of both maps.

Map as found on Wikipedia.com

Our map as seen in the loft

The best part about the map is that we have it hanging in our cabin loft.  This means you can plan your hike in the park while playing pool or Wii and relaxing with adult beverages.  Don’t forget to use one of our hiking sticks for those steep climbs.  Happy hiking!

Sunset on a Mountaintop

Sunset starts

Yesterday was an 85 degree sunny day in Gatlinburg.  I thought it would be a good day to view the sunset from the top of the Smoky Mountains – turns out I was right.  It was breathtaking!

We drove up to Newfound Gap, not sure which direction we’d be viewing, only to discover the primary view at Newfound Gap was east.  So we decided to go to Clingman’s Dome.  This was absolutely the right decision – the views were amazing.  We didn’t even walk up to the viewing tower, we stayed in the parking lot.

Panorama prior to sun setting

There were a few groups of people in the parking lot, mostly there for the photo opportunity.  As the sun dropped lower in the sky and the photographers focused (pun intended) on their shots the chatting and sounds became less and less.  The only sounds came from the young kids and teens in the groups that weren’t using this as a photo op.  It really struck me that most of us were all taking this in and thoroughly enjoying the experience.

Sky gets darker as the sun sets

The change in sky color was just amazing!  I’ve seen many sunsets from beaches and yards and high on hills and this Mountaintop Sunset rates as one of the most beautiful I’ve seen.  To experience this from on top of a mountain and above clouds was fantastic.  And you could feel the temperature drop as the sun dropped.  The parking lot is 6200 feet in elevation, and you could sure notice the lower temperatures compared to the city of Gatlinburg.

This foray to the top of the mountain was well worth the trip.  We will do this again.  Now I will leave you with just the pictures I took as the night progressed – allowing you enjoy the view in your own silence.

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Moonshine in the Smoky Mountains

How much do you know about moonshine in the Smoky Mountains?  Did you know that NASCAR was borne from moonshine runners?  I don’t claim to be either a NASCAR or Moonshine expert, but I’ve read enough about both of them to understand the connection.

Apparently the hills of Tennessee and North Carolina were home to many moonshiners.  The mountains provided a refuge that was difficult for law enforcement to maneuver, but easy for the shiners to navigate to transport their corn whiskey.  As the cops got better at finding and chasing the shiners, the shiners souped up their cars to outrun the law.  Read about Moonshine Runners & Cars for stories right from the runners and their relatives.

So when you visit Gatlinburg make a stop at Ole Smoky Moonshine Distillery in downtown Gatlinburg where you can read all about the history of moon-shining in Tennessee and the surrounding mountains, and have samples of moonshine.  But be sure to bring a designated driver!

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Bears in the Park

American Black Bear (Photo credit: siwild)

Many people talk about the bears they see in and around Smoky Mountain National Park.  Apparently black bears are plentiful in the mountains, but I’ve yet to see one.  We had a bear sighting last summer from people staying in our cabin, Southern Serenity.  But we’ve never seen one there.

If you ask folks in the area where to see bear they’ll tell you Cades Cove is your best bet.  We’ve been there a number of times; early, mid, and late in the day, no bear.  I’ve gone hiking in the park at the crack of dawn hoping to see bear, no such luck.

I’m starting to think it’s one of those things where we are just not seeing them, even though they are there.  Perhaps once we see one we’ll know how to spot them.  There is an organization in the area that rescues, rehabilitates, and releases bears back into the wild.  Appalachian Bear Rescue does good work and helps to educate the public about these fabulous creatures.

The author of this article from USA Today reports seeing bear on his first trip to the park, as well as talking to lots of people who’ve seen lots of bear.  Good for them.  Maybe someday we’ll get lucky and see a bear.  Have you seen a black bear in The Great Smoky Mountains?  Any tips on where or how to spot them?

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