We left Asheville and headed Northwest to Pigeon Forge, TN. The drive was spectacular through the Great Smoky Mountains.
Flowering trees lined the roadway.
The Great Smoky Mountains get their name from the smoke-like mist that rises from the upper regions of the mountains. However, it’s not actually smoke – it’s a condensated mist that is trapped and released by the trees and vegetation.
When I was planning our trip the reason I picked Pigeon Forge, TN for a stopover is because it is very close to the entrance to the Great Smoky Mountain National Park.
We had no idea what we would find there. It was the biggest surprise we have had in our travels. We felt like we had been living under a rock in the west to not know what this area was all about.
This was our welcome to Pigeon Forge, TN. We didn't know if we should keep going or turn around and run.
We decided to continue on under the watchful eyes of John Wayne, Elvis Presley, Marilyn Monroe and Charlie Chaplin.
We settled Gypsy II into the nice Creekside RV Park and took a drive from Pigeon Forge to Gatlinburg to see if we could see what this was all about.
Bumper to bumper traffic and the sidewalks filled with people. We found out that annually, about 10 million people visit Pigeon Forge. The town only has around 6,000 residents that live there year-round.
Pigeon Forge, TN has more than ten theaters that host shows from music, to comedy, to acrobatics, to hypnotism, animal shows, and others that seem hard to put into a category. We chose one that doesn't seem to fit a specific category. More on it later.
Country music star Dolly Parton has an amusement park (Dollywood) and a water park (Splash Country) in Pigeon Forge. Plus the roads are lined with bungee jumping, scary rides, kids rides, miniature Nascar race tracks, and the Great Smoky Mountains are right there. It was the end of Spring Break for many so we thought that was why it was so crowded. But, apparently it is like that most of the time.
The dinner show we chose to go to was Dolly Parton's Dixie Stampede. It is a friendly competition between the North and the South. When you get your tickets you choose which side you want to sit on. We chose the North since there wasn't an option for the West.
Before you go into the main arena you are entertained by a group of award winning musicians. They have played with Dolly and many other entertainers and the banjo player has been Nationally recognized.
It is a fun filled show of Americana, horses, music, dancing and even magic.
The North wears the blue and the South the red.
There were lots of precision horse movements.
It was interesting that several of the scenes dropped from the ceiling. The show continues as you have dinner. Applause is recommended to be by stomping your feet.
Dinner is interesting. You are given no untensils. Everything is eaten with the hands. That is why they teach you to applaud by stomping. The menu is cream of vegetable soup (luckily it is in a handled bowl so you can pick it up and drink it), a whole cornish game hen, a generous slice of pork, a baked potato, corn on the cob,a cheesy biscuit and for dessert a turnover. Naturally your drink is in a mason jar. What a fun way to spend an evening even if the South won. Those darn pigs should have run faster!
This is what we came for. We spent a day in The Great Smoky Mountain National Park.
The Great Smoky Mountain is the most visited National Park. We noticed that there is no entrance fee for this park. I wonder if that is part of the reason why. Probably not.............it is gorgeous.
In the high areas the trees are still bare on top but the undergrowth is green.
The scenic roadway passes through tunnels and does a loop over itself in one area where the previous roadway was too steep for some vehicles to climb or descend. Walt got quite a kick out of that.
I absolutely loved all the mountain streams.
This mossy rock lined mountain stream is called Roaring Fork.
I had planned a hike to a waterfall. The hike was 3 miles round trip. The park was really crowded and the parking lot was full. We thought we might be able to park along the road......................it was over 3 miles down the road before there was a place to park. That would have made a 9 mile hike. Nope.....let's just find something else to do.
So we stopped and explored the Ephraim and Minerva Bales farm. The Bales family of parents and nine children lived in this cabin from 1890 to about 1930. It is a double cabin with a passageway between called a "dog trot." The open space in between was cooler in the summer and warm in the winter.
The ground is very rocky so material for building the two chimneys would have been easy. I am impressed that they are still intact after all this time.
The corn crib was quite close to the house.
The hog pen was pretty tiny. We decided they must have only had one or two pigs or they must have been small.
The barn was down the hill a ways close to the creek.
Some of the dry stone stacked walls are still standing.
The farm was close to the creek so they would have had a good supply of water.
Not to mention a perfect place for those 9 children to cool off on a hot summer day.
Further along was a waterfall in a good spot for exploring.
No matter how far I climbed the water kept coming. I chickened out but the man that kept going in front of me didn't last long either and was soon on his way back down.
New to me wildflowers. White trillium. I did see some columbine and violets too.
Back to civilization.........................................Right?
"It is good and right that we should conserve these mountain heights of the old frontier for the benefit of the American people."
President Franklin D. Roosevelt