The Smokies

August 13-14, 2010

After our brief stint in Knoxville getting a new tire put on the car, we finally made it down to the Smoky Mountains.   As you leave the highway, you have to travel about 20 miles south to the National Park.  You pass through three towns along the way: Sevierville, Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg.  We had never been there, but had heard about it from so many different people I wasn't sure what to expect. 

Sevierville was the first city.  It was basically a small city that advertised for Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg.  Billboards lined the streets informing you of what was to come. 

Pigeon Forge was next. Wow. I've never seen such a place. It was one long continuous road filled with colorful strip malls, go carts, mini-golf and pancake houses.  We quickly coined it "Kid Vegas" or "K-gas" to Trey.  It was the most fake city and the biggest tourist trap ever.  Any experience or activity a child could dream up was there.  Zip lines, indoor skydiving, museums and shops were everywhere you looked.  Dollywood is also in Pigeon Forge, though it was off the main drag so we didn't see it for ourselves.  I was very glad we weren't staying in Pigeon Forge.  You were far removed from the mountains and peace of the park.  It was crazy so we drove straight though, even though we had a chorus of children 'oohing and ahhing' in the backseat about all the fun that could be had there.

We finally made it to Gatlinburg as the sun was setting.  We had hoped to arrive a few hours earlier, but our time in Knoxville getting the tire replaced set us back a bit.  Gatlinburg is 5 miles south from Pigeon Forge and is separated by a huge forest of trees.  Gatlinburg is nestled in to the mountain side, just outside the national park entrance.  Yes, it still has that element of a tourist destination, but it is more like a lower end version of park city instead of the glitz and Las Vegas-esque feel that Pigeon Forge had.

Our hotel was the first thing we saw after the Gatlinburg sign.  We checked in, swam, relaxed and then ventured into town late that night for dinner.  The kids were in their PJ's and we were starving. 

Two things we hadn't anticipated: no free standing fast food joints anywhere and absolutely no parking.  It was the last official summer weekend in Tennessee since school was starting the following week.  The streets were jam packed with people and it reminded me of St. George over Sunshine Tournament/Spring Break.  It was nuts.  We drove through the city twice, but couldn't find one place to stop to eat. 

Disappointed we headed back to the hotel to munch on our snacks we had picked up at Wal-mart that morning.  A few went to bed with a growl in their bellies. 

Thank heavens our hotel had a free continental breakfast the next morning.  We filled ourselves up until we couldn't swallow anymore.  Then went miniature golfing at the Ripley's place that was next to the hotel parking lot.  It was so much fun, even though the temperature was over 100 degrees and muggy at 11 AM. 

Just minutes after we walked into the hotel after our round of golf, the skies darkened and the heavens opened.  Sheets of rain pelted the ground and it rained steadily for 20 minutes.  After it cleared we checked out of the hotel and finally made our way to the Smoky Mountains National Park.