Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg, TN v. 48

From serenity to sparkle (or glare!).  To get to Smoky Mountain National Park from I 40 near Knoxville, you have to go through Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg.

Pigeon Forge is Dolly Parton's hometown, and there are reminders of her everywhere, in every form you can think of, but especially in big billboards and neon.  There are other attractions, but Dolly is queen and the main street is lit up like the Las Vegas Strip- well almost.

We went to Dolly's Dixie Stampede- and only figured out when we got there that our tickets on the "North" side did not refer to the compass direction of the building.  The "South" side was sold out, and of course, won the competition.  It was a fun show- very reminiscent of "Medieval Times".  In fact, the arena was exactly the same, and the meal, eaten without utensils, was nearly identical.

We also went to Wonderworks.  From the outside and the brochure, it looks like the most "tourist trappy" place around.  The facade is an upside down building, and the "backstory" is strange.  I was reluctant, but the weather was lousy and it is all inside.  This was a pleasant surprise!  There was actual science and physical activity going on in there!  I wonder if they think people wouldn't come if they admitted those things...


There was a section dedicated to space travel, which included an above ground, black lit obstacle course, and monitors that quizzed users on their knowledge- from the cosmonauts to the space shuttle.

There were optical illusions of course, and laser tag, but also a pitching machine where you could strike out or walk your favorite baseball player, a "how fit are you- actual vs. physical age" interactive display.  Even the rides required you to work!

You had to pedal together to go over the top bar :)

Gatlinburg was a traffic nightmare...  Very cute, touristy town.  I think if you stayed there you could probably walk wherever you needed to go except maybe into the national park.  We went to the famous Pancake Pantry- Tennessee's first pancake house since 1960 (really?!).

from www.pancakepantry.com

 We saw over 100 people waiting in line in the cold rain before church.  There were only a few waiting after church, so we had to see and taste what the fuss was all about.  We were not disappointed!

Becca posed next to the big bowl of butter the waitresses serve to their diners! No wrapped little pats here!

We left the area just before Sandy hit the east coast, and it started to snow as we drove southeast and over the mountains.