Howard Johnson Gatlinburg Tn

... color, a few wild turkeys, and several deer grazing in the meadows in Cades Cove.

This is the 75th Anniversary (actually, my birthday, June 15th, was the date!) of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, and Dolly arton was named the Ambassador for the 75th, so we were able to buy a fund-raiser CD written and sung by Dolly especially for the occasion!

We spoke to a park ranger, who discouraged us from taking the drive ...

... Park area.

We arrived at our campground, (a small park right on Walden Creek that managed to squeeze a lot of RV's into very little space), at 1:15. We were horrified, when we turned off of I-40 to head into Pigeon Forge, to see traffic at a standstill as far as we could see. Pigeon Forge (Home of Dollywood) and Gatlinburg have become huge tourist attractions, with miles and miles of T-Shirt Shops, Ripley's Believe it ...

We leave the battlefield and drive to Chattanooga proper to the Terminal Brew Pub. It is fairly new but it in an old terminal station. I believe the waiter said the old Chattanooga hotel but I am not sure. I actually have a beer (a Belgium wheat) and the frufru sandwich (Chicken breast, pear, brie cheese). I also have the sweet potato cheesecake for dessert. It is very good. While we are dining the ...

Hi, everyone,
Just want to say that the Riverstone Lodge in Townsend, Tn. is by far the very best place to stay in The Smoky Mountains. It is the closest Hotel / Lodge to Cades Cove which is just unbeleivable with its mountain views and all the wildlife (deer, black bear, wild turkeys ect...) also well maintained original cabins & churches from the1800's are spread out across the 11 mile journey. Mountains all around you. AHHH. The ...

Yesterday was a pretty relaxed day of driving, minus the extreme sticky southern heat. This stuff the horribly disgusting!!!!! We only made a few stops, one was to get our normal beer and glass, we tried to get one at a few places in Nashville but we struck out a lot. So we stopped in Knoxville and we finally got one. After that our mission was complete. We got back on the road and headed to our destination Pigeon Forge, home of ...

Dear python owners all in the everlades of Forida,
You may think it is okay to realese you beloved python into the ...

... travel five miles on Cades Cove Road with our SUV friends took approximately an hour. To be fair, I did see a bear climbing in a tree, but we've got hiking to do, people. Once we reached the turn off for Parson's Branch Road (an "improved road" according to my Great Smoky Mountains National Park trail and road map), we found a gravel portion of the road. Oh, wait. "Improved" doesn't ...

... a bear cause I was never gonna out run it. But alas, no bear to be seen. I didn't even get a squirrel that day, but I did later, as you will see.
My plan of going back to Gatlinburg after the hike drifted away as the pain in my feet screamed louder in my head than my desire to see another carved bear or jar of blackberry jam, so we headed back to the time share for the night. Tomorrow - the Biltmore.

... back on the road. Played singing games to while away the time.Got to Nashville around 5.30 pm. Very warm evening. Went into Nashville. Raucous bands and few people. Eateries shut at 9pm. Tried on hats and saw General Jackson Showboat (paddlesteamer. ) Ended up going to Student District for San Antonio Taco Co.

I have probably been to Gatlinburg more than any other place in the U.S. It seems like I go there about once a year if not more. I have gone on trips with my family, my friends, my church youth group, my sorority for Spring Break, and even my Girl Scout Troop. It isn't the coolest place in the world but it is close and they have a wide variety of things to do. Since it is in the Smokey Mountains you can do hikes and picnics if you want to be outside ...