First day at Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg

It was a sheer stroke of luck that we ended up at the Creekside RV Park in Pigeon Forge.  We are definitely in the right place and thrilled with the park we ended up in.  Reserving a site in a huge tourist area can be challenging.  This is summer and thousands of folks have flocked to this area.  At first we tried to make reservations at an RV park in Sevierville.  As we look back we are thankful we didn’t end up there even though that park was just a short distance from where we are now.  The traffic can be horrendous with stop and go for miles.  I think it all depends on where one is heading though.  

Creekside RV Park is ideal.  It’s perfect and it’s clean.  Plus we ended up with a Passport America rate for three of the days we’re here and Good Sam rate after that.  The good part about it is that we didn’t even know they offered the Passport America rate until we actually arrived and after we had made the reservations.  What a deal this park is!

Friday we drove the short distance to Gatlinburg.  We left early to miss the traffic and stopped for breakfast at Flapjack Pancake Cabin.  Many of the restaurants around here are local chains. This is just one of them. The restaurants attract crowds and I’m sure they fill up.   We were up and about early enough that we didn’t have to worry about waiting long to be seated for breakfast.

Gatlinburg is a delight.  The town sits at the base of the Smokey Mountains.  Little shops line both sides of the street.  We visited plenty of them but didn’t walk away with much.  We did stop at a couple of Ripley’s attractions.  The first one was Ripley’s Moving Theater and enjoyed it.  

The Moving Theater reminded us of something Disney might have put on.  You’re strapped in a seat when the 3D theater starts.  The first movie feature starts as if you’re the driver on an ATV avoiding mishaps as you buck along your way.  The second feature has you on an inner tube in the mountains.  You slide down the slopes trying to avoid trees and other things that get in your way.   Snowflakes falling from the ceiling and wind from the sides made you feel like you really were on those slopes.  What fun that was!

The next Ripley attraction we visited was Ripley’s Haunted Adventure.  We hated that.  It has to be the worst haunted house we have ever visited.  The tour guide was rude and insulting and we didn’t find the haunted house very haunted at all.  What a rip off!  Awful!

Moonshine is big business here.  Distilleries are plentiful.  One big one in Gatlinburg offered 20 different varieties of moonshine.  I think if one had a mind to, they could probably taste all they wanted without purchasing much, maybe.  We walked by huge vats of fermenting tubs of moonshine and yeast.  I guess that’s what it was because it definitely smelled like fermenting yeast.

About the biggest snow cone we had ever seen.        --------------------

After leaving Gatlinburg we made our way towards the craft shops that sit in the hills outside of town.   Just about everything from candles to antiques to wood crafts to art can be found.  Terry’s brother ended up with a trunk full of stuff to take back.  We don’t have a place to put much so did a lot of looking and very little buying.

A late lunch or early dinner was spent at Mel’s Diner.  Talk about a typical diner, this place certainly was.  We loved it but so do lots of other folks who visit Pigeon Forge. 

Next on our list of things to do that day was the huge outlet mall.  We figured we needed to walk off our food and did a good job of it at the outlet mall.  Again, Terry’s brother ended up with a few more items to add to the others he had purchased and were in the trunk of his car.

The Titanic Museum is amazing.  It took a little longer than an hour to walk through the museum.  The only thing I didn’t like about the museum was that cameras were not allowed.  Even though I understand why, it doesn’t mean I like it. 

Last on the list of things we did on Friday was the Smokey Mountain Opry.  What can I say about that ….. Amazing!  It wasn’t quite what I expected but it certainly was amazing.  We loved it.  The songs, the acrobats and juggler were without a doubt, excellent.

It was a long, wonderful day.  We got back to our RV park tired and late.    It’s not quite the same at an RV park in the summer as it is in the winter.  In the winter we’re in parks with folks who tend to go to bed before midnight.  That’s not necessarily the case during the summer when kids are out of school and on vacation.

There’s a lot to do and see.  We know we won’t be able to see all the shows, eat at all the restaurants or visit every attraction.  This was a start and we knew Saturday would be another long and busy day.

‘Tis life on the road.