Hi. My name is John and I have a parking problem. Well, it’s not so much a parking problem as it is a competition problem. I like to pull into a full parking lot and get the best spot in the lot. I’m also willing to waste a ridiculous amount of time to get it. I say all that to
I’ve been thinking a lot recently about “Jurassic Park”, Michael Crichton’s classic novel that spawned the multi-billion dollar movie franchise. In particular, a certain conversation in the book. The book was written just as the scientific world was taking a serious reappraisal of the fossil record. And of what dinosaurs would have been like. The dinosaurs they’ve created are quick,
I was a teenager when I moved to my adopted home state. And I was full of opinions and inherited attitudes toward mountain people based on stereotypes propagated through the media. And I didn’t want to be from the mountains. In other words, I didn’t want to be … tacky. I’ve spent a lot of time in small mountain communities,
I was on the road in Phoenix, Arizona for the National Championship between the University of Tennessee and Florida State in January of 1999. From lawns made of rock and painted green to picking breakfast off the citrus trees in the backyard, I was a stranger in a strange land. One day, while my friends were otherwise occupied, I asked
How real is the Mountain Monsters show? Let’s Take a Deep Dive The Appalachian Mountains are infamous for their mysterious creature sightings. Children who live around the mountain range, particularly in the Smokies, often grow up telling each other great stories involving ghosts, werewolves and Sasquatch, just to name a few. Since 2013, Travel Channel’s hit reality TV show “Mountain
You could say that Brandon Davis’s life has changed significantly in the past year. And as it is with most things in Brandon’s life and career, it was Destiny that set the wheels in motion. How Destiny intervened Brandon has always loved music. He has been writing songs and playing the guitar since high school. But it was a life-changing
An local’s review of DreamMore, Dollywood’s first Resort When I was in my early 20s, spending more than $1 on a cheeseburger was a splurge. Today, I barely bat an eye when dining at a nice restaurant, ordering a quality steak, and heck, let’s go ahead and order a glass of wine too while we’re at it. So when it
Worrying about weight limits and ride restrictions can be a bit of a buzzkill when it comes to vacation planning. For instance, it’s never a great feeling to spend your hard-earned cash on an attraction only to find out you can’t participate when you get there. Therefore, having a plan is key. And that brings us to Anakeesta – the mountaintop
Gordon Ramsay is easily one of my all-time favorite celebrity chefs. So when I found out he had recently visited the Great Smoky Mountains – my home turf – as part of his latest show, “Gordon Ramsay: Uncharted”, I couldn’t wait to tune in. First things first, “Uncharted” is unlike any of Ramsay’s other cooking shows. Instead of being filmed primarily in a
Gatlinburg was destined for greatness. Sure, it has natural beauty, but that’s not all. There’s Dolly Parton, too. Of course, as a child, I single-handedly attributed the area’s tourism completely to Dolly. There’s surely no doubt that she fulfilled her dreams of both giving job opportunities to locals and offering tourists more reasons to visit the Great Smoky Mountains with