Editorial

cast from mountain monsters

Is Mountain Monsters Real? What To Know About the Show

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

SingerBrandon Davis

Singer Brandon Davis Spotted in the Smokies in Viral Concert Challenge

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

Is DreamMore Worth It? An Honest Review of Dollywood’s Resort

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

Anakeesta

Is Anakeesta Fat Friendly? A Plus-size Guide to Weight Limits

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

Ripley's, then and now

Gatlinburg Then and Now: How It’s Changed Over the Years (With Photos)

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

Mystery Mine cart at Dollywood

Are Dollywood Rides Fat Friendly? A Plus-size Guide to Coaster Weight Limits

Theme park ride restrictions can be a stressful topic for the plus-size community. It’s never a great feeling to be told that you’re too big to ride. Since we often get the question, “Is Dollywood fat friendly?”, we decided to create this handy dandy guide to give you an idea of what to expect before you arrive at the Dollywood theme park.

Coffee moonshine

Moonshine Coffee Recipe With Ole Smoky

Welcome to part two of our Moonshine Mixin’s series. Last week we were mixing up some tasty moonshine margaritas. This week, we’re going to get a little caffeinated. This is another simple recipe and easy to make with ingredients you probably already have in your kitchen. Quick disclaimer: this recipe will involve a bit more planning ahead than the last recipe

Ziplining at Anakeesta

Best Ziplining in the Great Smoky Mountains: Our Top 9

You haven’t been ziplining if you haven’t been Smoky Mountain ziplining. If you’re visiting East Tennessee or Western North Carolina, definitely consider doing a zipline activity while you’re here. If you’ve never tried it before, it’s a tour in which you’re strapped to an aerial runway with a pulley suspended on a cable, and then you fly through the treetops

Chapel in the Hollow might be No. 2 on our list because it requires just a bit more of a drive to get to it from Gatlinburg – but its No. 1 in our hearts because of the fabulous scenes and photography (photo courtesy of Chapel in the Hollow/Star Noir Studios)

A Look at the 6 Best Wedding Chapels in Gatlinburg, Ranked

Did you know that Gatlinburg, Tenn., is considered the official honeymoon capital of the South? Love is always in the air in Gatlinburg. But for couples looking to wed at one of the many cute mountain chapels, the options can sometimes feel a bit overwhelming. With this in mind, we’ve put together this handy list. It features some of the

Southern sayings

6 Authentic Sayings That Will Make You Sound Like a True Southerner

Southern slang is the pad from which hundreds of middling comedy careers were launched.  Chances are that now – right now – if you wandered into some random comedy club in America you could find some third-rung comedian with a Southern accent, or Larry the Cable Guy, doing their best five minutes about when Southerners say bless your heart, it’s