The South Pacific theme returns for Pirates Voyage’s 8th season in Pigeon Forge Swashbuckling adventure returns to the Pirates Voyage and Dinner & Show for its 8th season in Pigeon Forge. The popular South Pacific show elements that debuted last year will remain in 2026. Pirates is – in my opinion – the best of the massive Pigeon Forge Dinner
Ready to ride into a new season and catch the latest acts? I was pondering the other day about Skeeter – the comedic heart of Dolly Parton’s Stampede dinner show in Pigeon Forge. As the Stampede enters its 39th season, I wonder how many people have had the honor of donning the Tennessee hat and overhauls and earning the right
The best places to check out model railroad displays in the Smokies and beyond You ever wonder about the paths your life could have taken? Had you made a decision or two differently, your life could have ended up in a very different place? There are big ones like what if I hadn’t moved to East Tennessee in high school.
The Rampant Lion: An honest review It’s easy to forget that there’s more to Gatlinburg than the strip. That there’s more to the mountain village than celebrity restaurants and various activities associated with the Ripley’s Believe It or Not enterprise. It’s actually not hard to get off the beaten path in Gatlinburg. When you do, you can frequently discover that
The wonderfully named Savage Gulf State Park is growing If you limit your Tennessee visits to the area around the Smokies, you’re going to miss out on some epic natural beauty. I learned this years ago. I was the sports editor for the Advocate & Democrat in Monroe County. The newspaper served Sweetwater, Madisonville, and Tellico Plains. We didn’t get
A guide to putting winter in the rearview in the mountains After a long, cold – possibly lonely – winter, spring is on the horizon. The prospect of returning to the outdoors without bundling up like an arctic explorer is alluring and enticing. If you’re like me and winter feels chiefly like being grounded for three months, anticipation overflows. I watch
From Arbor Day to Presidents’ Day, we rank the best holidays to spend in the Smokies We don’t think about it much. But for many of us, the big clock of our lives is set to the coming and going of holidays. It started for many of us in school. From Labor Day to Memorial Day, our lives were set
The plan to revive a historic site and beloved state park When Hurricane Helene arrived in the Smokies, it unleashed a torrential hell that claimed dozens of mountain lives. Communities were wiped out because some mountain waterways had been rerouted. It was an unprecedented combination of storm and timing. It hit on the heels of what would have been, under normal
Exploring an internet-driven passion while in the Smokies The truth is that I prefer my crime fiction. Why? Maybe because it’s safer. It could be that after years of working in newspapers, I’ve had enough of the real thing. Or maybe it’s because I have my own True Crime story in my past, and that’s enough for this lifetime. The
Best places to take in celestial wonders in the Smoky Mountains I don’t know that we can fully comprehend the beauty that exists in, above, and below the Smoky Mountains. From the wonders of the cave formations below the mountains, to the natural beauty of the deep greens of summer, the cornucopia of color in the fall, the view of