Local offers advice on avoiding crowds during your next Smoky Mountain vacation There was a time when I didn’t mind the crowds in Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge. When you’re young and life sprawls out before you, spending a couple of hours in traffic breathing gas fumes from the out-of-state SUV in front of you isn’t the torture it is later
The fascinating story of the MoonPie and how East Tennessee played a role My first experience with the idea of a MoonPie didn’t involve tasting one. As a youngster who loved music and comedy, I had a Dr. Demento tape of silly songs that I listened to repeatedly with the same reverence I would for the Beatles or the Stones.
Efforts to revive Ghost Town in the Sky left in limbo after tragic death of co-owner In the more than 60 years since it opened, the Western North Carolina theme park known as Ghost Town in the Sky has seen more than its fair share of hardships, challenges and difficulties. There were long-term ramifications of building a theme park atop
Crews will be renovating the 2.3-mile-long entrance from SR 32 to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park Big changes are coming for one of the lesser visited entrances to the Great Smoky Mountain National Park. The Cosby entrance, located off State Road 32, carries visitors up to the Cosby Campground to explore the scenic – and under-visited – Cosby Creek. The
A local shares his biggest mistakes when visiting the National Park It’s easy to take it for granted when the Great Smoky Mountains National Park is in your backyard. I wake up every morning with immense natural beauty as the backdrop. I run up to the mountains on the weekends or summer afternoons and it becomes old hat. It’s easy
Social media revives rumors of feral humans in the Smoky Mountains linked to old cold case Dennis Martin was 6 years old in June of 1969. It was Father’s Day weekend and they hiked near the Tennessee-North Carolina border, a Martin family tradition. William Martin (his father) and Clyde (his grandfather) and the two boys started at Cades Cove and
A local reflects on his least favorite winter-related experiences in the Pigeon Forge area Winter in the Smoky Mountains is split – as it is in the rest of the world, I suppose – into two segments: Pre-holidays and post-holidays. To the naked eye, there might not be much difference as the festive holiday lights stay up throughout the season,
Seven signs that indicate you grew up visiting the Smokies Almost everyone takes pride in the state where they were born and raised, or at least, where they now live. This is probably truer with people who call Tennessee and the Smoky Mountains home. One of a Tennessean’s first childhood memories is a trip to the Great Smoky Mountains. You
A local talks about his favorite area restaurants to visit around Thanksgiving and Christmas in Pigeon Forge, Gatlinburg and Sevierville The holidays have arrived in the mountains – and, technically, everywhere. But the holidays in the mountains come with more than a few traditions. Yes, Sevier County has been a premier holiday shopping location for generations. And, the local governments
A rumored casino may be on its way to Sevierville after Cherokee land purchase Is a casino on its way to the Smoky Mountains of East Tennessee? I wouldn’t bet against it. The Tennessee Smokies are leaving Sevier County and returning to East Knoxville. Thus, a rather prominent piece of real estate is sitting empty in Kodak, on the West