Knoxville, TN
Gatlinburg, TN
When I was a kid growing up in Georgia, my family had sometimes driven pass Knoxville, TN. We never really stopped there but I knew that Knoxville was the site of the World's Fair. It actually was a World's Fair within my lifetime.
Back in 1982, exhibits from all over the world were there showcasing uses of energy as the theme was an energy exposition. It was also were the Rubik's cube was introduced. Constructed on the grounds was a 221 ft tower with a 5 story sphere known as the Sunsphere. It still stands there today and going to the observation deck is free.
Nearby is the Museum of Art (also free) and worth a short 30 to 45 min of your time. Downtown Knoxville is only a few blocks away and there is a free trolley you can take or just walk. Here is a market where food, crafts, arts, souvenirs, and others knick-knacks are sold. For those of you familiar with Portland's Saturday Market, it is very similar.
Further east into Tennessee, is Sevierville. I've never heard of the town, but if you are a Dolly Parton fan, this is the town's main allure. It is also the starting point of the road to the Great Smokey Mountains NP. Dolly's influence is all over this road. I'm surprised they didn't name it Dolly Parton Parkway. You pass up Dollywood amusement park and Dolly Partons Splash ( a water park) in Pigeon Forge. Anyway remember watching a rather cheesy movie with Dolly and Lee Majors called Smokey Mountain Christmas? It was based on a cabin in the Smokey Mountains. Now, I see why. The other notable thing is the number of pancake houses per capita. I believe this road to contain the most pancake houses per capita than anywhere else in the USA. While the history of why all the pancake houses is not really known, B and I believe it to be related to the loggers that use to work here. Lumberjacks and pancakes, makes sense right?
The road finally ends in Gatlinburg. I like to call Gatlinburg, the town like Vegas but without all the casinos. It is overly commercialized. In fact the whole road from Sevierville to Pigeon Forge to Gatlinburg is that way. The three towns boasts that they have over 14000 rooms for people to stay in. It's clear that tourism is the main industry here. There are 5 Ripleys museums here. I think more than any place I've been too. But with 11 million visitors to the Smokey mountains every year, you'd be foolish not to cash in on this cash cow.
The thing we dislike the most is the amount of commercialism literally outside the park entrance. I'm glad the NPS could protect the lands as the Smokeys are worth protecting from commercialism.
Being a Georgia boy myself, I grew up watching the Dukes of Hazzard TV show. Heck, my parents even bought me bed sheets and pillow cases with the Duke Boys and the General Lee on it. So when I found out there was a free museum called Cooter's Place, naturally I had to go. The actor playing Cooter, Ben Jones, owns the museum. There is a small set of memorabilia, his autobiography, and one of the General Lees used in the TV show.
The Smokeys also have a rich history of Moonshiners and stills. In Gatlinburg, you can get lots and lots of free samples of moonshine ranging from 40 proof to 100 proof and pure to flavored moonshine. If you've ever watch the Discovery Channel's show, Moonshiners, you know about the dangers of moonshine from exploding stills to being caught by the po-po. However, the two Moonshine operations (Davy Crocketts and Ole Smoky Moonshine) here are legal and made in reliable copper stills. Sold in mason jars, they retain their country hillbilly origins. 12 samples for free is all you need, trust me! Cost is about $25 for a mason jar full of moonshine.
There is also one brewery in town, tucked away towards the back corner of a small shopping strip. Smokey Mountain Brewery makes great beer. I personally liked their Cherokee Amber.
Gatlinburg is surely a party town at night with its many bars and restaurants, but we didn't partake of this as I wanted to get up early and get into the park for the true reason we came there, to see the park and hike it. We ended up finding a parking spot on a street where there were no parking meters or limits on how long you can park and slept incognito again.
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