spirobulldog

I went a couple of weeks ago with my 13 year old Nephew to Pigeon Forge/Gatlinburg and Smoky Mountains for the weekend. The two main reasons I wanted to go, we ended up not being able to do, so I’ll probably try again next year. I really wanted to hike to Mount Le Conte and spend the night there. I applied for a spot in the lottery last October when they started taking the applications. I opted for three different nights. I never heard from them one way or the other and when I called them in December they seemed surprised that I didn’t get at least an email from them. It was kind of vague response, no care attitude. So, I’m not sure what happened, if I did something wrong or they lost it or what happened. Their website indicated that it didn’t matter if you applied on the internet or called that day on the phone. The lady on the phone said that phone calls get first priority. Next year I will do both.
The other thing I really wanted to do was see the fireflies. This is one of only two places in the world that fireflies all flash in unison at the same time. They are always there the first ten days or so in June(we were there June 4-8). Of course, this year due to the warm weather, they came two weeks early and were gone by the time we got there. So, not sure when would be the best time to go next year. First of June or Last of May-? Not sure I want to battle Memorial Day crowds at the busiest National Park though.

So, we ended doing a Zipline with Climbworks Canopy Co. This was a really good option and we both liked it. I have been zipping once before in Colorado with Soaring Colorado. There are 5 or 6 Zip companies in the Gatlinburg/Pigeon Forge area. Most of them are about $50-$75 for a 3-4 hour excursion. The one we did in Colorado was $400, but that included the train ride and lunch. Plus, it was an all day event. There is no comparing the two really. The one in Colorado is really an experience like no other.The one in Colorado has 25 lines, is super scenic and he doesn't even attach anything to tht trees. Each platform on the trees is stainless steel self supporting unreal structures. Most zip companies just bolt their platforms to the trees. But, for the price we did ride 8 good ziplines and enjoyed it.

We really enjoyed Parrot Mountain. It is expensive for what you get, but consider that all the money goes to the rescued birds they have there and then it doesn’t seem as bad. We fed and held several of the parrots and other many other kinds of birds that I’m not sure what they ever were. Do spend the extra $2 for the juice to feed the enclosed smaller bird area. They land on your head and sortof attack you. You spend a quarter for the seeds to feed the Parrots. Signs on the poles tell you which Parrots to avoid attempting to feed, because they might bite.

My nephew decided he wanted to go Zorbing. Now this is a huge ball, much bigger than I imagined (think 12 feet tall), that they strap you into and then roll you down a 300 yard hill.
Then he decided to try it in the “wet ride”. This ball you aren’t strapped in, but placed in about 10 gallons of water and you just slosh around on your way down. Finally, he did a third run on the hill. This one is a “wet ride” but you are on a hill that bounces you off of fences as you roll side to side on the way down. It has a few curves in the hill, in other words . He loved it, but no way am I getting on it. Oh, the “wet” ride you can ride up to 3 people in. I saw two girls ride together and it looked painful and she lost her top of her bathing suit. I’m sure my 13 year old nephew wished he had gone with them.

We drove Cades Cove in the rain, so it wasn’t that crowded. We had intended on hiking to Abram Falls, but it started raining super hard, so we skipped that one. We did see a lot of turkeys and deer in the 11 mile loop road. We hiked to Grotto Falls, A very nice waterfall that you can go behind. We also hiked to Laurel Falls, which is a nice pretty waterfall.

We drove to Clingman’s Dome and did the short hike up the Tower thingy there. I think the tower is way too touristy for a National Park. This is the third highest point, east of the Mississippi.

Speaking of Touristy places-- Whoa, Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg may have Disney beat. I have never seen so many Pancakes Houses, Candy Stores, Putt Putt Golf, Go Carts in my life. Particularly the pancake places- I would guess there might be 100 of them there.

We ate at Hard Rock Café, since he had never eaten at one. We split a huge appetizer there that was really good. Also tried The Donut Friar for breakfast and it was good. Kilwin’s Ice Cream and candy was a big hit for us too. He had never eaten at a Johnny Rockets so we had burgers there. For some reason, the waitress treated him like he was a 5 year old(he doesn’t really look 13 though), and he just went along with it, hat, smiley face catsup and all. I had never eaten at a Five Guys, so we had burgers there too. Yep, we ate really healthy. Lol The fries and the amount of fries at Five Guys are amazing. We also ate at Old Mill Pottery House, which I thought was disappointing. Lunch at McAlister’s Deli was very good though.

We stayed at Sleep Inn and Suites in Pigeon Forge. A very good if $62 is about the only thing good I would say about it. I think I had rather stay in Pigeon Forge than Gatlinburg. The morning we left it had begun to rain. There was a mass exodus from the place. It had been crowded during our stay, but nothing really unbearable, until we tried to leave. It took us over an hour to leave thru Gatlinburg.

We stopped at Memphis on our way back to Oklahoma to eat at Blues City Café in Memphis. This is one of my all time favorite places to eat. Ribs, tamales, and seafood au gratin dip. My nephew loves ribs, to he liked the place too.

Here is a link to our photos.
http://share.shutterfly.com/action/w...0IatW7FqybsWZr

Dayle

Spiro,

Thanks for this mini trip report! It's fun to hear about different types of trips. This is an area of our country I really am not the least familiar with.

Zorbing sounds like a blast! I think I have to try it right away. Googling now!

spirobulldog

If you do it, purchase the 3 Ride Package. You ride however you want to wet, dry, straight down the hill or on the zig zag hill. My nephew rode down straight dry, then zig zag dry, and the last one was wet. This way you aren't running around in wet clothes for an hour. The wet ride didn't look to rough. The dry ride, you are going to rotate 30 to 40 times. So it's a lot of flipping over.

The Smoky Moutains and Shenandoah are very similar. We don't hike much in Oklahoma, but go about once a month in Arkansas. The Smokys and Shenandoah actual mountains are better, but when Arkansas get rains, their waterfalls are far better than Smokys or Shenandoah. We love the upper portion of the Buffalo National River in Arkanas(usually best experienced January thru mid-May. I think Shenandoah and the Smokys have better fall foliage though.

Dollywood is big in Gatlinburg and there are some shows. It is a little bit like Branson, Missouri-but bigger. However, I think the shows in Branson are far better.

My nephew was going to do the indoor skydiving ride. We watched some people and it looked very disappointing. They don't actually turn you loose, they hold on to you.

gatlinburglover

Great trip report. I loved reading it. You had a wonderful time it sounds like. I love Gatlinburg and The Smokies. I try to go at least 3-4 times a year. I love hiking in the park and doing Cades Coves and Roaring Fork Motor Nature Trail. We went in April and saw a total of 14 Bears. Thankso so much for the report and glad you had a awesome time

spirobulldog

I was a little disappointed to not see any bears. We went to Shenandoah in May and saw only one for maybe 5 seconds there too. It's all a bit of luck with wildlife though in any park.
Have you ever been there over Memorial Day Weekend? That would really be my only oportunity to go next year with my wife and daugher. Plus, I was think of the firefles. I just wonder how crowded it would be? I would know to get up early each day and get with it, to avoid crowds as much as possible.
Have you ever stayed at Le Conte?

ElendilPickle

Fun trip report, spirobulldog! I'm glad to read that zorbing has made it here from New Zealand.

Lee Ann

kansasmom

I'd never heard of zorbing! Sounds like something my kids would like. Thanks for the report.

gatlinburglover

I havent been on Memorial Day weekend before but im sure it is crowded. The Fireflies came early this year and it was towards the end of May. They are usually there the first two weeks of June.But you can still see them around the slopes of the mountains and around the river bottoms. We have stayed at LeConte View hotel/motel/inn a couple of times. It is a older place but very clean and the service was always good. It is right on the parkway so you could walk to most things and not have to worry with parking and you could ride the trolley anywhere you wanted to go for fifty cents.
I agree about getting up early. If you plan on hiking then getting up early would almost guarantee you a good parking spot at the trail heads.

gatlinburglover

This is probably one of the best websites regarding the area. It even list all the restaurants and some with menus so you can get a sneak peek. ENJOY!!!


http://www.discoverthesmokies.com/

spirobulldog

I was referring to the synchronized fireflies. We have regular fireflies where we live. LOL.

Le Conte that I am referring to is the one on top of Mount Le Conte. Le Conte Lodge. The only way to get to it is by hiking to it.

4sharie

We have a friend who went for a week that started with Memorial Day weekend. Bumper to bumper-not-moving-traffic. Monday evening it cleared out and the rest of the week was fine, but he said never again on a holiday.

Weekends in general are very busy. Bumper to bumper on Friday evening getting IN to the area, and then bumper to bumper on Sunday getting OUT of the area. We always time our arrival/departure to avoid the traffic patterns.

So did you hit any of the pancake places? Pancake Pantry seems to be the most famous one, but we recently discovered the Log Cabin Pancake House http://www.logcabinpancakehouse.com/gatlinburg.html It has better food for a LOT better prices. And free parking!

Glad you hit up Donut Friar. It's just donuts, but I still dream about it sometimes. Love their eclairs.

Never heard of the synchronized fireflies in all the years we've been going there! Actually, never heard of a few things you mentioned but we try to stay away from the $$$ tourist stuff as it sure adds up fast for a family.

spirobulldog

I actually don't really care for pancakes that much. But I was blown away but the number of pancake houses. I just wonder how many pancakes they serve there in a day between all of them.

Gatlinburg runs some kind of trolly to Elkmont Campground. During a couple of week period, only campers are allowed to bring their cars in the campground, noone else.
We had reservations for the campground to camp, so I am debating on when to try it for next year, so I can get reservations.

http://www.nps.gov/grsm/naturescience/fireflies.htm

moonininjuly

Pancake Capital of the world? Maybe they are trying to get into their own Guiness world records museum for most pancake houses per square foot! Thanks for the report!

schlegal1

Thanks, spirobulldog, I didn't realize this was the Smoky Mountains from the title. Sounds like this was a pretty successful trip. Did you get to see the synchronous fireflies last year? That's on my life list, too.

spirobulldog

No, missed them both years. I was to early last year. I'm not trying this year, but will likely try in again in 2015.

schlegal1

Good luck next year, then. I am a Virginian and realize I still haven't been to DC for Cherry Blossoms--trying to time a visit for that this year. If only nature would keep to a better schedule!

Also--so glad you had the Parrot Mountain part of your report. Our trip is mostly going to be about the park but that activity is right up our alley.