We found something other than moonshine to sip in the Smokies
Tuesday, September 4th – Our original intent had been a return to Yellowstone, but Lynne had stomach surgery in July and we thought a change in scope was prudent. Lynne and Jim left Cincinnati around 9:30 under overcast skies. I-75 south through Kentucky was void of delays. Lunch was at a Denny’s Diner in Renfro Valley where we took advantage of the Senior menu – hooray for being older! The interstate was reduced to a single lane three miles south of Jellico from a slide in June. Lynne’s Garmin had us go through Knoxville on I-40 rather than take I-640 around. Construction on Route 66 presented no delays, just a reduction in the speed limit, and we made our way through the myriad tourist traps, shops, go-kart tracks and hotels that give Pigeon Forge its character in decent time. In Gatlinburg, our GPS and the printed directions to our rental cabin did their best to keep us going the wrong way but we eventually did find New Outlook, our cabin on Colt Lane.
The cabin had a hot tub and rocking chairs on the deck with a view of the misty mountains across the valley. Rain started falling shortly after we arrived and continued steadily for the rest of the afternoon. As evening came on, the rain finally relented and we drove into town to eat. The first place we tried turned out to not be a restaurant – it was actually a moonshine shop. The second place was a bar where the atmosphere struck us as more crude and noisy than boisterous and fun. Third time was the charm and we ate at Blaine’s Grill and Bar where the food was good, the service was prompt and the background noise at a pleasant level. After dinner we drove to Foodland and stocked up on groceries. Rain began falling once again as we pulled into the cabin’s driveway.
Wednesday, September 5th – We both woke up way too early, and were out in the living room playing around on our electronic devices not much past 4:00. Both of us eventually managed to get back to sleep but our morning start was fairly late as a result. We drove to Cades Cove and took the loop road through. We saw wild turkeys, one deer and some horses. The most abundant species was drivers who paid no attention to the signs encouraging them to use pull-offs and let traffic go past.
The GPS in Lynne’s Accord had us leave the park and return to the cabin via Wears Valley Road and Pigeon Forge. After lunch at the cabin it was a lazy remainder of the afternoon napping, gaming and trying to figure out the controls for the hot tub. Just as we decided to leave for dinner the rain began to fall. We drove out 321 and Glades Road through the Arts and Crafts Community and ate dinner at the Fox and Parrot English Pub. The washed-out gravel drive and rustic building dampened our enthusiasm a bit but the atmosphere was fun and very British, the food superb and Lynne made a new BFF, a Yorkie named Callie. Callie was an old dog, blind in one eye and deaf, so she managed to cadge a bit of sympathy corned beef from Lynne. The rain was falling again as we made our way back to the cabin.
Thursday, September 6th – Another night of poor sleep resulted in another late start to our day. Since breakfast out was a casualty, we opted for lunch out at the Wild Plum Tea Room on Buckhorn. The cozy little restaurant enjoys a sterling reputation which we decided was well-earned. A woman at a table behind us summed it up nicely – “I just want to fold this place up and take it home.”
On the way back to the cabin we missed a turn, spent some quality time viewing the sites most tourists miss, and ended up on Boogertown Road. Rather than end up in Boogertown however, we found ourselves in Pigeon Forge. Spent a lazy afternoon at the cabin and ate leftovers for dinner. The Bearcats’ opening game of the football season was on national television so we stayed in and watched the game. It was a blowout win for the Bearcats.
Friday, September 7th – Finally we got a decent night’s sleep and were able to get out for breakfast, eating at Flapjack’s on the north side of town. We had to call maintenance about a plumbing problem in the cabin so we spent the rest of the morning there. After lunch we drove out 321 and along sundry small roads chosen by our GPS to I-40, taking it into North Carolina. We felt a little strange driving that stretch in the afternoon as we always pass through in the morning on our biannual trips to Florida. At Maggie Valley we exited and drove to Cataloochee Valley. A few miles involved a narrow, winding unpaved road.
The elk in Cataloochee are generally best seen in the morning and evening. True to form, we did not see any in the afternoon, but did see several wild turkeys. There was a wedding going on at one of the churches in the valley and we looked through the Caldwell House. On our way back we started up the unpaved road back to Cosby since it looked nicer than the road we came in on. After two miles, we took advantage of the first wide spot in the road to turn around and go back the way we came. Rather than I-40, we drove through Maggie Valley and took the Blue Ridge Parkway. The Parkway was full of bicyclists and motorcyclists.
The Blue Ridge Parkway terminated at the Newfound Gap Road. We took that north through the park, stopping at Newfound Gap for the view and to see the southern start of the Appalachian Trail. Traffic was thick and slow descending on the Tennessee side of the gap. We took the bypass around Gatlinburg planning on hitting the Old Mill in Pigeon Forge for dinner. Pigeon Forge was hosting a huge hot rod exposition and car sale that had the main street almost impassable. Lynne worked her way down side streets only to find the Old Mill had a line out the door. We worked our way back to Gatlinburg and ate at Bennett’s Pit Bar-B-Que based on their having a parking lot with available spaces. Two of the spaces had recharge stations for electric vehicles. After dinner we made our way to Walgreens so Lynne could pick up a prescription, only to find the pharmacy closed for the day. We returned to the cabin tired and elk-less.
Saturday, September 8th – Rain pretty much all day. We lounged around the cabin most of the morning, finally getting to Walgreens a bit before lunch time. The Wild Plum had impressed us so much we returned for lunch to find no parking in their lot and several cars in their overflow lot down the road, but decided to try them anyway and only had a short wait before we were seated. The food was again superb and the tea, although cloudier than our previous visit, still delicious. We returned to the cabin, listened to the rain, and ate in. The hot tub had turned itself off and was tepid in the afternoon. By evening, with its heater again working, it was too hot to stay in for more than a few minutes at a time but certainly removed all the aches from weary bones. The rain, apparently not meteorologically astute, continued to fall even as the Weather Channel told us it had all moved out of our area and we were under partly cloudy skies
Sunday, September 9th – The day started just as clear and sunny as the previous had been gray and rainy. In the morning we took a drive on the Roaring Fork Motor Nature Trail to enjoy the lush forest. Our wildlife experience was limited to a few crows and a bold squirrel who darted across the road in front of us without so much as a glance in our direction. After lunch at the cabin we drove downtown and took the tramway to Ober Gatlinburg. Dorothy, our tram operator, livened the trip up with humorous observations about the activities of the people in the cabins and chalets (French for “houses without curtains”) that were visible from above.
Once up at the Ober Gatlinburg resort, we visited the Wildlife Encounter. The star attractions were the 8 month old black bear cubs Holly and Chief. Their mother and a pair of males made up the rest of the bear contingent. The otters weren’t around but we were treated to the hooting of an owl in the exhibit of native species.
We then took the chairlift up to the summit of Mount Harrison. The sun was in our eyes on the way up and the lift kept stopping but we eventually arrived at the top for views of Mount Leconte, Clingman’s Dome, Newfound Gap, and had Gatlinburg spread out beneath us. The descent was more pleasant with the sun at our backs and only a couple of stoppages. Jim took the lift back up and came down the mountain on an alpine slide.
We took the tram back down to the station, hopped in the car, and drove up to Pigeon Forge. This time we got to the Old Mill early enough to be seated promptly. Lynne’s spareribs and sauerkraut covered the entire plate and were piled a good six inches high, and Jim’s meat loaf looked like it was half the pan. Our leftovers filled a grocery bag so our dining for the next day was set.
Monday, September 10th – Pancake Pantry for breakfast. We made the mistake of paying with a $20 at the lot and the automated system gave us $13 back – all in quarters. Next up, souvenir shopping at The Village, hitting the fudge shop, pet accessories, and the candle shop but finding nothing of interest in the Christmas or Celtic shops. Lynne wanted to find a cabin she had stayed in with her mother and sister so we drove up Ski Mountain Road. After a few false starts she finally spotted it by its driveway – about the shortest and steepest we’d seen yet. Back at the cabin it was clean up day – laundry, dishes, and leftovers for dinner.
Tuesday, September 11th – No rush to go, but we were packed and out the door well before 8:00. First stop was breakfast at the Log Cabin Pancake House on Old Airport Road. The first song we heard when we sat down was Vince Gill’s “One More Last Chance”. Traffic was very light heading out of Gatlinburg. We took Veterans Parkway to bypass most of Pigeon Forge, cutting back to 66 and catching I-40 to I-640 to I-75. Lunch was at Frisch’s in Georgetown and then an uninterrupted final stretch, arriving back home just after 2:00.
Milestones on this trip: Bear cubs.
States and provinces we visited: Kentucky, Tennessee, North Carolina.
Capital cities we saw: None
