"Nature, horses, pancakes, bungee... " a Gatlinburg Travel Page by Darkeyedgirl

--- it's a slice of heaven on earth. Whether you go with a group of friends and rent a chalet for a drunken weekend party, or stay with the family in a hotel on the strip near all the putt-putt, or get away with your lover to a log cabin for "indoor activities", or just escape all by your dang self with a good book & some firewood -- anywhere in Gatty or Pigeon Forge -- there's enough stuff here to keep you busy, or keep you relaxed.

We just got back from spending Spring Break down in Gatlinburg / Pigeon Forge with the kids. I kind of thought maybe it'd be overcrowded... but I was wrong! Just about all the hotels had vacancies, there were hardly any waits at all for the restaurants, and even though there was some updating being done to the streets & sidewalks (long overdue updating), we didn't have to bump into people or get walked on by people bigger than us.

The 'old' Gatlinburg was more Southern-charm friendly; looks like there's more of a Northern flavor to it now. Going to a Mexican restaurant and seeing our waitress was Russian was a tad weird. And at the pancake place, the usual extremely friendly waitress was substituted by the chic who played the Wicked Witch in Oz. The food is still great and all; and well it's still "Gatlinburg", but it looks like the place has succumbed to the pressures of commercialization. People have gotten rude & stuff.

But hey, you can still get an airbrushed T-shirt, you can still eat way too many pancakes, you can still ride the Sky Lift (if you can afford it... tee hee hee) and you can still get through the Nature Trail for FREE.

For now. They do have donation boxes set up now on the Trail... I betcha in a few years, they'll have gates & charge people to drive through there. Ah well.

The pancakes were worth it.

This wasn't the highest place you can bungee from, and it was extremely safe. You're put into a crotch-to-neck harness, they video tape ya while you jump, and everyone on the strip can watch as you flop around! Great view from up there, too.

IMHO: the best part about Gatlinburg is renting a convertible (or, BYOC), and head up that mountain pass... up up and away. Take yer time, drive slow, get out a lot... hike & walk around alot. Whether you're alone, with someone you lust (or love if yer lucky), or with some hyper kids... the nature trail at the end of Airport Road is so, so, so worth it. Nature at it's finest!