The brief respite in Tennessee

I am not one to throw vacation photos at you and demand attention..

But remember those old days? The big projector? The highlights reel was so often painful to view, right?

Now we can welcome the Instas and the FB version. Just a click and a like, and forget the rest..

However I must pause to tell you of the week in Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge.. mixed with a few nights on a cold mountain high above the Sevier County, Tennessee...

This is a cool mixture of the Old South, the new South, history, and quite frankly, profiteering off of tourism. It has Dollywood, sure.. but also tons of other attractions that go beyond just the typical ski lift and binoculars. We are talking islands.. ferris wheels.. tons of restaurants.. museums.. And sure, some moonshine thrown in..

We love our history.. so before we move further, here is some:

Pigeon Forge was once part of North Carolina. Settlers first reached the area in 1788, when the area was governed by North Carolina. Pigeon Forge was the site of an iron forge built in 1820 by Isaac Love. His son built the Historic Old Mill in 1830. The other half of Pigeon Forge’s namesake is the passenger pigeon. Although passenger pigeons are now extinct, the community of Pigeon Forge preserves the memory of bygone era that brings to mind the rich diversity of life in the the wilderness frontier that was East Tennessee.

When we saw the police vehicles of Pigeon Forge, we thought a better name would have been "The Pigeon Force." But maybe that name wouldn't command as much respect as it should...

On the other side of the hill, Gatlinburg.. The town was originally known as White Oak Flats. The community was later named after a local businessman named Gatlin. Logging operations in the rich forests of the Smoky Mountains was the principal source of income for the community.

Tennessee was the last state to secede from the Union; however, most residents of Sevier County remained loyal to the Union.

No major historical battles took place in the area, minus a few skirmishes.

Fast forward 156 and what do you have?

A county running on tourism!

There are some reports that the pandemic caused slowdown of business in 2020 when compared to 2019. But being there this year, there was little evidence of a problem.

Hotels were full. Scooter were lubed and ready.

Restaurants had hours' long waits.

All of this with news that a rider was ejected and hurt after being thrown off the Gatlinburg Mountain Coaster. It didn't seem to stop anyone!

And just to consider how important tourism is to this area, the U.S. Travel Association reported in 2018, on an average day, Sevier County generated $6,734,119 in tourist spending. Of that money, $1,749,737 went to daily payroll; $193,994 went to local tax revenues; $378,617 was created, on average, $378,617 in state taxes.

At that rate even the bears in the Smoky Mountains are making money for appearances!

The mask mandate in Sevier county became optional during my trek there.. Some places required, others didn't. Strangely Ripley's Believe it Not museum, with most spots being touch-generated, did NOT require masks and had few hand sanitizer stations. Something quite troubling even in non-pandemic times!!

Beyond the oddities of Ripley's, we traversed into the great Aquarium. While pricey, completely worth it.. this time of the year we picked perhaps was enviable as few crowds were joining us.. and the displays of sharks and other sea life was amazing. The part where you travel 'under the sea' was many times better than even the famous Baltimore version..

There were some true glorious sites to behold, of the Smoky Mountains and of the scenery. And bears, too! Yes, bear crossings there are as common as deer crossings in Central Pennsylvania...

One truly amazing site was Tuckaleechee Caverns ..

There is a very cool history to this place, as stated by the official website.

As young boys, W.E. “Bill” Vananda and Harry Myers of Townsend played near the entrance to the caverns and frequently ventured into them. While students at Maryville College in 1949, they got to talking about the feasibility of opening the cave to the public.

When Associated Press Pulitzer Prize Winning columnist Hal Boyle interviewed them about 1960, Myers recalled “We played Tom Sawyer in the main passage as kids. We explored it for three-quarters of a mile, sometimes wriggling on our bellies, and lighting our way with homemade lamps – pop bottles filled with kerosene.”

And over a cup of coffee they decided they would try to turn the cavers into a tourist attraction. Nobody would lend them money. Both were married and had two children. They went to Alaska and labored on construction jobs to raise funds.

After fours years of lonely toil – the two men had carried in hundreds of tons of sand, cement and gravel on their backs to build steps and passageways – they opened the cave in 1953.

The rest was history..

And an amazing experience.

Meanwhile, standing in front of the OJ Simpson getaway car and Ted Bundy's murder VW on wheels is quite bizarre and memorable. This all can take place at the Alcatraz East museum in Pigeon Forge. . .

Strangely enough, I was looking at one particular exhibit of Bernie Madoff when he died in prison this week.. odd feeling.. right?

And yes... there is a Donald Trump store. An entire building dedicated to the former president and his fans' collective hope that he will 'be back' in '24...