Tri-Circle-D 2,059 Posted September 28, 2011 Report Share Posted September 28, 2011 Hey FWG-I'm enjoying the report.I can't wait to hear how things went with Dolly!TCD Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Lizzy Dorie 777 1 Posted September 28, 2011 Report Share Posted September 28, 2011 I'm enjoying the post. We will be headed to Pigeon Forge to spend our thanksgiving. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
PureTcrazy...rita 380 Posted September 28, 2011 Report Share Posted September 28, 2011 I'm am enjoying following along with you! The "pictures of kitties" is because Carol's (Mouseketab's) work computer has issues with the word "pictures of kitties" Quote Link to post Share on other sites
kampfirekim 260 Posted September 29, 2011 Report Share Posted September 29, 2011 That looks like a scrumptious lunch! Mmmmm.... How great that you got a chance to visit with Liv!! Between Starbuc and You I may have to convince H to camp in the Smokies! Looks like great fun! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Duane 150 Posted September 29, 2011 Report Share Posted September 29, 2011 Hey FWG, if you want to escape the "Myrtle Beach" in the mountains, drive back to Gatlinburg and drive down the main drag and take a left of Airport Rd, I think it is stop light #8. Why they named it Airport Road, I'll never know... But anyway, follow Airport Rd until it ends, and it will put you at the entrance of the Roaring Fork Motor Trail.... If you have ever been to Cades Cove, or heard anyone talk about it, its basically the same, a one way, paved road that takes you on a self guided tour of an old mountain commmunity. In a matter of minutes once you are on the trail, you won't even know that there is a tourist trap town below you.... Stop and the entrance and pick up one of the guide books and head off at your own pace.... If you like to hike, there are several foot trails off of road... Its a good way to get away from it all....Duane Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Starbuc71 162 Posted September 30, 2011 Report Share Posted September 30, 2011 The deal with gatlinburg I tell everyone is you have to experience it at least once and if you choose to visit it again, you have to know where to go (and where to park) It is a tourist trap small town. Ober gatlinburg to me is the biggest tourist trap and we will never go back unless there is snow on the ground. Glad you enjoyed the Smokey mountian Brewery. It's a pretty decent place. You did get lucky to see gatlinburg and Piegon Forge all decked out in fall decor. I don't think it gets any better. Hopefully Dollywood will be all decked out too! Can't wait to hear about your trip to Dollywood and see if you agree with me that it's one of the best hidden secret theme parks. try to ride the mystery mine and let me know how it is. My kids were to small to go on it and I was bummed. Loving the report so far. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Tri-Circle-D 2,059 Posted September 30, 2011 Report Share Posted September 30, 2011 Hmmm.FWG has been MIA for two days now.I think we all know what that means. . .He has run off with Dolly!Fort Wilderness Gal is going to have his hide.Poor FWG.TCD Quote Link to post Share on other sites
DaveInTN 3,247 Posted October 1, 2011 Report Share Posted October 1, 2011 Hmmm.FWG has been MIA for two days now.I think we all know what that means. . .He has run off with Dolly!Fort Wilderness Gal is going to have his hide.Poor FWG.TCDNice going FWG!!! The Magic Kingdom has it's 3 mountains....and Dollywood has TWO! :rofl2: Quote Link to post Share on other sites
YellowXterra 5 Posted October 1, 2011 Report Share Posted October 1, 2011 2 Larger Mtns :) Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ftwildernessguy 778 Posted October 2, 2011 Author Report Share Posted October 2, 2011 I'm home. Sorry my plan to keep daily updates fell apart. I should be finishing this up over the next couple of days. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
MLM5.. aka Judy 97 Posted October 2, 2011 Report Share Posted October 2, 2011 Small hijack... The funniest thing I've ever heard on public television Dolly told Oprah during a interview if she got another face lift she would would have a beard .... LOL Quote Link to post Share on other sites
scooterminnie...paula 20 Posted October 2, 2011 Report Share Posted October 2, 2011 :pc: We have been to Dollywood a couple of times. How did you like it? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ftwildernessguy 778 Posted October 2, 2011 Author Report Share Posted October 2, 2011 Until I have a chance to resume my trip report, here are some photos brought to you thanks to a generous donation from God. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ftwildernessguy 778 Posted October 2, 2011 Author Report Share Posted October 2, 2011 So now let's talk Dollywood. First of all, let me tell you Dolly totally stood me up. She sent her cousin over to meet me. Pictures in a bit. Anyway, first things first. Let me tell you what I didn't like about Dollywood. There isn't much to not like. Okay, the parking lot trams could stand some updating, but maybe an old school bus with the sides peeled off fits in with the overall theme of the place. The other disappointment was my fault and it involved timing. The day we went was the first day of the Gospel singing festival, so most of the music venues were replaced with gospel singers. Not being a big gospel music fan, I was a little disappointed. It apparently is pretty popular among the geriatric set, as the place was full of elderly people who don't seem to know that ropes are put up as a means of crowd control. They kept the security forces busy chasing them around after ducking under ropes prior to opening. Man, some of those old ladies can move with those walkers. I noticed a lot of them had wheels on the front, which increased their speed considerably.So when I got there, Dolly had put out a red carpet for me. You can see it in the corner of this picture. I was somewhat impressed at this point.However, I soon found out Dolly was not there to meet me as promised. She did send her cousin, whose name is Bobby Jo or Billie Jo or something, I can't remember. She was nice enough and sang a couple songs to me.She told me Dolly was sorry and wanted to make it up to me, so she sent me over for a special tour of Dolly's tour bus.I was pretty impressed until I discovered anybody can get a tour of the bus and it isn't even the one she uses now.Anyway, moving on. FWGirl was not feeling up to rides, so the only thing we went on was the train, but it was worth it.Train aficionados will note that this is no narrow gauge, phony gasoline powered toy. This baby is a genuine coal fired antique 2-8-2 standard guage steam locomotive. They even tell you the history of it, which is cool. To sum it up, this thing had pulled troop trains in WW2 and had hauled workers and supplies to construct the AlCan highway. Be ready to brush off the soot and cinders. Well, I am calling it a night. I will continue with Dollywood tomorrow. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ftwildernessguy 778 Posted October 2, 2011 Author Report Share Posted October 2, 2011 I should mention that the bus is a Prevost and has over 600,000 miles on it. It has a range of over 2000 miles between fill ups so it could go between Nashville and LA without stopping. I'm guessing I could drive between Allentown and Fort Wilderness and back on a tank of diesel. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mouseketab.....Carol 1,261 Posted October 2, 2011 Report Share Posted October 2, 2011 Cool pictures!!! The Tennesse mountains are a georgious site to see. God gets it right as always!!!As close as it is, I've never seen Dollywood. One day. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
DaveInTN 3,247 Posted October 3, 2011 Report Share Posted October 3, 2011 I've never seen Dollywood either. Have to fix that someday. Great pics Jim. You had some nice weather for your trip. But it's too bad Dolly stood you up. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ftwildernessguy 778 Posted October 3, 2011 Author Report Share Posted October 3, 2011 Weather was amazing. I have more on Dollywood tomorrow. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ftwildernessguy 778 Posted October 6, 2011 Author Report Share Posted October 6, 2011 Sorry to disappear, but I had to get back into the work mode this week. So here is more on Dollywood.Caught this poor guy on the train ride. Never did find out how it turned out.Dollywood was all decked out for the Fall Festival. They had some really nice decorations.This is a picture of a reconstruction of the cabin Dolly grew up in.The theming of Dollywood is excellent. The smokey mountain theming is consistent throughout. No separate lands, just the same country theming. I liked it. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ftwildernessguy 778 Posted October 6, 2011 Author Report Share Posted October 6, 2011 One of the highlights of Dollywood is called Craftsmen's Valley. Sorry, but I don't have any pictures. It is an area with people doing everything from carving wooden spoons to sand casting iron to dipping candles. They sell the stuff they make there and the prices were pretty reasonable. That is one thing I noticed at Dollywood - everything seemed reasonably priced, even the food. Speaking of food, they have a cinamon bread sold at the grist mill that is absolutely amazing. I think it was about 5 bucks a loaf but it was big and delicious.Dollywood has a thing for bald eagles. They have a rescue going along with some birds that will never be able to be released. In all, there were about 20 bald eagles there, and you could get pretty close to quite a few.To show you how much I mean to Dolly, here are some pictures of signs around the property in my honor.Now I know, a lot of you are saying sure, just another of old FWGuy's delusions. Nonbelievers. I challenge you to find more signs for any other profession at Dollywood. In fact, there was also a door with an ad for a dentist on the glass which I didn't get a picture of.Before I forget, Dollywood offers a discount for military personnel and it is a hefty one. With active or retired military ID, you get a 30% discount. That's right, I said 30%. And they give you a thank you for your service.So the plusses for Dollywood: military discount, cinamon bread, real coal fired steam train, reasonable prices, theming and decorations. The minuses: Dolly needs to upgrade the parking lot trams and meet up with me when she says she will.Oh, here is a picture of Cas Walkers gas station since I didn't have any other place to put it. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
PureTcrazy...rita 380 Posted October 6, 2011 Report Share Posted October 6, 2011 It certainly was a gorgeous time for your trip. Thanks for sharing the pics and the info! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Starbuc71 162 Posted October 8, 2011 Report Share Posted October 8, 2011 great report. As most know, the smokies are our favorite vacation destination and Dollywood is our favorite theme park, (sorry Walt) It's like a whole different world with the hospitality, the cheaper food prices and the attention to detail at the park. At one time a cast member even asked if this was enough ice in our soda and then asked if we would like the wrapper taken off our straw. The best part was for a large coke she said,"That will be $1.50 sir" There are many great campgrounds there. It just depends on what you like either to be close to town and less wooded sites, or off the beaton path and experience the peace and quiet of the smokies. You have me wanting to go back now Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ftwildernessguy 778 Posted October 8, 2011 Author Report Share Posted October 8, 2011 Hope to finish this off tonight. Not many pictures left. Here is one of the trolley stops which was right across the street from our campsite in the campground.For 50 cents, you could take the trolley downtown. At the main trolley terminal, you could transfer to another trolley to Dollywood, the Gatlinburg welcome center, the outlets. It was a really sweet deal, but the only problem was FWGirl was so used to the FW busses that she kept getting on without paying. Good thing I had her back. Anyway, at the trolley station there was a shopping venue which quickly became FWGirls favorite. Several little shops, a grist mill, restaurant. Nice little shopping center and not as touristy as Gatlinburg. It's called the Old Mill shops and is worth visiting. The kitchen store gives out tons of free samples, and I think I may have had dinner there twice. We brought home some pecan honey butter, pumpkin pancake mix, corn chowder soup mix, Carolina barbecue sauce, and a bunch of other stuff. Then the trolley back dropped us off right at our camper. The next day was our last, and we opted to go to the Great Smokey Mountain National Park. This was my favorite part of the trip. I posted some pictures earlier. Here are some of Cades Cove, which is a scenic drive and worth every mile to get to.Here is FWGirl at Laurel Falls.We saw some deer, turkey and a bear. The Great Smokey Mountain black bears spend a lot of time in trees, unlike our bears in PA, and this one was pretty high up in a tree. The greatest hazard was all the idiots that were running around trying to get a picture ignoring moving large objects like my truck. I stopped briefly, looked out the window at the bear, yelled at a jerk who almost ran into my truck in order to get a better camera angle (along with the ranger yelling at him for almost getting killed), and then I moved on. So that was our trip. I have to tell you, the drive down and back was a great part of the trip. From PA, it covers three mountain ranges and some of the greatest scenery the Northeast has to offer. I feel really sorry for the poor slobs who think flying is the only way to go on vacation. They are missing so much. I am pretty sure we will be taking part of this route to FW next fall, not only for the scenery but because we can avoid the ugly stretch of 95 between DC and Richmond. Sorry for how long it took to complete this report. For those of you who know me, you realize this was probably the most involved trip report I have ever done. Thanks for reading! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
PureTcrazy...rita 380 Posted October 8, 2011 Report Share Posted October 8, 2011 Thanks so much for doing your "longest ever trip report!" I have only been up that way one time 15 years ago or so. It is gorgeous! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
DaveInTN 3,247 Posted October 8, 2011 Report Share Posted October 8, 2011 Thanks for posting Jim! That is one of my favorite places to camp...in fact we are heading that way next week. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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