SW USA 2024: The Canadian Coddiwomplers*

  *Coddiwomple: “to travel in a purposeful manner towards a vague destination."  

We spent three weeks at the Twin Creek Campground and beside chores, lazing about, swimming and the fun stuff I've already written about in previous blogs, we also did a few other excursions. 

Roaring Fork Motor Tour

There is an auto “nature” trail called the Roaring Fork trail.  Since I have trouble walking and my walker is not compatible with hiking trails, we opted for this auto tour.

Our first challenge was finding the entrance!  I must say that the maps and instructions provided by the park leave a lot to the imagination.  After cruising the part of the park where we believed the trail started, we finally encountered two wardens who explained that the trail actually begins in Gatlinburg – just turn at the Bubba Gump’s in town!  I realized then that the park extends behind the city and you only discover the boundary when you pass the sign for the park on the roads from Gatlinburg.

An aside:  the city was originally called While Oaks Flats.  The name was changed because a wealthy man named Gatlin somehow owned the post office, which he named Gatlinburg.  I guess if you wanted to get mail it had to be delivered to Gatlinburg not White Oaks Flats.

Roaring Fork was also a farming community until the park was created and they had to leave.  Those that stayed with a special lease until their death (no descendants) found it too difficult to make a living with the new park rules.  They could no longer hunt or fish, cut firewood or farm in the ways they knew.  Many left.

The Old Mill and Clifford rounding a curve in the loop.

Along the loop is a spot called the "Wall of Tears."

Lovely Creeks flowing everywhere in the GSMNP

This is the Alfred Reagan Place.  The home was painted with all the paint colours available at the local store ... yellow, gray (inside) and green (turquoise?).

The drive was very pretty and we had a pretty day for the drive.  We saw historic buildings, waterfalls and a lovely mill.  At the end of the drive, we discovered a rather ramshackle resort with a mill and cabins for rent.  Ely's Place.  In the small shop were lots of local crafts and I choose my Mother’s Day gift from Misty … a mug made by a local potter.

The bee hives are part of the Ely's Resort.

Great Smokey Historic Arts and Crafts Community

There is an 8-mile loop just north of Gatlinburg where many artists and artisans have studios and shops.  We explored it briefly on a rainy Monday and discovered that many places were closed.  One shop owner told us that most people are only there Thursday to Sunday.  So, we went back again on a Thursday.  There is a lot of hype about this community on the Internet – local crafts, workshops, galleries and local cuisine.  I was very excited to explore the area.

I was very disappointed after exploring the area.  Perhaps it was more vital when it began or maybe Covid knocked them all for a loop, I don’t know.  We only found three places where everything for sale was made by the artists, others had souvenirs etc. made overseas or items designed by the artist but made elsewhere and several places were closed.  No one was holding workshops.  One interesting place was making birdhouses and planters out of gourds.

We did find a sandwich shop called Local Heroes that was honouring veterans, police, nurses, EMTs – really anyone who was in public service – with their pictures posted around the place.  We enjoyed our lunch and our conversation with the manager.  She was a local and told us about the difficulty of having the huge corporations buying up land in the area for more resorts and attractions.  There was nowhere for local people to live.  They had trouble getting staff because staff need to live in the area.  The commute was too long from other towns where homes were available.  Places in Gatlinburg, Pigeon Forge and Sevierville were now too expensive and there weren’t any available.  We did not see many residential places in either Gatlinburg or Pigeon Forge.

Pigeon Forge Adventures

Originally a hunting ground for the Cherokee and then a small farming community. The town was named for an iron forge where passenger pigeons used to roost.  In 1860s the first resort was built and now Pigeon Forge is a huge midway.  It is even more of a zoo than Gatlinburg.  There is Dollywood, a huge theme park, a wax museum, so many roller coasters, lots of dinner theatres, and an upside-down building, dinosaurs, numerous “Olde Time Photo” places, and dozens of bumper car places. 

We did indulge in two activities in Pigeon Forge, a Murder Mystery Dinner Theatre and Dolly Parton’s Stampede.

The Murder Mystery was fun, they involved the audience right from the start with puzzles to give you clues.  The food was good – fried chicken.  The play was full of stereotypes, gags and audience participation – sometimes too much participation from a few audience members.  The cast also had a fun time, losing the plot quite often but they were expert ad libbers.

The Dolly Parton's Stampede was set up like Medieval Times.  A huge arena is surrounded by terraces of tables.  You have to choose whether to support the north or the south team and there are various contests and demonstrations throughout the evening.  

We saw trick riding, flame jumping, rope tricks and chuck wagons.  The food here was also good but chicken again.  Chicken is very popular in the south.  Unfortunately, the south team won the day.

Some "Cirque du Soleil Elements" ... Dolly loves Butterflies

The finale of the show was … patriotic ... over the top … I don’t have the words (watch the video).

At the end of our three weeks at Twin Creeks, we were a little sad to leave; but, a new adventure was on the horizon ... Hangin' with the Hanks at Sun Outdoors, Sevierville.

So long for now.

Jerry, Elizabeth, Misty (posthumously), FJ (Flat Jesus), the Guys, Miss Adventure Too and Clifford the Big Red Truck