We finished out our vacation in the Gatlinburg/Pigeon Forge area. We had spent lots of time searching for a cabin. We finally found one that we really liked, in an area where we’d be close to Wear’s Valley and to Pigeon Forge. We found out after trying to book that it had been sold. We then had to find another cabin, this time we didn’t look as hard and settled on one that we thought would be closer to Townsend, but we ended up just a mile or two from Pigeon Forge, which was fine but meant that when we made our trip to Maryville to be with family that it’d take a little longer to get back. The cabin was in a grouping of several others and the location was good for visiting Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge. However, it made for a longer trip to Maryville to hang out with the family.

When you’ve always done mostly the same things it is sometimes hard to find new things. However, with an area like Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge, things change often so we were able to find some new things to do while in the area. I’ve already covered a few of them in this post http://twomoodyjones.com/2022/05/05/next-leg-of-fall-vacation/

We visited Anakeesta for the first time on this trip. We made our reservations ahead of time for our gondola ride. We were in one of the like chair lifts. It was a slow ride, but even slower as we reached the top as they would have to stop to let people off. We finally made it. There are scenic views, souvenir shopping, food places, tree top course, zip lining, rail coaster among other things to do at the top of the mountain. Some are covered in the cost of admission and others you have to pay extra for. We did not do any of the things that we had to pay for, we went early so we didn’t get anything to eat while we were there. We did some shopping, took in the scenic views, did the tree top course and walked up to the top of the tower. To get back down the mountain we opted to ride in the Ridge Rambler Truck. You should visit if you haven’t yet.

For lunch we decided on a place that I had seen on one of the Gatlinburg Facebook pages. It was called Feasters on Teaster. We were probably the only ones there that didn’t have white hair. LOL! It probably had alot to do with the time of day that we went. The food was really good and definitely worth checking out.

On Saturday we had breakfast at our favorite place in Wear’s Valley, Elvira’s. The food is always good and the people are always friendly. It is always one of our go to places whether we are in the mountains or just visiting family in Maryville.

After lunch we headed to Maryville College for the football game with family. Afterwards we grabbed lunch and then went and hung out with family to watch the Alabama vs Tennessee game with them. We stayed until halftime and then it was getting late so we headed back towards our cabin and got there right after the 3rd quarter started.

Sunday it was back to Elvira’s for breakfast, I told you it’s one of our favorites. Then we drove the Foothills Parkway on our way out and we saw 2 turkeys on the side of the road. This trip we saw the most wildlife that we have in the time we’ve been visiting the area.

We stopped in Chattanooga and had lunch at Basecamp and of course we had ice cream from Clumpie’s. You know I can’t go thru the area and not get ice cream. I had buttermilk pumpkin and Jeff had a chocolate shake.

Until next time Smoky Mountains!!