I missed you!

This is Dave, the owner of All Decked Out and Smoky Mountain Tower.  I do most of the posts on our blog and on Facebook.

I can't believe that it has been nine days since our last post.  I try to post every four or five days.  But last week, I woke up with a very nasty inner ear problem that really laid me low.  I didn't have any pain, but I couldn't sit up without horrible nausea and dizziness.  Thankfully, I'm doing better - but I'm still not back to normal.

However, I've missed communicating with you about all the things going on in Gatlinburg.  Here we are at the middle of October.  We've heard from our guests that the weather hasn't been the best and the traffic has been really heavy.  We can't do anything about the weather, but we have a couple of traffic hints for you.

Most people seem to come into (and leave from) Gatlinburg through Sevierville and Pigeon Forge.  But here's a map that shows how to travel east to I-40 on Highway 321.  It may be a little out of your way, but you will probably save time.

If you really want to go the normal way, here's an option that will let you skip most of the Sevierville and Pigeon Forge traffic.  On highway 66, right after you past Kroger and Lowes, watch for a left turn on to North Parkway.  Follow this around to Dolly Parton Parkway.  Then turn left on the Parkway and travel east about a mile to Veterans Parkway (TN highway 449).  Turn right on Veterans Parkway and follow it all the way down to the southern part of Pigeon Forge.  It will feed you out on to the Pigeon Forge Parkway just a couple of blocks north of Dixie Stampede - less than a mile north of the southern end of Pigeon Forge.

Just reverse the route if you're leaving Gatlinburg.  This will usually save you a bunch of time ... and frustration.  In fact, you might want to print out this post and put it in your Gatlinburg file.

Oh yeah - the weather.  Accuweather says it's supposed to be really beautiful for almost the next two weeks.  Longer term, it looks like the early part of November could also be really nice.  And we've got a few nights open during this time.  So you might want to think about a last-minute trip.  In fact, if you write to Marcia (Marcia@SmokiesRentDirect.com) and mention this post, she might give you a last-minute discount!  Just sayin.....