Good news and bad news...

First, the bad news:
-There are a lot of really nice folks who would like to spent the New Year's weekend in Gatlinburg. But they have waited until the last minute to start looking for a cabin to rent. We could probably have rented 25 cabins, if we had them to rent. We're still getting inquiries for people who want to arrive tomorrow afternoon! We've done our best to help folks by contacting the other owners in our Yahoo group, by checking literally hundreds of properties for availability, and even by checking for space among the better rental management companies. There's just nothing out there - at any price.

Now, the good news:
-The economy must be improving. We haven't had this many inquiries for a holiday period for over two years. We can all be thankful that folks are beginning to travel more.

But people have become used to being able to contact rental property owners at the last minute and finding open dates. Folks, that is changing. We can remember when Thanksgiving and Christmas would be booked by January 15. We're probably not at that point yet, but it's obvious that you can't wait until the last minute any longer.

Bottom line:
-Don't wait til the last minute, hoping to get a deal. More than likely, you'll save money all right - because you'll be spending your vacation at home!

Happy New Year. We've got great news coming, so please check back soon.

Merry Christmas!

Well, it looks like Smoky Mountain Tower is going to be empty tonight and tomorrow night. That's okay, because we're thankful that guests are coming in on Saturday and we're booked right through New Year's weekend!

I've been saving this picture for Christmas eve:


Yes, that's one of our rhododendron bushes on the driveway at Smoky Mountain Tower - and it's blooming! I took the picture when we were there a couple of weeks ago, so it's probably in full bloom right about now - just in time for Christmas. If you look carefully, you can see the Christmas wreath just above the front door.

Rhododendron bushes are supposed to bloom in the spring - not in the dead of winter. But God controls the seasons, and He decides when and where plants should bloom. So here we are, in the Autumn of our lives. But with God's help, we can still "bloom."

That's our Christmas wish for you - that you will bloom in the light of God's love, which He made known to us some 2,000 years ago when He sent His only Son, Jesus Christ, to earth. Jesus didn't come like everyone expected - as a mighty king. Instead, He came as a baby - unexpectedly, like the blooming bush.

We hope this will be your best Christmas ever. And we have a suggestion for you if you still haven't believed on Jesus Christ as your Savior. Just give in and accept Him, and we can promise you that this will be your best Christmas ever! And if you already know Him as your Lord and Savior, like we do, we trust that this will be the Christmas when you let your life bloom for Him - wherever and whenever He chooses.

Merry Christmas!

Dave and Phyllis

Decorated for Christmas

Do you ever feel like you're "all dressed up with no place to go?" Then you know how Smoky Mountain Tower feels. We're all decorated for Christmas, but our next guests are due in the day after Christmas. We're still hoping some family will enjoy Smoky Mountain Tower next week. Here's what's in store for you:

Yeah, that lighted wreath is kinda small, but it's really pretty at night.


The tree is all ready for Santa to drop off your presents.


The stockings are hung by the....well, by the sunroom steps, because it's too hard to hang them by the chimney. We've been assured that Santa will find them!


And the "Noel" tapestry is hanging over the shelf in the hall opposite the kitchen. Of course, there's lots more throughout the cabin, but this will give you a little taste. We hope you and your family will enjoy a Smoky Mountain Tower Christmas.

The "Little" Pigeon River

The "Little" Pigeon River in Gatlinburg wasn't so little when we went through there yesterday morning. Take a look. The first one was taken on the North Parkway by the old Applebee's Restaurant. The other two were taken on the pedestrian bridge from River Road to the Aquarium.

Greetings from Snowy Gatlinburg

That's right - I'm writing this from the sunroom in Smoky Mountain Tower. Phyllis and I drove in last night, arriving about 9:45 pm. We came from Charlotte, so that means we had to detour around the rock slide on I-40. We chose to get off at exit 27 and take highway 19 through Maggie Valley to Cherokee, then take highway 441 through the National Park.

We were pleasantly surprised. This route only added 20 minutes to the normal time of our trip. Of course, it was Sunday night and there wasn't much traffic. But it was an easy trip.

We got to Smoky Mountain Tower just a few hours after our weekend guests, Mark and Nell and their teenage children had left. These lovely folks are from central Tennessee. Mark wrote to me today: "We had a great time. We got there about 9:30 Friday night and woke up to a winter wonderland on Saturday morning. I'm sure you've seen it before but I've attached a few photos of what it looked like. It was just a couple of inches and it never really stuck to the roads so it was the perfect snow."

I thought you'd like to see Mark's pictures, so here they are:

Thanks, Mark and Nell, and all your wonderful children. We hope you'll come back again!

More road closings

It's bad enough that I-40 is closed at milepost 3 - and who knows how long that will last! Now we have word of more closings in and around the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Here's the list:

Clingman's Dome Road is closed now for the winter and won't reopen until May 30th.

Roaring Fork Road is closed now for winter and won't reopen until
May 30th.

The Sinks Parking Area - 1 trail there - closed now through May 25th.

Cade's Cove will be closed from March 1 through May 21st.

Gatlinburg Bypass will be closed for three weeks sometime late March through early April.

We'll keep you posted as we hear more.

Happy Thanksgiving

The day is almost over and we hope your Thanksgiving was just that - a day of giving thanks to our God for His great goodness to all of us. Sure, it's not a perfect world. But we of all people are most blessed, in spite of the issues which seem to dominate the news. Maybe we need to think about the glass as being 90% full instead of 10% empty.

For example, we hear almost every day about the high unemployment rate of 10.2%. And we all know people who are out of work. But if we can measure unemployment at 10.2%, that means we can also measure employment at 89.8%.

What are we thankful for (especially as it relates to this blog)? We're thankful for each of you who check in - and check up on us. Since last Thursday, we've had 66 readers. And we've had over a thousand since we started. Those aren't huge numbers when compared to the more popular blogs, but that's a lot for us - and we are grateful.

We're thankful for the 26 families who have stayed at Smoky Mountain Tower this year. Would we like more to come? Absolutely! But from everything we've heard, there are 26 sets of folks who have had a good time enjoying the Smokies and making Smoky Mountain Tower their headquarters for fun.

We're also VERY thankful for Angie, who has handled your inquiries and reservations, and for Ingrid and Bob who have kept Smoky Mountain Tower fresh and clean for you, and for Darren and Joyce and George and Ray who have handled maintenance jobs for us - big and small.

And that's just a start. As we head into the wonderful season of Christmas, we'll talk more about our plans for the rest of the year and for 2010. Of course, we're always eager to hear your ideas. Let us hear from you. Post a comment below or write to Dave@SmokyMountainTower.com.

Something different - WAY off the subject

Yes, it's been over a week since I posted anything. But I have a good reason. We've been out of the country - and offline - for a REAL vacation. Now, I know this is all about the Smoky Mountains. But sometimes it's good to do something TOTALLY different. So we did.

We went to the beach! And we didn't just go over to the east side of North Carolina. We went all the way to the Cayman Islands!

If you've ever been to the Caribbean, you know that there are some really nice parts and some that are, well, not as nice. But the Cayman Islands are different - they're ALL nice. We were on the big island - Grand Cayman. We actually have a timeshare there at the Ramada Grand Caymanian.

Now don't let the name "Ramada" fool you. This is not like ANY Ramada you've ever stayed at in the States. This is a five-star resort, and it's beautiful. I'm going to post just a couple of pictures to whet your appetite.


This is a little bit of the resort, with beach and pool area (that wooden slab in the foreground is part of the dock.


This shows the pool and restaurant, surrounded by the sleeping units. Ours is a one-bedroom with full kitchen.


This is a shot from downtown Georgetown, the capital, showing a couple of the cruise ships that were in port.

Okay, that's enough to get you thinking. Would you like to visit? It might be possible! We've got a reservation for next year but it looks like we may not be able to go. So we'll probably rent out our unit at a price that is way cheaper than the retail rates.

If you're interested, drop us a line - dave@smokymountaintower.com. And if you want to know more about the place, go to www.grandcaymanian.ky. We'll let you know more about all this in future posts.

Meanwhile, Christmas is still available at Smoky Mountain Tower. Interested? Let us know.

"Off the Beaten Path"

Some of you know that we're part of a group of about 50 cabin owners in the Gatlinburg/Pigeon Forge area who communicate virtually every day through a Yahoo Board. Recently, this message was sent to the Board.

I have a guest coming in about two weeks. They have never been to the area and are not opposed to doing some of the touristy things, yet they would really prefer to do some things off the beaten path. They are not really into the crowds and I thought maybe some of you might have ideas on what to do around Pigeon Forge/Gatlinburg/Park that might have less crowds and be fun for a family of three (couple with a 12 year old son).

Here's what I wrote back (along with some photos to illustrate what I reported.

Hmmmmm. Something off the beaten path? With 10-15 million people showing up every year, I think the path is pretty "beaten." But here are a couple of things we recommend that the 12-year-old might like:

-There are tons of miniature golf courses in Pigeon Forge, of course. But there's one in Gatlinburg that's a little different - Hillbilly Golf. Here's a link: http://gatlinburg-attractions.com/hillbilly_golf_.html. It's on the parkway, north of town, kinda "off the beaten path." You ride a little tram up the mountain, then "play down." Our 11 and 14-year-old grandsons loved it last September.

-If they're into dinosaurs, the Dinosaur Museum, on the parkway north of Pigeon Forge, is fun (it's on the east side of the parkway, kinda near Tennessee State Bank, I think). Here's a link: http://www.dinowalk.com/tn/index.html. Be sure to watch the movie when you first go in. It's long - about 30 minutes - but worth it, even though it's just on a little TV screen. Our boys loved that, too.

-The other thing they liked was Wonder Works - the upside down building. It was lots of fun for us, too. Here's the link: http://www.wonderworkstn.com/.

All these things are expensive, but watch for coupons at the Visitors Center or at the entrance to Wal-Mart.

Oh - another one that's way out Dolly Parton Parkway, east of Sevierville. It's called Deer Farm (http://www.deerfarmzoo.com/). It's like a small zoo. Our kids have enjoyed that and asked to go back.

Other than that, just tell them to drive the parkway and see what they find. Oh yeah, I hear there's a national park in the area, too. And for really good scenery, there's nothing like the Roaring Forks Motor Trail. Here's a link: http://www.nps.gov/grsm/planyourvisit/roaringfork.htm.

Hope they have a good time - and I hope you do, too.

A very cool panoramic photo of Gatlinburg

Just got this link to a beautiful panoramic photo of Gatlinburg. It's too big to post here (it's 19 mb). But here's the link:

http://www.spwhite.com/archives/653

After the picture loads, you can click on it to enlarge it - then scroll around. It looks like it was taken from the top of the "Space Needle" tower in downtown Gatlinburg.

Enjoy!

Air Hockey Puck

If you've stayed at Smoky Mountain Tower recently, you know that the air hockey game has been unavailable. Our game table is a combination - offering both air hockey and foosball. The air hockey part works with a special "hover puck." It's that little thing in the center of the table on the picture below.



This hover puck has a little motor in it that supplies the air, rather than the larger tables that have air coming up through the table. The motor has a rechargeable battery in it that gets its charge from a plug-in charger.

The problem with this puck is that it can't be left on charge more than 3 hours. It appears that somebody didn't follow the directions and overcharged the puck, which blew the motor. As soon as we found out about it, we ordered a new puck from Sportcraft (the manufacturer). We thought we'd have it back in a week or so, which would have fit our timing because we could have brought it over to Gatlinburg.

But Sportcraft took more than 6 weeks to get us the puck - and then sent us the wrong thing! I think we've got it worked out, though. They're overnighting me a new puck and charger, which I should have on Monday. We're going to meet some folks from Gatlinburg on Thursday and we'll ask them to take it back. So we're hoping everything will be up and running again by next weekend.

November specials

After talking with Angie, we've decided to continue our October special rental rates into November. So check this out:
-Stay 2 nights and save 10%
-Stay 3 nights and save 12.5%
-Stay 4 nights and save 15%
-Stay 5 nights and save 20%
-stay 6 nights and save 25%

These specials are valid for stays from November 1 through November 24. We're already booked for Thanksgiving (Nov. 25-29).

Hope you can stay with us at Smoky Mountain Tower. If you hurry, you might get to enjoy the last of the leaf colors. I understand it was a pretty good year!

One more post about the I-40 rock slide

Okay, I won't keep belaboring the point. Instead, here's a like where you can keep up with the information: www.citizen-times.com. And just to give you a good overall look at the slide, here's an aerial view.



This came from the Asheville Citizen-Times Web site. As a sidelight, it looks like the trees are just about at their peak. So you'd better hurry if you want to see the color this year. There are still a couple of open days at Smoky Mountain Tower this week, and some good dates in November. Check our Web site at www.SmokyMountainTower.com for details.

More on the I-40 Rock Slide

The news isn't good. The estimate is that it could take up to 3 months to clean up the rock slide. In case you haven't seen it, here's a photo from the Asheville Citizen-Times:



For more information, go to http://www.citizen-times.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20091026/NEWS01/910260312.

I-40 Rock Slide

The North Carolina Department of Transportation has just posted this special alert:

DUE TO A ROCK SLIDE, I-40 IS CLOSED IN BOTH DIRECTIONS AT MILE MARKER 3, NEAR THE TENNESSEE STATE LINE, WEST OF ASHEVILLE, IN HAYWOOD COUNTY .

Due to an earlier rock slide, both directions of I-40 are closed at mile marker 3, near the Tennessee State Line, in Haywood Co., West of Asheville. The road is not expected to reopen for several weeks.

Detour: Motorists traveling on I-40 West are advised to use I-240 West, to I-26 West out of Asheville, to Johnson City, TN, then take I-81 South back to I-40.

There's actually a better detour from Asheville to Gatlinburg that will not take as long. Continue west on I-40 to exit 27 (Waynesville). Exit here and follow the signs to Cherokee and the National Park. Go through the Park (south to north), following signs to Gatlinburg.

Based on past history, this rock slide will probably affect traffic all the way through the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays. We'll try to keep you posted here, or you can check out the NC DOT site at https://apps.dot.state.nc.us/TIMS/default.aspx.

Check out our Web site - new background

It's fall and the leaves are turning. Wish we could be in Gatlinburg to enjoy it. But the next best thing is to check out our Web site. Angie has just changed the background! It used to be the purple wallpaper in the kitchen, that looked like this:


Now, she's added one of our best shots of the leaves and the view. All you can see is the edges of the photo, but here's the full image:



Of course, we did some cropping to make it work. And we changed the menu color to look more "fallish."

What do you think? Write us at Dave@SmokyMountainTower.com with your comments.

Guest comments

You know, guest comments are important. We want to know what you think! So we're putting a new program in place that offers our guests up to 20% off their next stay, just by filling out a survey and putting comments on a couple of our advertising Web sites.

Want details? Write to me - Dave@SmokyMountainTower.com.

October and November Deals

Okay, I know - I'm VERY delinquent in keeping up with my blog. It's been a VERY busy month!

But I just want to tell you about our special deals at Smoky Mountain Tower for October.

Stay 2 nights and save 10%
Stay 3 nights and save 12.5%
Stay 4 nights and save 15%
Stay 5 nights and save 20%
Stay 6 nights and save 25%

We don't have many nights left in October. I hear the leaves are just about at their peak - and somebody said they might get some snow tonight in the higher elevations.

We've got lots of available dates in November (but Thanksgiving is already booked). So how's this for an offer: YOU tell US what kind of deal you'd like to see for November. Just write to Dave@SmokyMountainTower.com and put "November Deal" in the subject line.

We saw a BEAR at Smoky Mountain Tower

It has been more than 5 years since we've seen a bear near our cabin. But that all changed last week when we were there with our grandsons - Zack and Nathan. We were just about ready to leave Smoky Mountain Tower. Zack headed out to the car and came right back in to announce, "There's a bear out there!" We thought he was joking! But sure enough - there was this reasonably-sized bear who came strolling down the driveway and sniffed around the garbage. He couldn't get in, so he didn't stay long there. He walked over to a sign we have by the house and chewed on it for a minute, then ambled off down the hill behind the hot tub deck.

I did get a chance to lean out the door and snap a quick picture as he was chewing on the sign - all while Phyllis and the boys were yelling at me to get back inside! Sorry - this is the best I could do:

New Video

WOW! It has been WAY too long since I've posted on our Smoky Mountain Tower blog. We've been busy - putting lots of miles on the old Windstar.

But my great friends, George Toles, just put me on to a new site called Animoto. They enable you to make a 30-second video, using still pictures. So I tried it. Here it is:



Or how about this one, with views from the Tower:



What do you think? Write me at Dave@SmokyMountainTower.com with your comments.

Thanks!

Rock Slide closes road in National Park

I just got this bit of news about a major road in the Smokies National Park being closed. This is the road you would normally take from Gatlinburg to go to Cades Cove. Here are the details:

Subject: Smokies Rock Slide Expected to Close Little River Road Through Weekend
Immediate Release Contact: Bob Miller Date: August 14, 2009 865/436-1207

Smokies Rock Slide Expected to Close Little River Road Through Weekend

Great Smoky Mountains Chief of Facility Management Alan Sumeriski has announced that a rockslide is expected keep Little River Road between the Elkmont Campground and the Metcalf Bottoms Picnic Area closed through Monday. The slide is located about two miles west of the Elkmont Campground junction.

Sumeriski said, “When the slide first occurred we had hoped our own road crew could make the road safe in a few hours, but a second slide soon occurred which left a large patch of unstable rock still clinging to the slope above the road. We estimate that there are about 30 truckloads of this loose material that must be pulled down and hauled off to halt the slide.”

Motorists wishing to travel between the Park’s Gatlinburg Entrance and Cades Cove or Townsend must detour to Pigeon Forge via U.S. 441 North and then U.S. 321 South into Townsend and back into the Park on TN 73 to reach the Park’s Laurel Creek Road to Cades Cove. “Visitors can still reach Elkmont Campground by way of the Gatlinburg Entrance,” Sumeriski said. “Metcalf Bottoms and the 8-miles of Little River Road from the Picnic Area to the Townsend junction are still accessible from U.S. 321 in Wears Valley via Line Springs Road or from the Townsend end. Due to bridge load restrictions, no vehicles larger than passenger vans are allowed to enter the Park via Line Springs Road. Travel on the Newfound Gap Road (U.S. 441) between Cherokee, NC and Gatlinburg, TN is not affected”

Current Park Road information is available at (865) 436-1200. NPS -

How's business?

Glad you asked! We had a great July, with six different sets of guests spending a total of 27 nights at Smoky Mountain Tower. August is a little slow, and we can't figure out why. We've had two families who have enjoyed all the amenities at Smoky Mountain Tower, and one more is scheduled to be there in about 10 days for a family wedding weekend. But we'd sure like to have more folks staying with us at Smoky Mountain Tower.

We've had lots of people looking at our blog, as well as checking out our Web site and our various advertising sites on the Internet. If you're one of those folks who "kicked the tires" but didn't make a reservations, we sure would like to know the reason why.

We plan to be in Gatlinburg next week for a couple of days, and we'll be definitely checking everything out at Smoky Mountain Tower. If you think there's something we need to pay particular attention to, please let us know.

You can always contact us through e-mail at Dave@SmokyMountainTower.com. Or if you want to talk direct, please call us at 704-280-5845. We hope to hear from you!

Roaring Forks Motor Trail

A couple of weeks ago, I gave you a general synopsis of our "vacation" with friends in the Smokies. I want to elaborate a little more on the Roaring Fork Motor Trail. This is one of those gems in the Smokies that doesn't seem to be too well known.

Here are a few of the scenes you'll see:


There are several places where you can pull off and check out the views - like this one.




You'll find a number of old buildings along the trail. This was an old mill...




...complete with a sluice. A little repair work and this would be ready to go.


But the best part is the scenery along the river. This is just one of several spots where we stopped and walked down to the rocks along the water.


And can you believe? We even saw rhododendron blooming - in late June!

To access Roaring Fork, turn off the main parkway in Gatlinburg, TN at traffic light #8 and follow Historic Nature Trail Road to the Cherokee Orchard entrance to the national park. Just beyond the Rainbow Falls trailhead you have the option of taking the one-way Roaring Fork Motor Nature Trail. This narrow, paved road winds for six miles beside rich forests, waterfalls, and streams.

For more information and maps, visit the National Park Web site - http://www.nps.gov/grsm/planyourvisit/roaringfork.htm. We hope you enjoy it as much as we did. Oh, one more thing: don't try this in winter. The trail is closed. But any other time of the year is pretty spectacular.

Cades Cove

As promised, we spent a great afternoon at Cades Cove. It's a beautiful drive along the river from Gatlinburg. Plan on 30-45 minutes, depending on traffic and the number of times you stop to watch the activity along the river.

We made the whole loop at Cades Cove, stopping a couple of times to check out the old graves behind the churches. At one of them, we were joined by a "live" resident, who was also enjoying the area!


The main area has a visitors center and several old structures. For example...


We enjoyed the old mill - actually working. They were grinding corn into corn meal.



Becky Cable's house. She actually lived here until the 1940s.



One of several old barns in the area.



The sorghum molasses production area. In a few weeks, there will be a horse or a mule attached to this pole, walking around in a circle. The sorghum plants (which look like corn) will be fed into the press in the center, which will squeeze out the juice. Then it will be cooked over an outdoor stove, which is just to the right of this picture.


We saw several more deer on our drive, and a bear in the distance. Then, on our way back, we saw a flock of wild turkey. It's not unusual to see wildlife when you go to Cades Cove.


This is just one more of the many great sites to see when you stay at Smoky Mountain Tower.

Ober Gatlinburg Tram

As promised last Saturday, I've got some more information for you about the Ober Gatlinburg tram. When we were staying at Smoky Mountain Tower last week with our friends, we drove across the mountain to Ober Gatlinburg. Parking was $4, which is cheaper than parking downtown. Then we spent $10 round trip to ride the aerial tram from Ober Gatlinburg to downtown.

It's a great trip. The tram runs every 20 minutes from 9:30 am to 9:30 pm. Each car can hold up to 120 people. The trip takes about 10 minutes each way. There are actually two cars on the same cable - one coming up from downtown, one going down from Ober Gatlinburg - so they pass in the middle.

But here's the really good news. Your $10 ticket entitles you to ride as many times as you want that day and the next day! We made our round trip down and back, then drove down the mountain, did the Roaring Forks Motor Trail, and went to the Cherokee Restaurant (next to Calhoun's) for dinner. After dinner, right about dusk, we rode the tram up and back. That was really nice, because we got to see Gatlinburg at night.

They're pretty loose about paying for rides, because they seem to make their money off the attractions and shops at Ober Gatlinburg. When we bought our tickets, they stamped our hands with an ultra-violet ink. But they said, "If the ink wears off, just tell them John (our driver) sent you!"

Try it! You'll see the house owned by Dunkin' Donuts, the house owned by Delta Airlines (with wings for a roof), and a Barbie house. You can see the bear dean at Ober Gatlinburg from the air (instead of paying $6 to see it on the ground).

And you get a great view of Gatlinburg - and even all the way to Pigeon Forge - as you're coming down the mountain.

For more information on the tram, visit this site: http://www.obergatlinburg.com/newtram.htm. Hope you enjoy it as much as we did!

At last - some fun in the Smokies

Goodness! Has it really been 2 weeks since my last post? Shame on me! We've been a little busy, though - celebrating my birthday (a big one!) and getting ready to be traveling for a month.

After years of traveling to the Smokies to primarily work on our cabin, we finally have taken time for some fun. We just spent 3 wonderful days with my former boss at ServiceMaster and his wife.

We started by meeting them on Wednesdaay at the Biltmore for the day. One of the highlights was walking through the rose garden just after a brief rain shower. Take a look at what we saw:

Then we drove to Gatlinburg and stayed at Smoky Mountain Tower for 3 nights. On Thursday, we drove over to Ober Gatlinburg. The guys took the tram to downtown Gatlinburg and back while the ladies shopped:

I'll post more information on the tram next week. After the tram ride, we drove the Roaring Forks Motor Trail. Take a look at some of the scenery:

Yes, that really is rhododendron blooming deep in the woods in late July! The next time you come to Gatlinburg (and stay at Smoky Mountain Tower!), you really need to take a couple of hours and make this drive. You have to enter the Trail from downtown Gatlinburg. Write to us for directions. And there's more - especially our trip to Cades Cove. We'll put that in another post in a couple of days.

New Christian Museum coming to Gatlinburg

Normally, our posts are something about our cabin - Smoky Mountain Tower. However, I just came across an interesting story in Thursday's edition of the Knoxville News Sentinel that might interest you. The full text is below, and we'll keep you informed of further developments.

GATLINBURG — Christus Gardens maybe gone from Gatlinburg, but two local investors believe there is enough demand for a Christian-themed tourist destination in Sevier County to reopen the site as Christ In The Smokies Museum and Gardens.

Longtime Gatlinburg residents Charlie Moore and Billy Proffitt are developing the museum, which is scheduled to open this fall and will be open daily.

Joe Waggoner, director of Christ In The Smokies, said Moore and Proffitt are responding to popular sentiment from visitors wanting a Christian-themed attraction.

“A lot of people were saying that’s one thing the town is going to miss,” Waggoner said today. “We have a new thing going and I think it’s going to be as popular as ever and will be good for Gatlinburg and for tourists.

Christus Gardens was open for 49 years on River Road in Gatlinburg before closing last year. A wax-figure collection and other features in the themed attraction based on Christ’s life were sold and the site was to be converted to a condominium development.

But the recession forced postponement of the development, Waggoner said.

Moore and Proffitt have been collecting museum pieces to exhibit in Christ In The Smokies and artisans are on site now making displays for the diorama depicting Christ’s life.

Waggoner, who was manager of Christus Gardens for 25 years, said Moore and Proffitt are investing “hundreds of thousands of dollars” in the project and will lease the Christus Gardens building and grounds from the owners who are putting the condo development on hold.

Renovations to the building and grounds are under way.

“Gatlinburg is very fortunate to have local people with the vision and financial commitment to reopen this type of attraction in town. There is a lot of interest from church groups and tour companies that wish to add this to their itinerary,” Waggoner said in a statement.

Hello from Smoky Mountain Tower

That's right. I'm sitting in the sunroom at Smoky Mountain Tower, working on improvements for your enjoyment.

Here are some of the things I've done so far on this short trip:

-Installed a new wide-screen TV in the living room.

-Installed a new phone in the living room (and we're working on a phone/intercom throughout the whole cabin).

-Moved the original living room TV to the Tower Room

-Put a new exercise machine - a "Gazelle" - in the Tower

-Put new TV cable jacks in the main floor king bedroom suite and the Bonus Room (now I just have to find TV sets!)

In my previous post, I showed you the last picture of the Tower Room with the whirlpool tub. Now, here's a new picture with the TV and exercise machine. The half-bath and washer/dryer are behind me in this picture.



It looks like there's still room to add a daybed in the Tower Room, so we hope to expand the sleeping capacity from 6 to 8 in the very near future. Stay tuned........

Welcome to July

Can you believe we're half-way through 2009? I don't know about you, but a lot has happened to us so far this year.

And a lot has happened at Smoky Mountain Tower. Here are just some highlights:

New chairs in the breakfast room...



The sound room has now become a Game Room...


And just outside the room is our new electronic Dart Board...


One more thing. This is the last time you'll see the whirlpool tub in the Tower Room. We had to remove it because it was leaking - all the way down to the main floor! We'll talk more about this later. But here's that final picture...


Oooh - that's an old picture. It still has the old turquoise carpeting. But it shows the tub pretty well.

I (Dave) am planning to go to Gatlinburg next week to start working on what we can do in this room. Any thoughts? We'll probably put an exercise "walker" in the room, and we're thinking about a daybed if there's room. Let us know what YOU think.