The storm is over ... and so is the year!

The Gatlinburg Christmas Snowstorm finally ended, with snowfall somewhere between 11 and 15 inches. I can tell you I shoveled more snow in 3 days than I've shoveled in 20 years! But when the sun finally came out, it was beautiful. Take a look:


All Decked Out was truly "all decked out" with snow.


This is the main floor deck, looking off into the woods behind All Decked Out.


But the prettiest sight was the trees, with all the snow clinging to them.

These pictures were taken Monday afternoon. We actually couldn't leave until Tuesday afternoon, because the roads were still bad. I would have taken more pictures, but we were just too busy getting packed up so our guests (who were supposed to be able to get in Monday night) could arrive Tuesday afternoon.

Now the storm is just a memory. And 2010 is about to be the same. We want to take this opportunity to thank all of you who stayed with us in 2010. As we talk with other owners, it's clear to us that we have the VERY BEST guests! So we hope you will come back to stay with us at Smoky Mountain Tower or All Decked Out in 2011. Please keep watching here for some changes we intend to make - especially at All Decked Out. I'll give you just one little hint of something we got installed on this trip ... air hockey!

And here's one more bit of advice. Make your reservations quickly. Between our two cabins, we already have more than 70 nights booked in 2011. And we're getting inquiries every day. You will especially be glad if you make your reservations before February (hint, hint).

Whatever your plans, we trust that you have a blessed and prosperous New Year. We'll look forward to seeing you soon!

"The Worst Storm Ever..."

That's what our next door neighbor called this snowstorm - and he has lived up here for more than 15 years. In our area of Chalet Village North, it just stopped snowing - after more than 36 straight hours of snow. I just measured our deck railing - take a look:


That's almost 11 inches - and that's after we cleaned the railing off yesterday afternoon, when it was about 4 inches! If that's true, we have almost 15 inches!

Here's a view of All Decked Out this morning (yes, those white dots are snowflakes):

This afternoon, we walked up to Smoky Mountain Tower to clean it because we had guests arriving today and Ingrid could not get up the mountain. Turned out that our guests couldn't get up either, but it's ready for them when they can. Standing in front of Smoky Mountain Tower is our "cleaning crew" - Kathy, Lindsey, Kyle and Phyllis.


While there, I grabbed a quick picture of the "view" toward Ober Gatlinburg.


Uhhhh - it seems the view is "temporarily unavailable." But it will be back when the weather warms up. Meanwhile, we're stuck - guests can't get up and we can't get down. Kathy and the kids may make it out tomorrow afternoon if it clears up. But I think Phyllis and I may be here for another day or two. And I'm not sure how we'll take care of our guests, who have been so understanding. Stay tuned.......

Merry Christmas from All Decked Out

It's Christmas at All Decked Out in Gatlinburg. Two of our three daughters and their families have arrived and Phyllis is busy fixing our traditional Christmas Eve buffet. As you can see, the tree is decorated and the presents are ready to open...



Phyllis has also temporarily hung her Christmas wreath quilt...


We brought decorations from home, especially our collection of Byers Choice carolers. These special statuette represent our whole family - from left, Tim & Angie, Dave & Phyllis, Kathy, and John & Marcia (plus all the kids). We always display the carolers on the mantle and, as you can see, a few of our stockings are "hung by the chimney with care."


One of the beauties of celebrating Christmas in Gatlinburg is the extra things we can do. For example, as I write this, our grandson, Kyle, is enjoying some quiet moments in the hot tub...



We'll try to post more pictures from Christmas Day. It promises to be interesting, because we're
under a winter storm watch and could get up to a foot of snow.

Of course, Christmas is more than just decorations and presents and stockings and relaxing. It's REALLY about the the celebration of the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ. Some 2,000 years ago He was born in a stable in Bethlehem. He came as the Son of God because I am a sinner and needed Him to be God's perfect sacrifice for my sin. Through His death, I now KNOW that I will spend all eternity in Heaven. That's the true Christmas story! So we hope you also have that assurance and will have a very, very "Merry Christmas!"

The best Christmas present ever!

It's Christmas week. Have you finished your shopping? If not, we've got a suggestion.

How about the gift of a 2011 vacation in the Smokies?! Make a reservation this week at either All Decked Out...



...or Smoky Mountain Tower...

...and we'll give you a Christmas discount!

This is a special offer ONLY available to our blog and Facebook friends. It's not even listed on our Web site! Here's the deal:

Book at least 3 nights between January 2 and May 26 and we'll take 10% off the already-low-price of $129.00 per night. That means you'll only pay $116.10 (plus tax).

That's almost certainly going to be the lowest price you'll pay this year. Because we're pretty sure prices will have to go up in either February or March. When we announce our price increase, we'll give past guests the opportunity to book at the current rate. But YOU have the best choice of dates if you book THIS WEEK. And you get the discount!

To get this special price, enter the coupon code CHRISTmas10 exactly as shown (see instructions below). Remember, you must book at least 3 consecutive nights, and you have to make your reservation by Christmas night. If you have any questions, write to us.

Now, here are the instructions:

-Select your vacation property and go to the Web site:
-All Decked Out - www.SmokiesRentDirect.com/All-Decked-Out
-SmokyMountainTower - www.SmokyMountainTower.com

-Click the "Book Online Now" button on the Web site. This will open a new page at our IVOL reservation site.

-Enter your arrival and departure dates, then click "Review & Book."

-On the page that opens, scroll down to the "Coupon Codes" section. Enter the coupon code shown above. Be sure to enter it exactly as shown - coupon codes are case-sensitive. After entering the code, click "Redeem." You will see that the price has changed to deduct the 10%.

-Now just complete all the information requested, click "Book Online Here" at the bottom of the page, enter your credit card information and make your reservation.

If you have any questions, please contact us immediately. We'll get back to you as quickly as we can (we have some travel planned this week and will be away from the computer at times).

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

The weather and the VIEW

In my last post, I promised a weather update. We intended to be back in Gatlinburg earlier this week. But God decided otherwise. The roads were too icy on Tuesday for us to get up the mountain, so we just came on home. We're praying for our guests who are arriving today, because there was freezing rain in the area overnight. Please, God, make it warm up so Rachel and her group can get up the mountain. They already switched from Smoky Mountain Tower to All Decked Out on the possibility that the road up to Smoky Mountain Tower will be icy!

Speaking of Smoky Mountain Tower, I promised you the latest pictures of the view. So take a look:


Looking west toward Ober Gatlinburg (the white patch left center just below the top of the mountain is one of their ski runs)



A zoom shot of Ober Gatlinburg.



Here's a panoramic shot showing the whole view. See, we're correct when we say "from Mt. LeConte to Ober Gatlinburg and beyond!" (Click on the picture for a larger view.) And you can also see why TripAdvisor named this view one of their "Best Vacation Rental Views" - the only one they chose in the Smokies!

And here's one more shot, showing the road as it comes up to Smoky Mountain Tower. Yes, there are other houses along the road, some occupied by permanent residents. But there is still plenty of privacy.


Of course, all these were taken last weekend before the snow fell. We expect to be back in Gatlinburg next week, so we'll try to get some "snowy" pictures. Meanwhile, have a wonderful Christmas season!

Smoky Mountain Tower weather

It's Sunday night, December 12. We were at Smoky Mountain Tower Friday night to put up some Christmas decorations - including our small Christmas tree in the Sunroom.




We left Smoky Mountain Tower yesterday afternoon to drive to Lebanon, TN for our grandson's church Christmas program. The plan was to attend the program, then go back to Gatlinburg tomorrow (Monday) and finish the decorating at Smoky Mountain Tower - and to get some decorating done at All Decked Out.

But we may be stuck here in Lebanon for awhile. It's snowing VERY hard and is very slippery and ... wait, it's worse than I thought. Marcia just called (she had taken Nathan to the church) to tell us the program has been canceled! She said it's really coming down and the roads are treacherous.

And take a look at this forecast for Gatlinburg:

JOHNSON-COCKE SMOKY MOUNTAINS-SOUTHEAST GREENE-UNICOI- SOUTHEAST CARTER-BLOUNT SMOKY MOUNTAINS-SEVIER SMOKY MOUNTAINS- SOUTHEAST MONROE- INCLUDING THE CITIES OF.MOUNTAIN CITY.CEDAR CREEK.ERWIN.ROAN MOUNTAIN.CADES COVE.GATLINBURG.COKER CREEK

257 PM EST SUN DEC 12 2010

WINTER STORM WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 1 AM EST TUESDAY.

* TIMING: SNOW SHOWERS WILL CONTINUE TONIGHT THROUGH MONDAY EVENING. SOME SNOW SHOWERS MAY BE HEAVY AT TIMES. DANGEROUS WIND CHILLS CAN BE EXPECTED TONIGHT THROUGH TUES MORNING.

* ACCUMULATIONS: EXPECT TOTAL SNOW ACCUMULATION BY MON EVENING OF 4 TO 8 INCHES IN THE LOWER ELEVATIONS.WITH 8 TO 16 INCHES POSSIBLE OVER THE HIGHER MOUNTAINS.

* WINDS: SUSTAINED WINDS WILL BE BETWEEN 15 & 25 MPH SUN NIGHT & MONDAY.WITH GUSTS BETWEEN 30 & 40 MPH AT TIMES. BLOWING & DRIFTING SNOW CAN BE EXPECTED. WIND CHILL VALUES WILL DROP TO BETWEEN 5 BELOW & 15 BELOW ZERO AT TIMES.

* IMPACTS: SIGNIFICANT SNOW ACCUMULATIONS.BLOWING & DRIFTING SNOW.& DANGEROUS WIND CHILLS ARE EXPECTED IN THE MOUNTAINS. ROADS MAY BECOME EXTREMELY HAZARDOUS.& ANYONE OUTDOORS SHOULD PREPARE FOR BITTER COLD CONDITIONS. BLOWING SNOW MAY REDUCE VISIBILITIES TO LESS THAN A QUARTER MILE AT TIMES.

So I don't think we'll be going back to Gatlinburg tomorrow! Why am I writing about this? Because weather CAN be a problem during this time of year. That's why we really encourage our guests to purchase the travel insurance offered by our reservation site, IVacationOnLine. You can get more details through our Web site - www.SmokiesRentDirect.com/travel-insurance.

We'll keep you posted - especially if we ARE able to get back to Gatlinburg in the next couple of days. Meanwhile, I took some pictures of the view at Smoky Mountain Tower yesterday and I'll post them in a couple of days. Then you'll see again why TripAdvisor named Smoky Mountain Tower as one of the top 10 vacation rental views in America!

Winter isn't just coming - it's HERE

About a month ago, I posted some information about winter coming to the Smokies. Well, it has arrived! Check out this story from WBIR-TV - http://www.wbir.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=146545. They actually closed all the Sevier County schools yesterday, even though they got "a dusting."

If you're coming to Gatlinburg this winter, please be prepared. Here are several things you can do:

1. Check the weather forecast just before you plan to travel. There are a couple of good sites, which you'll find on our Web sites under "Favorite Links." Click here to go to the All Decked Out links page.

2. Bring extra blankets, boots and a good working flashlight. You never know when the snow will hit. It's pretty easy to get to All Decked Out, but there's a very steep hill on the road up to Smoky Mountain Tower. We've arranged to have the road plowed and salted each time it snows, but you never know what will happen. There's actually a back way into Smoky Mountain Tower that requires a short (50-feet) walk through the woods. It's not the best, but it works in an emergency. That's why you need the boots and flashlight!

3. The road up to our cabins is posted, saying chains or 4-wheel drive vehicles are required from December 15 to March 15. I've never seen anyone stopped - but they CAN do it. So plan accordingly.

4. The National Park roads can close on very short notice. If your trip takes you through the Park, please call them just before you get off the Interstate to make sure the road through the Park is open. The number is 1-865-436-1200, ext. 631. This number is in the directions on our Web site, but make sure you have it with you.

We also encourage you to buy the Travel Insurance available on our reservation Web site. It's really cheap (only 7% of your rental cost), and we're told it works for weather situations where you can't get to the cabin. You can find more information on our Web site by clicking here.

As always, please contact us if you have any questions about travel to Gatlinburg this winter. We want you to come and stay with us, but we especially want you to be safe and sound!

Big savings in 2010 at All Decked Out

I've just done something I haven't done in all the 14 years we've owned All Decked Out. I lowered the price for dates around Christmas to less than $120 per night!

Here's the deal. Our Chicago daughter called and asked if we could spend Christmas together at All Decked Out. Sure, we might have booked it. But family is more important. So we said, "Yes!" - and we reserved All Decked Out for US from December 22 to 27.

That leaves us 15 nights still open at All Decked Out for the rest of the year. The normal rate for those nights is $149 for the first 10 and $179 for the last 5. But I decided to just put ALL those nights at $149. But wait (as the informercials say) - there's more. We've been offering discounts on our remaining non-holiday nights since early November. That discount now sits at 20%, which makes the nightly rate only $119.20. So I extended that discount into the holiday nights, too.

That means you can stay at All Decked Out for ANY AVAILABLE NIGHT in 2010 for 20% to 33% off! We've never done that before! Prime time nights are now cheaper than the "off-season" rate (which is $129).

Okay, I know it's "last minute." But some people can make those kinds of arrangements. We're actually still getting inquiries for those nights, so somebody is going to get a really good deal. It could be you!

One more thing. People are starting to book their 2011 vacation. We have almost 60 nights already booked. Of course, the obvious question is, "Are you raising your rates in 2011?" The answer is a definite "maybe." But one thing is for sure: any 2011 nights booked before the end of 2010 are available at the 2010 rates. We'll talk more about this in our next post.

December weather

As we head for the "official" start of Winter, we're keeping a close eye on the weather forecasts in the Smokies. We just found this for December, that comes from the Old Farmers Almanac:

December 2010
1-3: Rainy. Wet snow mixes over higher terrain TN.
4-7: Fair, cold.
8-11: Cold showers, then clearing.
12-15: Rainy.
16-19: Rains clear, then fair, cold, with frosts to Florida.
20-23: Rain showers, then fair, colder.
24-27: Fair, unseasonably cold Yuletide. Frosts down to Gulf Coast.
28-31: Showery, then fair and colder.

It looks pretty good for travel. So come on and join us. We still have dates open in December, which you can find on our Web sites. And we may see you there, because we're hoping to be in Gatlinburg sometime next week - and maybe even around Christmas!

Happy Thanksgiving!

It's been too long since we've posted, but we want to wish everyone a very Happy Thanksgiving. We have so much to be thankful for this years:

-We're thankful to have made it back from Thailand safely - and to have traveled through South Korea before the trouble started there (although we can say first-hand that security was very tight!).

-We're thankful for YOU who have stayed with us at Smoky Mountain Tower or All Decked Out this year. We've had more than 100 families who stayed at our Gatlinburg cabins in 2010.

-We're thankful for God's protection on you while you were there. Even though we've had a few difficulties, we're glad to report that we haven't had any serious mishaps.

-We're thankful for Ingrid and her family, who have done such a great job of cleaning both cabins, watching over everything, and never missing a beat - even when we've had some last-minute reservations.

-We're thankful for Darren and Joyce and Mark, who have been so helpful when we needed maintenance work done.

-We're thankful for the honor we received at Smoky Mountain Tower from TripAdvisor, to be named one of America's Best Vacation Rental Home Views.

-We're thankful for our neighbors at both cabins, who have kept an eye on things for us.

-We're thankful for Angie, our daughter, who has backed us up on reservations, phone calls and a myriad of other details - especially when we've been traveling. It's not easy for her, with her two boys (ages 4 and 9 months), but she has always been there when we needed her. She also does a lot of work on the design and maintenance of our Web sites, for which we are also very thankful.

I'm sure there are more reasons to be thankful, but those are our top ones. Thank YOU again for staying with us, and we look forward to having you return in 2011.

Something different - from Thailand

Greetings from half-way around the world. I'm in Chiang Mai, Thailand, for a series of meetings, including a Board meeting. Our daughter, Kathy, came with me (Phyllis is in Chicago, staying with Kathy's two children).

Even though I'm almost 8,700 miles away from Gatlinburg, I'm still working on our cabins there. We have just lowered the price - again - for the few remaining dates we have available. The discount is now 20% off the regular price of $149.00 per night (plus tax). That's a savings of almost $30 per night!

This is probably as low as we will go. So if you want to vacation in Gatlinburg in 2010, now is the time to make your reservation. You can get all the details at our Web sites. Be sure to visit the "Specials" pages to get full information.

Now, let me also tell you a little about Thailand. We're in the north part of the country, very close to the "Golden Triangle" - where Thailand, Laos and Burma (now Myanmar) come together. We actually took a little trip into the "mountains" a few days ago. We visited an elephant camp and took an elephant ride. Here's just one pictures to show you how it looks:


We don't offer elephant rides in Gatlinburg (yet). But we have just about everything else. So we hope you'll come and stay with us.

We'll be back in the States late this week and will resume our Gatlinburg reports as soon as we can.

Christmas in Gatlinburg

Can you believe it? Both Smoky Mountain Tower and All Decked Out are available for Christmas! We have guests coming to Smoky Mountain Tower on December 26 and to All Decked Out on December 27, but you can spend Christmas Day at either cabin.

We plan to decorate for Christmas in early December. Nothing fancy - just a few things to make it look like Christmas. Here are some pictures showing what we did last year.


The big lighted wreath greets you when you arrive at Smoky Mountain Tower.


Our "Noel" tapestry in the kitchen/eating area.


We put the Christmas tree in the sunroom.


At All Decked Out, we put the Christmas tree in the main room, just inside the front door.


And we decorated the "bear."


Our family has enjoyed Christmas in Gatlinburg in the past.

As you can see, it was pretty chaotic. But we had a great time. And we hope YOU will bring your family to Smoky Mountain Tower or All Decked Out for Christmas this year!

Winter is coming ... inevitably

Well, it's here!

First, the Great Smoky Mountains National Park announced a few days ago that it's starting to operate on its "winter schedule." The Visitors' Centers have cut back their hours, and some roads are being closed. You can see all the schedule changes and closings by clicking here.

If that isn't enough, I started yesterday getting warnings about possible snow. Sure enough, earlier today, the Asheville Citizen-Times ran this story about Highway 441 being closed through the park from Cherokee to Gatlinburg, due to ice and snow.

The good news is that we don't have a rock slide on I-40 to contend with, like we did last year at this time (at least, there hasn't been a report of one yet).

I talked with Ingrid, our cleaner, this afternoon. She told me, "It's snowing up high in the mountains, but it's just rain in Gatlinburg. It's supposed to be cold and snowy or rainy for the next day or so. After that, it's back to the 60s during the day and 30s and 40s at night.

We're prepared this year - especially at Smoky Mountain Tower. We've hired somebody to plow our street when it snows and put salt on the hill. So we're hoping (and praying) that nobody will have a problem.

If you want to check the Gatlinburg weather (and traffic), we recommend checking the Space Needle Webcam. Just remember, winter is one of the very special times in the Smokies. So we hope you'll come and enjoy it - either from Smoky Mountain Tower or All Decked Out.

Dutch Auction for Gatlinburg dates in 2010

Can you believe that today is November 1? There are only 61 days left in 2010!

We don't have very many dates left for you to enjoy the late fall and early winter beauty of the Smokies. So we're doing a 'Dutch Auction' for the dates. This is where we keep lowering the price until somebody books the date.

We started about 10 days ago with a 5% discount. Today, I changed to a 10% discount. The next step is 15% - and so on. You can wait for a better deal. But what if somebody else books the dates you want?

Here are the available dates for each cabin:

Smoky Mountain Tower has 24 nights open through December 16:
-Nov 7-18
-Nov 21-22
-Dec 6-15

All Decked Out has 27 nights open through December 16:
-Nov 14-23
-Nov 28-Dec 2
-Dec 5-16

Don't wait - get your dates now. You'll find all the details at our Web sites - just click on "Specials" for the coupon code to save you some money.

We still have dates open after December 16, including Christmas Day at both cabins. More on Christmas in another post.

What does the "best" view look like

If you're keeping up with this blog, you know about Smoky Mountain Tower being selected as one of America's Best Vacation Rental Views. By the way, if you do a Google search with that phrase - in quotes, you'll get over 7,600 hits, which is TRIPLE the amount you would have gotten a week ago! And they're still being added. There have been 40 new sites this week, and 6 added just today.

If you've been to our Web site and looked at our pictures, you've seen some of the shots of the view. But here are a few more from different times of the year for your enjoyment:

Fall


Winter


Winter sunset


Early spring

And here's a panoramic shot in fall.


But the trees are growing. This is our most recent panoramic shot, taken last May (guess I need to update it, huh?).


Now that we're one of the "best," we need to work hard to keep that distinction. So this will be a top priority this winter - to see how much we can open up the view. Of course, many of these trees belong to our neighbors. So we'll have to get their permission for tree trimming.

Stay tuned...

BIG NEWS! We've got the best view in the Smokies!

We have just been notified that Smoky Mountain Tower was selected as the only property in the Smokies to have one of America's Best Vacation Rental Views! The list is published by TripAdvisor, which says it is the world's largest travel site. Since the story was released on Oct. 19, it has been picked up by hundreds of Web sites and publications, including such national media as Reuters, CNN.Money, CNBC and USA Today.

Okay, so we're number 10 on the list. The others are in places like Hawaii, the Rockies, and California. The next closest property is in Hilton Head.

Here's what the editors of TripAdvisor said about Smoky Mountain Tower:

Amenities Aplenty: Smoky Mountain Tower, Gatlinburg, Tennessee
While this mountain chalet is packed full of amenities, from an air hockey table and electronic hoops in the game room, to a hot tub on its first floor deck, its views of the Great Smoky Mountains are what really wow its guests. As one TripAdvisor traveler noted, “The view from the tower is exceptional.”

You can find the entire news release, which was sent out yesterday on the PRNewswire, by going to this link:

http://multivu.prnewswire.com/mnr/tripadvisor/42929/

By clicking on "Smoky Mountain Tower" in the link, it will take you to our TripAdvisor listing (which we actually manage through their sister site, Flipkey).

So, what are you waiting for? There are only 21 nights open in November and December (plus Christmas week). And we're already getting inquiries for as far out as September 2011. Don't be disappointed - book your vacation now. Then you, too, can say that you have seen one of America's Best Vacation Rental Views!.

The Neighborhood - All Decked Out

As promised, here are some shots of the neighborhood around All Decked Out.

This is the view as you come down the road.


That's All Decked Out on the left. As you can see, our little private road continues on past All Decked Out. There are 5 more cabins down that road, plus another one set down low on the mountain just before you get to the road entrance (right behind the mailboxes on the right). That cabin, and the one just past All Decked Out, are occupied by permanent residents, both of whom are good friends. The other cabins are rental cabins, like All Decked Out.

I walked a little further down our private road to give you a better view. The left cabin is owned by permanent residents.


Right across the road is a rental cabin. Here's the view from our front entrance deck:

The white car you saw in the previous picture belonged to guests at this cabin, but they left just before I took this picture.

People ask if there is a "view" at All Decked Out. Yes, it's what we call a "winter view." Here's the view from the upstairs bedroom window:


So that's the neighborhood. We hope you'll come and enjoy it for yourself.

The Neighborhood - Smoky Mountain Tower

From time to time, we get inquiries asking us about the neighborhood around Smoky Mountain Tower. Since we were just there last week, we took some pictures to show you what it's like. (It was a cloudy day, so the pictures aren't the best.)

This is the view from the driveway, near the front door.

As you can see, there's another house on the left, mostly hidden by the trees. You can see two cars on the right. They belong to our closest permanent neighbor (he's a good friend who actually was in real estate before he retired. In fact, he sold Smoky Mountain Tower to us!). His house is also mostly hidden by trees. Farther down the street, there are several other houses, some of which are occupied by permanent neighbors.

Now, let's walk out the driveway and look back at Smoky Mountain Tower.


On the left are the two cars you saw in the first picture. On the right is the corner of the house you saw. The driveway into Smoky Mountain Tower is in the center left of the photo, just to the right of the cars. As you can see, it's pretty "secluded."

In our next post, we'll show you the neighborhood around All Decked Out.

Fall colors: better than average

We just got home from Gatlinburg last night and the fall colors are coming. In fact, we drove the foothills parkway on Wednesday (to the Biltmore) and Thursday (coming home) and saw a definite increase in color.

It's supposed to be a great year for color, according to Kathy Gould Matthews, associate professor of biology at Western Carolina University. That's what this article says on knoxnews.com. Click to read the whole thing, or go to this link: http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2010/oct/04/foliage-forecast-expert-expects-above-average-disp/.

There's still time to join us to witness the colors. Smoky Mountain Tower is totally booked, but we have six prime nights available at All Decked Out - Sunday, October 17 through Friday, October 22 (checking out Saturday morning). And to entice you even more, we're running a special price if you stay all six nights - only $699 plus tax. That's a savings of almost $200.

For all the details, plus the coupon code that gets you the cheap price, check out our specials page by clicking here. But hurry. This offer will be all gone after Thursday, October 14.

It's time to think about 2011

Greetings from Gatlinburg. We arrived last night and we're staying at All Decked Out - and getting some minor maintenance issues taken care of.

I was looking at our reservation calendar this morning and realized that we have very few dates available for 2010. So it's time to start thinking about 2011.

Here's the good news. As of now, we are not raising our rates in 2011. Of course, that may change as we see how the reservations come in. But if you book your 2011 stay at Smoky Mountain Tower or All Decked Out this year, you will still get our 2010 rates.

Frankly, we don't know too many other people who are keeping rates at the same level next year. If our cleaning costs go up, we'll probably have to increase our rates, too. So we encourage you to book now, while the rates are still this low. And in case you forgot, our rates have never been this low in the 14-year history of renting our cabins!

It's easy to make your reservation online. Just go to either of our Web site and click the "Book Online Now" button. Enter your arrival and departure dates, and go on from there.

To make it easy, here are links directly to our online calendar:
-Smoky Mountain Tower - www.SmokyMountainTower.com/availability
-All Decked Out - www.SmokiesRentDirect.com/availability

We look forward to having you stay with us in 2011!

Smoky Mountain Tower Queen Bonus Room

If you've been to Smoky Mountain Tower this year, you know that we made the second level Bonus Room into a Queen "bedroom." We've always had the big chemical bottle lamp that my dad made many years ago. Now we've added another bedside lamp and a clock.


The room doesn't have a closet, but we added some shelves and hooks for clothes.


Of course, we put in a big wide-screen 32" TV. It's great to just be able to lie in bed and watch your favorite shows.


The biggest problem we had was the door. The opening is configured so it's impossible to add a regular door. Our first attempt at privacy was a set of vertical blinds. But we soon discovered they were pretty fragile and kept falling down. I tried taping them up, but that didn't work, either.

Then Mark, one of our great maintenance guys, told me about an accordion door. So we bought it and Mark put it up. Now, here's what the entrance looks like:


The only thing this room doesn't have is an attached bath. You have to share a bath with the occupants of the Master King Suite or the Master Queen Suite (up or down one level), or use the half-bath in the Tower Room. But so far, our guests seem to like it. We hope you'll check it out for yourselves and let us know what you think.

Tracking the fall colors

The leaves are just starting to turn a little bit. When we were in Gatlinburg a week ago, we just started to see some slight color changes.

Like you, I'm always watching for a good site to track the changes. I think I've found one. Just click here. Or, here's the whole link to copy and paste into your browser:

http://discoverpigeonforgecabins.com/fc2010/fall_colors_2010.htm

We've got a few nights open still in October at All Decked Out so you can enjoy the colors first-hand. Click here to check our calendar and make your reservation online, before somebody else gets your dates. And how about this! We're offering a special 15% discount for any available date from now through November 7 - just to encourage you to enjoy the colors. You'll find all the details here.

We hope you'll join us for God's great fall color show.

There's a garage at Smoky Mountain Tower

If you've been to Smoky Mountain Tower, you know there is a garage! So far, we've been using it for storage - mostly things that need to find a new home. Here's what it used to look like:


But our good friend, Darren, came by recently and took all the unwanted stuff. Now it's looking better:


Those cabinets are going to be installed on the back wall. There are a few other things that need to find a new home. But our goal (we hope, we hope) is to get everything done by winter so we can offer the garage as a place to get your vehicle out of the snow! Please watch our Web site for details - www.SmokyMountainTower.com. We'll let you know right here when the job is done!

Yes, there are bears!

We stopped by Gatlinburg on our way to Illinois today, just to drop off some things and check on several things. One thing we had heard about was that, apparently, a bear knocked our trash bin down the mountain at All Decked Out.

We didn't realize what a mess he had made. But see for yourself:


Here's a close-up of the metal "bear-proof" container:


And this is where the container used to be - about 100 yards away, at the top of the hill, right on the edge of the road:


If you look carefully, you'll see one of the metal legs still stuck in the ground. Apparently, this broke off in the fight! Hopefully, we'll get it all picked up and put back together in the next couple of days. Meanwhile, BEWARE OF THE BEARS!

A wedding at Smoky Mountain Tower

Who needs a wedding chapel? Not Randy McIlwain and Cheryl Bowden from Alabama. They were married in the sunroom at Smoky Mountain Tower a week ago today (Saturday, September 4).


Randy and Cheryl were joined for the ceremony by family members who came from Texas and Mississippi.


After the ceremony, everybody gathered for a family picture.

Then, everybody celebrated.


Congratulations, Randy and Cheryl - and thank you for choosing Smoky Mountain Tower to start your life together. May you have many years of blessing and happiness.