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.