This year in Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg the festivals will be held on July 3 and 4.  Pigeon Forge will have live music at Patriot park including Diamond Rio and local favorite Jimbo Whaley and Greenbriar.  Gatlinburg will  start their festival with a parade at 12 midnight Saturday night. The Gatlinburg Firework Finale will start at 10 p.m. downtown.

http://www.obergatlinburg.com/rates.htm

Dolly Parton in the eyes of East Tennessee is as famous as the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.  Her giving and generosity is unmatched by any “modern day” actor or singer that you see on television today. Take it from the author of this blog, I personally received $500.00 just for graduating high school from Dolly herself.  My daughter received a book every month for the first year of her life because of the Dollywood foundation. Going to school with the Parton family was pretty awesome and envious at times. I remember being in class in primary school and one of the Parton cousins was out for 2 weeks.  I thought she was sick only to later find out that Dolly had taken the whole family to Disneyland(California) and then flown them on over to Hawaii for vacation.

People tend to make fun of Dolly because the way she talks and her flashy dress.  She is most famous for her out of porportion body parts and her duet with Kenny Rogers in the 80’s. I can tell you with 100% certainty that Dolly Parton is as real as the mountain stream that runs by our office.  “Dolly Parton” is not an act or a cheesy schtick like a wrestler would adapt to draw fans.  Simply put – “Dolly Parton is Dolly Parton” That is all she knows and all she wants to be. 

If your taste in music steers you clear of Dolly Parton and you wonder why she is such a phenomenon, just visit East Tennessee and ask a few questions. You will soon find out that money and fame is no match for love and family. Dolly Parton is a hero of epic proportions in Pigeon Forge,Sevierville,Gatlinburg and the Appalachain mountains.

Pigeon Forge Traffic – Alternate Route – If you are traveling into Gatlinburg and want to avoid the traffic – Traveling West to East you will want to pass exit 407 and go on to Exit 435 in Newport.  Stay right when exiting and this will put you onto Hwy 321. Travel 321 into Gatlinburg.

Traveling East to West you will need to exit off of I-40 at exit 435. At the end of the exit make a left across the interstate and this will lead you onto Hwy 321 into Gatlinburg. There will be signs leading the way into Gatlinburg.

Dollywood is back open and in full swing and we do have Dollywood Tickets.  If you stay with Chalet Village Properties  and are planning on visiting Dollywood please be sure to call or visit the office so you can take advantage of the play another day program. If you stayand receive the next day free. Must be consecutive days.

Come stay in a Gatlinburg Luxury Cabin and really use your hard earned money wisely.

I spoke to a gentleman on the phone the other day who actually said it was nice to ski in Gatlinburg with some actual powder on the ground.  To a novice skier that doesn’t mean much but to someone who really breathes skiing it makes a huge difference.

The advantage to staying in a Gatlinburg Chalet or Gatlinburg Cabin in Chalet Village is that you are no more than 2 to 3 miles from Ober Gatlinburg for easy access on and off of the slopes. Imagine spending 5 hours on the slopes skiing and not being able to take a dip in your own personal hot tub. Might as well stay at home if you can’t take full advantage of an awesome ski trip.

More than 100 parade entries, helium balloons and marching bands will line the streets for a great celebration. The parade will start at 7:30 and they are expecting about 80,000 people to attend.  Get a leg up on everyone with a Cabin or Chalet and ride the tram into downtown to watch the parade.

The next 10 days are set to be weather friendly for any activity that you might want to explore.  A trip to Cades Cove would surely produce some deer or bear sightings.  A hike to Mount LeConte would be perfect with some of the greatest views on the East coast.

Remember the rock slide on I-40 if you are planning to come to the Gatlinburg area. You can always come through the National park starting in Cherokee. Be sure to check with the park service if incliment weather moves in for possilbe road closures.

Fire on the Mountain

If this doesn’t tell you why the traffic is so bad in Gatlinburg during October then nothing will.  This picture was taken between the 2nd and 3rd week of October this year.  Today is October 29th and the colors are still blazing around the base of the mountains and in Pigeon Forge.  There is not enough film in the world to take in all of the beauty of  The Great Smoky Mountains.  Everyday in October brings a different view.