Tennessee (Part 3)

After we were done shopping and checking out downtown Gatlinburg it was time to head up into the Great Smoky Mountains. As I drove (and possibly got lost) Sarah took a short nap, until I woke her up for this....

There she is!

After our slight detour in the mountains we made our way to our original destination, the abandoned town of Elkmont. Elkmont was a logging town turned resort. The people that owned the cabins in the town were originally loggers and then eventually (once the trees ran out) vacationers. The National Park Service eventually used eminent domain and slowly took over the cabins as the owner's lifetime leases ran out. The area is now exactly as it was left, at least until the parks finally restore the buildings to their former glory.

Sarah! Did you read the sign?

The Appalachian Club. 

After we explored Elkmont (and definitely did not go inside any of the buildings....) we traveled to another vantage point (I may have gotten lost again). This time we were overlooking the city that only just a couple of hours ago we were wandering through.

Gatlinburg, Tennessee.

Mountains!

More mountains!

A panorama of the area.

The Great Smoky Mountains. They are called "Smoky" because in the morning and evening the liquid on the vegetation evaporates and hangs in the air, giving the mountains a hazy or smokey appearance.

After our nature fix was satisfied we headed back down the mountain (Sarah and I freaking out the whole way) back to the hotel for a nap (we are not as young as we used to be). A couple of hours later we got up and headed to dinner at Bennett's Bar-B-Que in Pigeon Forge.

The food was good (if not a bit overpriced). You can't go to Tennessee and not have Bar-B-Que.

Once we were sufficiently full and feeling kind of queasy Sarah thought it would be a good idea to ride some go-karts, and after much convincing I apparently agreed because I ended up here.....

We survived day two in Tennessee (I almost died on the go-karts), we headed back to the motel and I gave Sarah her cupcake with a candle and sang Happy Birthday. There was a picture, but for some reason I cannot upload it. All in all it was a great day, and day three was shaping up to be a hodgepodge of awesomeness. So stay tuned for the final part of our Tennessee adventure.

Thanks for reading!