Gatlinburg 2008

After James' trip to Gatlinburg in the summer we decided to take a trip over one of his 6 day off mini-vacations as he said I would love it. When we planned this trip we knew we would be able get a view of the trees colors changing, however so did everyone else. Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge were extemely busy. We did make a small detour into North Carolina as we did "The Dragon" in Deal's Gap. For me it was 11 miles of clenched knuckles with a moment of heart failure. Imagine driving up the side of the mountain on a narrow 2 lane road. On some of the corners there is a little pull off area and we are in the lane looking over the mountain. James', without warning, pulls onto one of the pulloff areas to let a motorcycle go by us. Needless to say there was almost Flintstone's brakes on my side of the van and I think you can still see where I was grabbing the "Oh Shit" bar. Once we got out of The Dragon on the Carolina side there is a little shop where the parking lot is marked for motorcycle parking and tons of bikes. They do have a Tree of Shame with parts of wrecked out motorcyles in the tree. There is a few motel rooms located here where the bikers come and stay and then play up and down the mountain all day. Gatlinburg was beautiful. We did spend an afternoon walking around and doing some shopping. There are plenty of unique shops to keep you busy. I want to go back in the spring next time. The rhododendrums are everywhere, just naturally going on the mountain and I'm waiting to see them in full bloom.