Pigeon Forge and The Great Smoky Mountains

We went to Pigeon Forge with the idea of going to Dollywood and touring Gatlinburg. Well, it rained for the better part of the 3 days we were there, so we didn't do either of those things! We did, however, get to drive around the Gatlinburg area, which is a cute tourist town.

The real highlight of this area is The Great Smoky Mountains. Oh my, they are glorious! And the greens are in shades that you just can't describe.

On our first day, we ventured off in the rain for a little drive out to Townsend. I had packed a lunch and the skies cleared long enough for us to enjoy our picnic along this beautiful river.

The next rainy day didn't stop us from another great drive up through Great Smoky Mountains National Park. There was actually something really special about the smell of the fresh rain.
This from the NPS brochure: Simply being inside the magnificent forests can be a multi-sensory experience rich with sights, sounds, smells, and that special skin warmth felt as light rays penetrate the deep shade cast by a forest canopy. Dwarfed by the trees, your sense of scale may even be altered. I couldn't have said it better myself.

The heavy rains had created this very impressive waterfall.

On the west end of the park is Cades Cove, which has an array of historic buildings, dating back to the late 19th and early 20th century. Every year up to 2 million people visit Cades Cove, so it's very slow going making the 11 mile loop around the cove. But it is beautiful and certainly worth the effort.

A view of Cades Cove from above the valley.

This spontaneous creek was flowing across Old Cades Cove road. We were actually stopped in the middle of the water.

Back at the RV Park, we had little visitors that I couldn't resist feeding.