Pigeon Forge, TN

We decided to stay in the Gatlinburg/Pigeon Forge area at Riverbend Campground for the July 4th week when we started planning our next adventure in May. We chose the area for lack of a better idea and wanting to ensure we had reservations for the busy holiday weekend. With more foresight we might have picked a less crowded tourist location. Fortunately we’re in Pigeon Forge which is not as bad as Gatlinburg. The campground is on a river and our site backed up to it which made for a pretty spot.
On July 1 we drove to Townsend to tour the Tuckaleechee Cavern which is estimated to be 20-30 million years old. It was a 90 minute tour and the cave is massive. The “big room” is the size of a football field and further in there is a spring fed waterfall. Another stream runs through the whole cave and we followed it throughout the cave. The cave is on private land and was discovered in 1931. It opened to the public but soon shut down due to the depression. Later 2 boys discovered and played in the caverns and while at college in 1949 they starting talking about opening the caverns to the public. To purchase the mineral rights of the land they worked in Alaska to generate enough money and then spent 4 years hand carrying in sand, gravel and cement to build steps and pathways. They opened it to the public in 1953. It is still owned today by one of the families.
The next day we hiked Baskins Creek Falls in the national park. The trail is rated moderate and less traveled with streams to cross. I liked the idea that it was less crowded and although it had rained the night before it didn’t sound dangerous. The park was very crowded and we had to park about a quarter mile up from the trailhead (parking was limited and on a one way road). The trail is narrow and the woods are dense on either side of it. We talked about bears and what to do if we saw one, and how to better prepare to get to the can of bear spray in the backpack! We also talked about how Pepper would make for a nice snack. The path ran along a stream which made it a beautiful hike. It was wet; we often walked through or around water but it was muddy only in certain spots and we wore our Keens so were able to easily rinse our shoes. We crossed over the stream in one spot that required walking on logs or in the stream (water felt nice), then a second, easier crossing about a quarter mile down. To get to the falls we had to climb over a large fallen tree trunk and large boulders. The waterfall was smaller than others we’ve visited but pretty. When we were at the bottom of the falls 2 women informed me it is illegal to bring dogs into the park - oops! I had read that you needed to be careful with family animals but didn’t remember reading you couldn’t bring them on trails. Pepper was in her backpack since the first stream crossing and I kept her there the rest of the time and crossed my fingers we didn’t see a ranger! The hike back was more difficult as most of it was up the mountain. We took a detour to see an old graveyard and found it about a quarter mile up. The stones are rudimentary and if inscriptions were originally on them they are long worn off save one, a 7 month old baby that died on March 26, 1926, 35 years before I was born to the day. Someone had placed a formal tombstone on the grave more recently. Researching it I found the cemetery held 5 members of the Olge family, thus known as “The Old Job Ogle” cemetery (Job died in 1906.) It also held 4 other people with different last names including baby Grace. In total we hiked 5 miles.
On Thursday, July 3 we drove to Maryville to check the town out as a possible retirement location. We stopped at a brewery for a beer in Alcoa (name is from the Alcoa company that use to own the town), then went to Mountain Valley Winery in Pigeon Forge for a sampling. The red wines were surprisingly good, dry and not overly bold. I bought a bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon. Kevin bought 3 bags of Hurricane mix to go with his rum!
On July 4 we pretty much stayed put except for a quick trip to Ace Hardware. Kevin replaced the water pump manifold that was linking and causing the pump to continuously cycle. Reminiscent of Southern Cross issues. Except for one coupler that didn’t match from the new manifold to the pump (thus the trip to Ace) he had all the parts previously delivered to his mom’s house and was able to fix the issue in a short amount of time. I’m thankful that is taken care of!もっと詳しく