Gatlinburg would have to be a very strange place to have a tourist town. Driving through thick wooded forests the road opens out into something that you'd almost expect to see a beach side resort city. The first town you go through is Pigeon Forge, which has chain restaurants, putt-putt golf and the Dollyworld theme park. About 10 miles further up is Gatlinburg. Surrounded on both sides by steep hills, it is essentially a one main street town, with loads of tourist shops and hotels. At the end of the main street is the entrance to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

Adam had rented a cabin here for our first wedding anniversary get-away. We were driving up to Dayton, Ohio for a course, but this was an ideal location to spend the weekend. The log cabin was spectacular and on the first night it snowed so we were able to wake up to the sight of snow falling in the mountains. Simply beautiful.

Back in Pigeon Forge was the Dixie Stampede, dinner and horse riding show. We're assuming that it is similar to the Outback Spectacular on the Gold Coast but they serve up dinner while you watch the North vs South battle it out in a series of stunts, tricks and races all involving horses. It was an awesome show. Pre-show entertainment (as seen below) was a great band playing good old country music. It certainly got everyone in the mood for a great show.

Unfortunately with the snow and cold weather conditions we couldn't get all the way into the National Park because of icy roads but we did have a bit of a look around an old township within the park. The old buildings and houses were very primitive but it demonstrated how people's ingenuity could overcome isolation and the elements to survive.

The first morning view		Our log cabin just outside of Gatlinburg		One of the original old houses in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
The gaps in the logs are filled in with mud to protect the occupants from the elements			An old church in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park	The view in the park