December 7, 20169 yr Author Isn't tge Border Bowl Allstar game at Gatlinburg this year? Really? I hadn't heard that, it's been in Williamsburg every year.
December 7, 20169 yr Really? I hadn't heard that, it's been in Williamsburg every year. KY TN Border Bowl, Kentucky Tennessee Border Bowl
December 7, 20169 yr Author KY TN Border Bowl, Kentucky Tennessee Border Bowl Well there you go. Looked up the location, it looks to be really new and set up to host many events throughout the year.
April 5, 20179 yr Author We are staying in a cabin outside of Pigeon Forge. On just the Ridgeline this cabin is on there are at least 10 cabins that were left in ruins by the fire within a half mile. 3 cabins directly across the road from our cabin, maybe 75 feet away, burnt to the foundation. You can see all of the burnt appliances laying where the crawl spaces used to be. Just driving to this cabin we've probably seen 50 cabins/homes that were destroyed...and that's just in this one very small area. Saw a huge motel in Gatlinburg near the river that was gutted. Driving to the North Carolina border you can see ridge after ridge burnt out. One area near the top that is a big hiking area called Two Chimneys was devastated. Every tree scorched and leafless and ground cover gone to the dirt. A lot of grass has been hose seeded along the roads to prevent erosion, and is beautiful...it's hard to explain enough for anyone to appreciate it. Good news is there is new construction going on everywhere. The chair lift which was destroyed looks to be close to operational. The steakhouse next to the aquarium that burnt is being rebuilt and cabins and homes are being rebuilt every where you look. Aside from the horrific loss of life and acre upon acre of scorched mountains the area looms to be recovering well.
April 6, 20179 yr Author Took this on the way to Panther Knob in Sevier County. This picture epitomizes what's happened down here with the fires and the spirit of rebuilding and moving on that you see every where. I've lost count of the number of homes we've seen destroyed down here...it's amazing at the amount of loss there actually was.
April 6, 20179 yr We are staying in a cabin outside of Pigeon Forge. On just the Ridgeline this cabin is on there are at least 10 cabins that were left in ruins by the fire within a half mile. 3 cabins directly across the road from our cabin, maybe 75 feet away, burnt to the foundation. You can see all of the burnt appliances laying where the crawl spaces used to be. Just driving to this cabin we've probably seen 50 cabins/homes that were destroyed...and that's just in this one very small area. Saw a huge motel in Gatlinburg near the river that was gutted. Driving to the North Carolina border you can see ridge after ridge burnt out. One area near the top that is a big hiking area called Two Chimneys was devastated. Every tree scorched and leafless and ground cover gone to the dirt. A lot of grass has been hose seeded along the roads to prevent erosion, and is beautiful...it's hard to explain enough for anyone to appreciate it. Good news is there is new construction going on everywhere. The chair lift which was destroyed looks to be close to operational. The steakhouse next to the aquarium that burnt is being rebuilt and cabins and homes are being rebuilt every where you look. Aside from the horrific loss of life and acre upon acre of scorched mountains the area looms to be recovering well. Thinking about a Spring trip there again. Thanks for the info! Where (and through what company) are you staying? Always looking for new places to stay down there. Thanks!
April 7, 20179 yr Author Thinking about a Spring trip there again. Thanks for the info! Where (and through what company) are you staying? Always looking for new places to stay down there. Thanks! Auntie Bellham's is the company we used this trip. Nice website, put in your dates and it will pull up all available cabins during that period. We are staying about 5 miles out of Pigeon Forge. In the past if we got a cabin we always went to Gatlinburg...but I really like the convenience of staying here.
April 7, 20179 yr Auntie Bellham's is the company we used this trip. Nice website, put in your dates and it will pull up all available cabins during that period. We are staying about 5 miles out of Pigeon Forge. In the past if we got a cabin we always went to Gatlinburg...but I really like the convenience of staying here. Thanks, JD!
April 11, 20179 yr We just booked a cabin for a long weekend trip to Gatlinburg for late May. Interested to see how the area has changed since I was last there (5-6 years ago), especially with the wildfires.
April 11, 20179 yr Author We just booked a cabin for a long weekend trip to Gatlinburg for late May. Interested to see how the area has changed since I was last there (5-6 years ago), especially with the wildfires. Business is booming and there are new businesses going in every where, especially when compared to 5-6 years ago. The fires took out a lot but some regrowth has already started in a few areas. If you are staying in a cabin I'm sure you will see some of the same devastation that we did if you are staying in one that is a little off of the beaten path.
April 11, 20179 yr Author This is a very common scene... One of the blackened ridges All along the main road between Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg grass has been "Spray Sewn" to cover up the blackened ground and help with erosion control.
April 11, 20179 yr Business is booming and there are new businesses going in every where, especially when compared to 5-6 years ago. The fires took out a lot but some regrowth has already started in a few areas. If you are staying in a cabin I'm sure you will see some of the same devastation that we did if you are staying in one that is a little off of the beaten path. Only staying a couple miles from downtown Gatlinburg. I'm always iffy when booking cabins because you just never know with the rental companies, and seems most have plenty of both good and bad reviews. :lol2: Fingers crossed it works out.
April 11, 20179 yr Author Only staying a couple miles from downtown Gatlinburg. I'm always iffy when booking cabins because you just never know with the rental companies, and seems most have plenty of both good and bad reviews. :lol2: Fingers crossed it works out. You'll probably see a lot of damage then if you are staying that close to Gatlinburg. We've used 3 or 4 different companies and have never had a bad experience over the past 15 years. If you've never stayed in a cabin down there be prepared to potentially drive up or down very steep roads or driveways. You may luck out and get an easy drive...but I never have :lol2:
April 11, 20179 yr You'll probably see a lot of damage then if you are staying that close to Gatlinburg. We've used 3 or 4 different companies and have never had a bad experience over the past 15 years. If you've never stayed in a cabin down there be prepared to potentially drive up or down very steep roads or driveways. You may luck out and get an easy drive...but I never have :lol2: Location and road conditions factored in to us picking the cabin we did. It's about a mile off the main parkway road so we're not expecting too much of an issue with the drive. Last time we went was for New Year's with some friends. We decided to take my wife's dad's jeep since it had 4-wheel drive. The cabin was at the top of a mountain that seemed to take us up about 10 miles of winding steep roads. The first time we went up the jeep made so many weird noises we were hesitant to drive it back down. When we went downtown the next day we had smoke coming from the engine the entire way down. :lol2: Ended up parking it at the rental company's lodge and "carpooled" it back and forth the rest of the weekend.
April 11, 20179 yr Author Location and road conditions factored in to us picking the cabin we did. It's about a mile off the main parkway road so we're not expecting too much of an issue with the drive. Last time we went was for New Year's with some friends. We decided to take my wife's dad's jeep since it had 4-wheel drive. The cabin was at the top of a mountain that seemed to take us up about 10 miles of winding steep roads. The first time we went up the jeep made so many weird noises we were hesitant to drive it back down. When we went downtown the next day we had smoke coming from the engine the entire way down. :lol2: Ended up parking it at the rental company's lodge and "carpooled" it back and forth the rest of the weekend. There used to be a garage at the bottom of Ski Mountain Road that advertised "Fast Brake Jobs" as newbies would pick up too much speed and burn up a set of brakes coming off of the mountain every day.
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