What’s better than great barbeque and some Tennessee Bluegrass; how about a whole weekend at Sevierville’s Bloomin Barbeque & Bluegrass May 14 & 15th. Enjoy championship barbeque and free bluegrass concerts featuring renowned artists highlighted by the Dan Tyminski Band.
Come early and go to the BBQ Boot Camp held May 11-13 at Walters State Community College Sevier County Campus. Three nights of evening classes will feature guest instructor Mike Davis the 2008 World BBQ Champion on the 11 &12th. The final class on May 13 Chef Catherine Hallman will instruct on Summertime Pastries and Desserts. To “enlist” for the “BBQ Boot Camp”download an application at BloominBBQ.com.
The Resort at Governor’s Crossing is offering special discounted rates for attendees. Select the BBQ rateon our website or call us at 800-497-5749. This special discounted rate is available May 9 through May 16. So come early and come hungry!
Officials with Great Smoky Mountains National Park announced that road work on the Cades Cove Loop Road would be completed almost a month ahead of schedule. To celebrate the early finish the park will open April 24 to only pedestrians and bicyclists until noon then motorists will be allowed access that afternoon.
On Sunday April 25 the road will be open for the “Cades Cove Loop Lope” offering runners a once in a lifetime opportunity to compete in either a 3.5 mile or the full 11 mile loop. Organized by the park and Friends of the Smokies, the event will require participants to register in advance for the run. Participation fees are high ($75 for the 3.5 and $100 for the 11 mile) but all money will be used to support park projects. We have provided a link for further information on this special event, go to the Friends of the Smokiesweb site.
Pigeon Forge’s newest attraction Titanic is scheduled for its grand opening April 8th. Billed as “The World’s Largest Permanent Titanic Museum Attraction”, the permanent three-story museum is shaped like the original Titanic. The reported $25 million attraction is built half scale of its namesake and towers 100 feet above the Parkway in Pigeon Forge.
The museum will house over 400 artifacts and personal items in 20 different rooms. Visitors upon entering the exhibit will be given a boarding ticket that will have a story of an actual passenger and be able to follow their unique story throughout the exhibit. Guests will be able to view life onboard as they see replicas of first class staterooms and third class cabins, plus many more displays and activities. Regis Philbin, TV host and personality, will be on hand to “christen” the Titanic Museum at 10AM on April 8th. The christening and grand opening events, which take place outside of the Titanic Museum attraction, are free and open to the public.
The Great Smoky Mountain National Park will be closing certain roads this spring for much needed repairs. These repairs will affect some of the parks most popular areas.
The Cades Cove Loop Road near Townsend, is slated for repaving from March 1 through May 21. Due to the fact the road has not been repaved in over thirty years, it will need to be totally closed down as it will require total reconstruction.
Clingmans Dome Road, which normally opens April 1st, will be kept closed until around May 29th. Along with road repairs, new public facilities are being installed at the parking area at Clingmans Dome.
The Roaring Fork Motor Nature Trail is also scheduled to be closed till May 29th. The popular 5 mile scenic loop is in Gatlinburg.
Weather conditions will play an important factor in getting these three projects completed on time. This winter and last fall have been extremely wet causing rock slides along certain roads and making for wet working conditions. We will report any announced delays in scheduled opening dates here on our blog and also on our Twitter page.
The Resort has added a two night stay package including 2 tickets to “Cirque de Chine” at the Smoky Mountain Palace. “Cirque de Chine” is an extravagant display of grace, dance, skill and illusion reminiscent of the opening ceremonies of the 2008 Bejjing Olympics. Two of the shows favorite acts are the Jung Jo Drums, an all girl ensemble, and the 5 Flying Motorcycles that race around inside a 26 foot metal ball.
A show you would expect to see in Las Vegas is right here in the Smoky Mountains located right next door to The Resort. For more information go to our specials page and for show time and dates go to the Smoky Mountain Palace web site.
The Resort at Governor’s Crossing has their 2010 Dollywood Packages now available. The packages are available for stay dates 3/27/2010 to 10/30/2010 and may be reserved on-line or by calling 800-497-5749. This year Dollywood will be celebrating their 25th season.
The Resort at Governor’s Crossing has brought back its very popular NASCAR Speedpark packages for the 2010 season. Combining excellent accommodations, The Resort’s exciting waterpark activities and a fun filled day at the NASCAR Speedpark, this multi night package will make your families trip to the Smokies one to remember.
Book a stay of two or more consecutive nights at our special NASCAR Speedpark Rate and receive an all-day wristband voucher ticket to NASCARSpeedpark for each day of your stay (stay 2 nights 2 tickets, 3 nights 3 tickets and so on). Packages are available on both one and two bedroom condominiums, additional voucher tickets may be purchased at the front desk.
The packages are available for stay dates 3/19/2010 to 10/30/2010 on-line and to reserve this package enter the pass code SPEED in the promo box and enter your dates. From the drop down box next to rate plan select NASCAR SPEEDPARK PACKAGE and this will display available room types with the special NASCAR SpeedPark rates. You must have Java Script enabled on your computer to view these rates. You may also call 800-494-7308 to reserve your package.
The special NASCAR Speedpark rate may not be combined with any other discounts, coupons or promotions, andyou must select the NASCAR Speedpark Package rate. Certain restrictions apply to early departures. Wristband voucher tickets are good any one day in the 2010 season and are non refundable.
With planned closures of many popular areas in the Great Smoky Mountain National Park due to much need road repairs, alternate sightseeing destinations will be required. Visitors not minding some time spent hiking may like to visit the home of the Walker Sisters in Little Greenbrier.
The Walkers’ were the children of Civil War veteran John “Hairy John” Walker and Margaret Jane King who moved to Little Greenbrier in the late 1860s or early 1870s. They raised 11 children, four boys and seven girls. Six spinster girls, Margaret Jane, Mary Elizabeth (Polly), Martha Ann, Nancy Melinda, Louisa Susan, and Hettie Rebecca spent the majority of their lives living and farming in a primitive lifestyle at Little Greenbrier, thus the famed “Walker Sisters”.
The Walker house is a three room two-storied log house that was completed around 1859 and this primitive house, with neither plumbing nor electric, was lived in until 1964. The house and land were sold to the U.S. Government in 1941 for $4750 but the sisters were granted a lifetime lease until their deaths. The formation of the National Park and the sale of their property brought many visitors to the sisters, curious of their way of life. They were able to sell hand made items as souvenirs to supplement their incomes as they welcomed travelers onto their land. An article in the Saturday Evening Post in 1947 brought then national publicity. Louisa Susan was the last of the six spinster sisters to pass, as she died in 1964.
The 4.2 mile round trip hike to the cabin is considered an easy to moderate ranking by most hikers. Beginning at Metcalf Bottoms picnic area off the Little River Rd, take the Metcalf Bottoms Trail (approximately 7/10 of a mile) to the Little Greenbrier Schoolhouse. This one room schoolhouse still has blackboard and desks from when it was last used in the 1930s. On the hillside above the school house is a small local cemetery. One may also drive, conditions permitting, to the Little Greenbrier School via a one lane gravel road, cross the bridge at Metcalf Bottoms picnic area and the road will be about ½ mile on your right.
Little Greenbrier Schoolhouse
To continue to the Walker Sisters’ home take the Little Brier Gap Trail from the parking area at the Little Greenbrier School. This is considered a mile hike but is probably closer to a mile and a half.
Dollywood’s newest attraction, Adventure Mountain, is scheduled to be completed for the park’s opening on March 27. Due to the economy the attraction was delayed until this year.
Adventure Mountain is billed as the largest challenge course in the country. There are four separate courses with 46 different elements plus a children’s area. The themed attraction will have much of the look and feel of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in its early years.
Ripley’s Aquarium of the Smokies announced Thursday an expansion that will include a habitat for about 20 African penguins. The new multimillion dollar exhibit is scheduled to open in mid-March and is located at the site of the former Veranda Restaurant.
The black footed African penguins average about 2 feet in height and weigh around 5 to 9 pounds. The African penguins, with shorter feathers than the Antarctic penguin, are from a warm climate that will allow for them to be displayed in an indoor-outdoor facility.
Ripley’s Aquarium of the Smokies, located in downtown Gatlinburg, was named the top aquarium in the nation last year by Trip Advisor, the online travel website.
Barbeque & Bluegrass May 14 & 15th. Enjoy championship barbeque and free bluegrass concerts featuring renowned artists highlighted by the Dan Tyminski Band.
