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This is one thing I like the most in Gatlinburg. The sky lift is sort of a cable car which takes you to the top of the crokket mountain. It was bit scary when the seat swings but it was gone within a minute. I think this is the best scenic tour in Gatlinburg. You can experience really nice scenaries of smoky mountains in your return trip.

River below


They have set up a camera to take pictures of the passengers when they reach the hill top. They print it and sell the pic at a price of $12. Passengers can buy it if they wish. I think it is too much for a photo. It is great if we can have the digital copy at a lower price.

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The Juney Whank fall is located in Great Smoky Mountains. There is a horse/foot trail heading to the fall which is about quarter a mile long. Juney Whank fall is a beautiful small sized waterfall. There is a footbridge provided for visitors and it gives an up-close view of the fall.

Horse trail

Footbridge

It is a nice relaxing environment. It is a nice feeling when water droplets embrace us and so nice to hear the continuous sound of rushing water. We didn't want to get up from the bench at all. That footbridge is a great idea. Many hanks to the person who brought it up.

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A trip to Tennessee means a trip to Smokies. Smoky mountains are located along the Tennessee-North Carolina border. We decided to drive up the Smoky mountains on 3rd day of Tennessee trip. Our target was to drive to the Juney Whank fall in smokies. Considering the distance we roughly estimated that it'll take about three hours for the round trip. First we dropped in the Smoky mountains visitor center and bought a map of smokies. Then we started the journey heading towards Juney Whank fall.

The route was scenic and we enjoyed the drive so much.

These scenaries would have been more beautiful if it was summer or fall (we went there in early spring). However, it took about 5 hours for the journey. How good our estimation was? :) Well, we did it wrong. We didn't consider it as a mountain at the first place :D 

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Our plan for the third day was to climb Smoky mountains and then to see around Gatlinburg city. So this time we tried to get up as early as possible and yes we could leave Blue bird ridge at about 10 a.m. The Smokies and Gatlinburg were about 15 minutes away from Pigeon forge. Here is the route.


View Larger Map

Then we started our journey to Great Smoky Mountains. Our Target was to see Juney Whank falls which is in Smokies. It took so much time to drive to the fall and to return. Actually our estimation has been doubled. We were dying to see a Mcdonalds coz we were that much hungry. Finally we learnt a good lesson in time estimation when climbing mountains :)

We went for a sky lift ride after the lunch and then to see Ripleys Believe It or Not museum in Gatlinburg. It was about 6 p.m. when we come out from the museum. Our next target was Dollywood adventure park. Unlucky mee !! it was closed :(  We missed one hell of a fun time and I don't know how much they missed in revenue by keeping it closed during the spring break.

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We had a nice helicopter ride on our 2nd day in Pigeon forge. It was a great experience because it was our first time. There were so many packages to choose from. We chose the tour called River island tour. It was a four minutes tour costing $20 per person. In my opinion the tour is worthy for the cost. In this tour we can experience a nice scenic view. Here are some photos taken from the sky.

The river island

The lake. We didn't fly over it. It was included in another package (Douglas lake tour).

They provide head phones to communicate with the pilot during the tour, at a cost of extra $2 (as I remember). I was not listening to him anyway. I was lost in my own thoughts and sceneries below. In three words, "It was magnificent". 

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Our intention was to see around pigeon forge in 2nd day of our vacation. We decided to get up early in the morning because time means fun. However it was 10 a.m. when the first person gets up and shouts others :) So we hurried to get ready and had lunch in few minutes because we had reserved tickets for the helicopter tour at 11.30 a.m. Luckily we were able to reach there on time. We had a nice four minutes helicopter ride and then got lost in Pigeon forge.

Wonder Works

This is an amazing piece of work. It is built to look like an upside down house. When you reach the entrance you can hear some sounds of cracks and can see a mist simulating a smoke. We feel like it is going to collapse in few minutes. The interior design also is amazing. It really looks like an upside down house.

This is a must see thing in Pigeon forge. Of course the entrance is free of charge.

We had our lunch from an IHOP nearby. Well, I name that day as a go-kart day.  The main thing we did was "Go Karting" :) We got a package for five go-kart rides for $25 per person. It was really fun and we became go-kart experts at the end of the day.

We had a great dinner at our Sri Lankan friend's place in Knocksville, TN. We played Poker and Taboo after the dinner. Thanks to them we had a great time.

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We reserved Blue Bird Ridge cabin to stay our vacation in Tennessee, for three nights. It is located in Pigeon forge, TN. First I should say Blue Bird Ridge is a great cabin to consider for a vacation. It is a three bed room cabin and we were six. So it was more than enough for our stay. We got a special deal to get one night free when we reserve two nights. The cost was $385 for the whole stay ($65 per head). The cabin includes a pool table, two TVs, a hot bath tub and two baths.

Anyway few things to mention......beware, there is no internet. If you are not sure that you will be able to stay out of your businesses during the vacation, then don't go for it. Also, it is better you bring your blankets and stuff. Fortunately we did. The blankets except bed sheets were not well cleaned (not cleaned at all I guess). However it is a great cabin for the amount you spend.
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We visited Cumberland falls, KY on our way to Tennessee. It is a nice place to visit. It is great if we could go there in fall or summer. We couldn't see the real beauty because the trees around were naked yet as the spring was just begun.

There were passenger areas built in different levels to see the fall in different view points. Though we liked to stay little longer, we had to leave that pleasant scene because all were hungry.

We searched for horse riding spots nearby but they were closed during the spring break.
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Well, it was our first trip in US. We spent really nice four days in Tennessee (TN) during the past spring break. We started our journey from bloomington, IN on 17th March. Our destination was Pigeon forge, TN. We had to drive via Kentuky (KY), so we could visit the Cumberland falls on our way. Here is the map showing our 1st day route.


View Larger Map

We had our home made breakfast on the way, Lunch from a Golden Corral near Cumberland falls. We arrived at the cabin (Blue Bird Ridge), we had reserved for our whole stay, at about 6.00 P.M. We were bit tired after a long drive, so everyone was expecting a good, comfortable sleep after the dinner. I was waiting for the fun at Pigeon forge in day two :)

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