Mary Jane and I have been vacationing in Gatlinburg, Tennessee since Jimmy Carter was President.

The sublime beauty of the haunting Smoky Mountains is captivating!

During our first sojourns to Gatlinburg…we often traveled with friends from a church that we all attended.  I recall, so fondly, my old friend, Jim Dunmyer, enjoying the East Tennessee Town and its’ surroundings…so very much.

A few years later, we had two little sons, that enjoyed visiting Gatlinburg abundantly…and especially swimming in the Hotel Park Vista’s swimming pool!

It was not unusual, in those early years, for us to make two and perhaps three trips to our preferred destination…each year.

We fell in love with Cades Cove.

‘Cades Cove is an isolated valley located in the Tennessee section of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, USA.  The valley was home to numerous settlers before the formation of the national park.  Today, Cades Cove, the single most popular destination for visitors to the park, attracts more than two million visitors to the park because of its’ well preserved homesteads, scenic mountain views, and abundant display of wildlife.’   Wikipedia

Needless to say…we liked Cades Cove so well that…we brought it home with us!

In the late 90’s and early 2000’s we traveled several times to Gatlinburg over Christmas to be with our friends, Steve and Faye, and enjoy the brilliantly lit pageantry of the Holiday Season.

We shared a condo, in the mountains and there is no better way to celebrate the joys of the Season…than in Gatlinburg with your dear friends!

I have written about it earlier…but it bears repeating…we visited this past April with my brother, Brock, and my sister-in-law, Marcy, and my niece and nephew, Jamie and Jeb, along with Jeb’s’ girlfriend, Morgan. We simply had a wonderful time!

With the sampling of Moonshine and a hike through the park and the pristine, peaceful, restful…beauty of the Smoky Mountains…and being with new found family…that you love…nothing could be finer!

I have been to few places that afforded me more peace and contentment than Gatlinburg, Tennessee and the Great Smoky Mountains.  From the Dollywood Christmas Pageant, in Pigeon Forge, to the melodic music of the Little Pigeon River…there is nothing else like it…including the Black Bears!