Sightseeing and Shopping

Visitors…even those who have stayed with us here in East Tennessee…expect to visit or, in this case, revisit the better known tourist sites in the area.

So off we went to one of the area’s most iconic tourist destinations!

It was a Monday in mid-October and the autumn colors were late this year…but we had repeated traffic jams in Cades Cove, the single most popular portion of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.  Visitors are supposed to pull off to the side if they want to take photos of the scenery or if they spot wildlife they want to view more closely.  But the fact is that many park patrons just stop in the middle of the one-way 11 mile single lane circle road through the cove and do their thing.

In the past we were stopped by traffic when every car ahead of us stopped to take a photo of a deer that was feeding right by the roadside.  It must have been her turn to 'entertain' the tourists!  Our roughest visit involved a 2-hour crawl through the Cove… On this particular day, it only took an hour or so to traverse this scenic road.

We’ve posted plenty of photos of Cades Cove previously so I’m only included the 2 above on this occasion.  The views were quite nice but, as I said before, the fall colors just weren’t on display.  The cause for the delay in the leafy display has been a lack of rain combined with a warmer fall season.

FYI, for the uninitiated Cades Cove is an isolated valley in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.  With its wildlife and striking scenery the Cove is the most popular destination in the entire park, attracting more than 2,000,000 visitors each year.  Unfortunately, on this occasion we didn’t spot any wildlife.

Eventually our wanderings on this day led us to Wears Valley, a popular tourist destination that’s close to Pigeon Forge Tennessee, Dollywood and a myriad of tourist attractions.  When we spotted the Tennessee XXX Moonshine store, we decided to stop and take a look.  A little research revealed that this is the second outlet for this operation, the other being in Pigeon Forge.

In the previous photo if you enlarge the picture and look just to the left of the smokestack you may be able to make out a number of houses/cabins along the ridge.  This photo is a close-up of those buildings.  There was some color in the trees along the ridge...

To say that rental properties in the foothills of the Smoky Mountains are popular would be a complete understatement!  Just in Sevier County Tennessee, 2019 numbers reveal that there are 308 chalets and 5,935 cabins available for the tourist trade…

I had to take a photo of a couple of the promotional ‘props’ staged in front of the Tennessee XXX Moonshine store.  In this case an old ‘distressed’ Ford 85 pickup truck was posed with hay, scarecrow, pumpkins and corn stalks.  I believe that it is a 1938 model.  A completely rebuilt one recently sold at a Barrett-Jackson auction for $30,800.

I’ve always liked Studebakers just because they were different than anything else in their era.  Laurie’s partial to them too as her Dad once brought home a beautiful Studebaker Golden Hawk…not the most practical car for a big family.  This one appears to be a 1949 Studebaker Champion.  They’ve ‘dressed it up’ in a style befitting an old time Sheriff’s patrol car that might have chased down real ‘moonshine runners’ back in the day…

Of course, there is plenty to look at (and purchase) inside the store.  In addition to the moonshine, one can buy t-shirts, mugs, coasters, candies, jam and even braided rugs.

Still, (pun intended), the most popular and plentiful item available to customers was the moonshine itself.  In this photo, Laurie, Bonnie and Bill have bellied up to the tasting bar to try out a few varieties.  Some of them were winners and others just weren’t. (Different strokes for different folks)

Laurie brought home 3 small 50-proof samples of Tennessee XXX Moonshine’s products.  Moonshine soaked cherries, ‘Nanner Puddin’ and Expresso coffee.  Other possible options included such items as ‘Smores’, Blue Houdini, Caramel, Orange ‘Creamsicle’ and ‘Bubbamocha’.  The flavor options were almost endless!

Tennessee XXX Moonshine is located at 3033 Wears Valley Road in Pigeon Forge Tennessee.  Phone: 865-446-4673.

I’ve included a photo of this doe peering through our deck railing to see if we were going to interrupt her feasting on our acorn ‘crop’.  Pretty isn’t she?  Hopefully the acorn rich backyard will continue to distract her and she’ll leave the few hostas alone that we have left. 

Laurie took these photos of the sun setting behind the trees across the street from our home.  They represent a fittingly peaceful end to a day of traffic jams and shopping.

Just click on any of the photos to enlarge them...

Thanks for stopping by for a visit!

Take Care, Big Daddy Dave