a visit to Dollywood

After our "not so comfortable night, and Camille had to sleep in the truck", we arrived late in the day at Pigeon Forge, TN. I knew we would have a "Camille can come in "room this evening, because I had been calling ahead. We found a very nice Super 8, that was not only pet friendly, but was also just one traffic light away from the road that took us to Dollywood. We had two main reasons for our trip - other than our anniversary - one to visit with our friend Glen, and the other to visit Dollywood again. We have been there twice before, once in the late 80's when she had only opened the park a few years before and the other was in the mid 90's when we took the girls back and went to Dollywood with Glen and his kids. I guess what I really like about the park is other than the usual theme rides (and there are plenty).. Dolly "saved" this park and area, the park was close to going belly up and the economy in this area was very bad. When she took over the park, both thrived. It is also a place where she has young musical talent come and perform and often it's the break that they need, she has a whole section of the park that is dedicated to the old crafts of the mountains, and she also has an eagle rescue that she is very involved in. So, needless to say, if you really aren't the scary ride sort of person (and I am not) there is plenty to do and see.



Monday morning we awoke to this... pouring - pouring rain!!! Tropical Storm Lee had come to Tennessee just about the same time we did. Sadly, Dollywood is open part time this time of year, and Monday being that day. So, it was either go in the rain or forget it, and not go at all. Since I already said, this was on of the reasons for our trip... it meant going in the rain.














The Great Smokey mountains were certainly living up to their name that day!!!!



























When we first arrived, we had to drop Camille off at "Doggy wood"... a nice little kennel on the property. Smart idea, people do travel with dogs, and you couldn't leave one in your car while you did the park... so having a kennel on the property.. now someone was thinking!!!!













The runs were quite nice, and the building was cozy on this rainy day. Camille was certainly going to have a drier day than us. You need to return to check on your dog every so often, but I didn't mind doing that. I told Cam she was going to have a good day, but she didn't totally agree with me....

and here we are......

Interesting message for a day like this......

It's a beautiful park, even in the pouring rain. The good thing is, there are places you can duck into and we certainly did. The weather went from everything to heavy mist.. to pouring rain....

We picked up a couple of those "plastic bags" just to keep some of the rain off.. and actually they worked pretty well for most of the day. (though I think my hat weighed about five pounds before the day was over) Oh well... Happy Anniversary to us... we have com thru rain before!!!!

Since we aren't the "ride" kind of people, we had a great time going thru the shops and craft barns. They make beautiful buggies in Dollywood and we had a great time chatting with this gentleman.

It would be so cool if we could have bought a buggy like this to bring home.

This is the eagle rescue. Dolly is quite involved with this, and they have released several hundred bald eagles back into the mountains. They also serve as a home for the birds that can not be released back into the wild.

This is the eagle "pen"

And the birds look fairly happy... there are also a couple of nesting pair. Eagles mate for life by the way.....

We did try a couple of the rides. I am a HUGE fan of carousels.. and anytime that I can ride one... I do!!! This was a beautiful carousel and it was hard to pick the "perfect" horse. I finally chose this noble steed, because I liked his "wild" mane... kind of reminded me of Ginger (and her wild hair). I was the only adult riding, but you know... I didn't really care!!!!

The train was a nice rid as well, it's a real steam engine.. and it takes you for a nice ride aorund the park and a bit into the moutains.

This is a replica of the cabin that Dolly Parton was raised in. I guess the real one still stands.... according to what we were told, it housed 13 people at one point in time.... thinking it's about the size of our little camp, and the fact that we lived in th littl camp one summeer with just three adults and one baby (plus dogs)... makes me appreciate how it might have been.

The last show of the day was about the various eagles and other birds of prey. It was very good and I enjoyed learning about them, and watching them fly

Course, the bald eagle was the most stunning. They do thse shows all over the country, and it was so fun to see the birds up close and personal

The park was getting ready to close, Ed and I were about as wet as we could be. And as we were walking out, the heavens opened once again... we were pretty happy to be going "home". However, this one particular family didn't seem to be in too much of a hurry.

We got Miss Camille from her place in Doggywood.... climbed into the truck and rushed back for a couple of hot showers and a comfortable bed. Despite the rainy weather it was a really good day, and we have already made plans to bring Abbie here when she is a bit bigger....

thanks, Dolly!!!!