It's Friday May 23rd, day 22 of our 2025 summer adventure we took a drive to Gatlinburg and part of the Smoky Mountain National Park. We plan on exploring more of the Great Smoky Mountain National Park later. We stopped at the Gatlinburg Welcome Center at the Smoky Mountain National Park.Ripley's Believe it or Not are all over, but this is the most unique building exterior I have seen. What is most interesting about this picture is the Amish girls walking across the street toward Ripley's Believe it or Not. This attraction is built upon the adventures of Robert Ripley and his travels across the globe searching for extraordinary people, unusual artifacts, and unbelievable things, Ripley’s embraces the spirit of discovery. Since 1918, they have been curating curiosity, beginning with stories to fill newspaper cartoons and books, and evolving to an exhibit collection of over 30,000 unique pieces featured at Ripley’s Believe It or Not! Through these experiences and stories, they strive to curate a sense of wonder for the weird world around us.
After we drove through town in one direction, we took the Gatlinburg Bypass and stopped at the Gatlinburg Scenic Overlook. Which afforded us magnificent views of downtown Gatlinburg with a majestic mountain backdrop.
The views are beautiful at any time of the year. I bet this is one of the most photographed areas in the Great Smoky Mountain Park. It certainly offered a great backdrop for our photos!
Too bad we did not have any nail polish or markers, we could have autographed this rock, like so many had before us!
After our stop at the Overlook, we got off the Gatlinburg Bypass and onto Campbell Lead Road. This road allowed us to drive on the upper backside of the iconic SkyBridge, the longest pedestrian cable bridge in North America! It's part of the Gatlinburg SkyPark.
Sheryl wanted to drive the Dragon's Tail, but on a holiday weekend it will be filled with tons of motorcycles. So, Charlie took us on Campbell Lead Road, which had plenty of tight hairpin turns of its own! We ended up back on the main drag in Gatlinburg.
We passed the best spot for live music in the Smokies... Ole Red is Blake Sheldon's restaurant, bar, and full-fledged honky-tonk that welcomes walk-ins for lunch and dinner every day! Get ready for a next-level dining experience, finger-lickin’ food in Gatlinburg, and a Blake Shelton-approved good time. Looking at their entertainment line-up, there may be some opportunities for us to enjoy some great music!
We drove into downtown Sevierville. It's a cute small historic downtown area. The Smoky Mountains are known for their arts, crafts, and beauty! There are plenty of murals to see and explore! The first mural I saw in Sevierville is the Red’s Cafe Dolly Tribute Mural. Dolly Parton has truly made her mark in the Smoky Mountains! This huge mural features Dolly Parton as a child at Red’s Cafe and a server handing her a hamburger at the cafe counter. This mural highlights the community of Sevierville and the famous Dolly Parton.
We had to see her statue too! This bronze statue portrays Dolly Parton as a young woman, perched on a rock while casually strumming her guitar. Sculptor Jim Gray chose to show the star beaming her signature smile, likely dreaming about the renown that she’d later bring to her hometown. The statue debuted in 1987, shortly after Dollywood opened nearby.
We headed to Camping World to pick up a few RV items. We were not successful on that shopping trip. But, we stopped at Lily's As Seen on TV store and hit the jackpot! We saw too many funny things! But, I had to take a picture of this can! I wanted to take a picture of the teeth that you could buy at the counter, but Sheryl kept me under control!
We slowly made our way back to the rigs and enjoyed a quiet afternoon of visiting with friends! Our last walk of the night, we saw the resident park family down near Walden Creek.
Stay tuned for more Two Lane Adventures!
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