Sunsets and Fireworks

7/9/2013

After a long spell of rain, we saw the sun. If you live in the valley below, you probably heard our shouts of joy as the bright orb made its appearance. It turned out to be such a nice day on the mountain. I am hoping the forecast for rain for the next week turns out to be a repeat of yesterday because the 50% chance turned into nothing. We actually saw a sunset and, for the first time this season, I was able to watch the Dollywood fireworks show. The temperature rose to 65º during the day and the low was 54º. We were awakened by a beautiful sunrise this morning. Things are looking better up top.

Crystal

7/9/2013 01:58:53 am

Great to see the SUN on the MTN. I know everyone is shouting up there!

Devin R

7/9/2013 02:30:31 am

They look so small from up there!

Mike P

7/9/2013 02:32:12 am

That is great to hear. My fiance and I are hiking up Friday afternoon. Do you think if the weather stays like this rainbow falls will be fine to go up? We were going to hike up rainbow falls and then down the trillium gap Saturday.

Judy Tucker

7/9/2013 03:14:18 am

It pains me to see Dollywood fireworks from LeConte. What a shame that after one traverses miles into the forest deep to reach the jewel of the Smokies, hoping to absorb the sounds and sights of pristine nature, you see a theme parks nightly pyrotecnics. Equally disturbing is looking up to the Smokies from the valley below through a giant neon lit Ferris Wheel...

tomk in SC

7/9/2013 03:44:31 am

No worries, Judy.
For the most part you have to look at a specific place to see all that. It is not terribly intrusive. On a clear night, I will look down at the "Runway" of Pigeon Forge to see all the lights. Having done that, the mountain is there and the light pollution from Gatlinburg is too small to matter, Moonlight is a much bigger deal.

Kent

7/9/2013 08:03:36 am

I've always had a love-hate relationship with Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg. On the one hand, they bring back pleasant childhood memories of great vacations to the region. But on the other, I find the two tourist traps cheesy and just not my style at all. Before last July, I hadn't been in Gatlinburg for almost 30 years (always took the by-pass around). I barely recognized the place.

I can also remember when Pigeon Forge had just a handful of attractions and there was countryside between it and Sevierville. Now it's one long strip between I-40 and the GSMNP. Such a nightmare to drive.

But tomk is correct in saying that it shouldn't take anything away from the LeConte experience. All the beauty of the mountain cancels out the over-crowded, gaudy attractions below.

Joe M

7/9/2013 02:55:45 pm

It's always amazed me that for all the traffic and craziness in Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge, once you get on one of the trails to LeConte it's like you almost have the whole park to yourself.

Indeed, the sad part is that many of the folks in those crowds never make it into the park. They just don't know what they are missing!

Glenn TN

7/9/2013 04:16:34 pm

The GSMNP is the most visited park in the country.The sad part is a huge number of these people never step off the asphalt.They dont know what they are missing.Cheap t-shirts,amusement rides,candy apples and Elvis impersonators I can do without ! Get into the woods and see what God has created-such beauty .

Don Kaufman

7/9/2013 09:37:38 am

Soooo glad to hear the sunshine-and-no-rain report. I, along with my daughter and 2 grandchildren are hiking up tomorrow (Wed) for the night. I've hiked up a number of times, but they have never done this. I am really hoping the good weather "holds" a bit so that this special adventure will be fully rewarding for all. Took them to Grotto Falls today and it was a wonderful warm-up!

Debi

7/9/2013 01:21:07 pm

So, that's what the fireworks look like up top. :) Glad your getting some sunshine finally.

Bryan Be from Indy

7/9/2013 06:31:46 pm

Let's not forget though that one of the main reasons that there was a big push to get the Smokies preserved as a National Park was the promise of jobs and revenue that tourists would add to the region. That has certainly happened over the decades, though not as probably imagined by early park supporters. A lot of the early tourism businesses in Gatlinburg were started by local familie and grew to be successful. However, many of these businesses ended up being sold of to larger corporations by the '80s and '90s.
Still though, those tacky, obnoxious places do serve their purpose..

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Sunsets and Fireworks

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