Oh my Gatlinburg!!!

The main road through Gatlinburg comes through one of the three gates to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.  One moment, you're in gorgeous, quiet, green parkland and the next, you run smack into pedestrians, backed-up traffic, Ripley's Believe It or Not, a Space Needle, the Hollywood Star Car Museum (in case you can't survive the day without seeing an original replica of the General Lee from "Dukes of Hazzard"), and more candy and fudge shops than you can shake a stick at.  If you're into this kind of stuff, it's a totally awesome place to be.  If you're not, and we weren't, we couldn't get through town fast enough!!

We stayed one night at the soon-to-be-legendary Buckhorn Inn, an oasis of elegance and quiet amidst the craziness that is Gatlinburg. 

It sits in the middle of the Arts and Crafts Loop, an 8-mile circle of (mostly) country roads, artisans, craftspeople, cafes, and studios.  We probably did way more shopping than we should have, but everything was just so pretty and well-made!  No, we didn't buy this, but wow, is it gorgeous!

The day we arrived was cloudy and we started hearing rumbles of thunder in the early afternoon.  The skies opened up a couple of hours later and it was like nothing I've seen since I moved away from New York. 

The flowers loved it, though, and we heard from some of the local merchants that they had been going through a drought (???), so they were really glad for the rain. 

While I have no desire to go back to the madness that is Gatlinburg, I hope we will return to the Buckhorn Inn soon and often.  It is so worth the trip!