Liz the Chow visits Pigeon Forge
Liz the Chow here… favorite offspring of Pugsley Tonks. The travel bug is genetic. But, my tastes tend to favor the international variety. My recent travel adventures have taken me on a treacherous hike to Mt. Doom in New Zealand, a stroll through the Redlight District in Amsterdam, a climb to the Belfry of Bruges in Belgium, and dinner literally in the sky in Athens, Greece. Despite these stellar international experiences, Pugsley Tonks’ redneck tendencies have make him unwilling to publish my posts on these adventures.
Despite these set backs, Liz the Chow will soldier on. Liz the Chow can do “Americana.” A side effect of the recent global pandemic is that most countries are not accepting international tourists. This opened up a window for Liz the Chow to finally take a trip worthy of the blog. So, we packed up our camping gear, drove deep into the Great Smoky Mountains, and made camp near Pidgeon Forge, Tennessee, . You could argue that Pigeon Forge is not exactly a “hidden” treasure. But I think its safe to say it does not get much more “Americana” than Dollywood, a Hatfield and McCoy Dinner Show, and moonshine. While Dollywood was still closed at the time of this visit and we did not plan far enough in advance to get dinner show tickets, Pigeon Forge, TN, still proved to be a wonderful escape from quarantine.
The camp site has been finished. The A/C could be better. The WiFi is passable. But, we are wilderness veterans…we will survive. 
There’s bugs out here. Its hot. I am ready to head back to A/C
Despite the well organized camp site, my humans insisted on leaving me alone on 2 occasions to explore the surroundings. As the first excursion involved a 10.5 mile hike through Great Smoky Mountain National Park…I stayed back to guard the campsite as chows don’t do heat and exercise. According to my humans, the Alum Cave Trail to Mount LeConte was worth the effort (I’m not convinced). Noteworthy attractions along the way included the beautiful Arch Rock, as well as Alum Cave Bluffs.
The amazing colors and mineral deposits of Arch Rock 
The natural trail is not always ADA compiiant
Following these attractions, its decision time. Only the truly committed will continue UP to Mount LeConte. Mount LeConte is a cluster of lodges in the middle of the Great Smoky Mountain National Park at over 6,500 feet elevation. There are no roads into the lodge. Its hike-in only. Not only is it a good stopping point for tired hikers to grab food, refill water bottles and use the restroom (at your own risk), but it is also the only formal lodging in the national park. Once you have replenished your body, my humans highly recommend that you do the extra 0.2 miles up to Cliff Top; the view will make you feel on top of the world.
Mount LeConte is the highest elevation lodge in eastern USA 
Just a bit up from the lodge…Cliff Top. Don’t step backwards!
The goods news from my humans’ unnecessarily long walk was that their achy muscles and knees made for a calmer next day. Not as young as they once were, they decided to forgo any plans for more exercise in favor of downtown Gatlinburg and moonshine. While eating and drinking are more my speed, I prefer to avoid the risk of meeting new people who may want to pet my fluffy coat… its a pandemic you know. My humans were not so concerned. The highlight of their excursion was Sugarlands Distilling Company. If you only have time for one stop, then stop here! From a pure value perspective, they give out 12 samples with materially more liquid in each sample cup. Our guide, Token, was knowledgeable and hilarious… the hilarious bit may have been influenced by the moonshine. But either way, we had a blast. Highly recommend scheduling a meal after this trip to sober up before driving through the mountain roads back to your cabin.
When it was all said and done, I greatly enjoyed a getaway weekend with my humans. There aren’t many things Liz the Chow loves more than sitting on a porch and looking for squirrels. It was a nice change of pace from our normal fast living, downtown city lifestyle. Liz the Chow
NOTE from PugsleyTonks: I wanted to thank Liz the Chow for her contribution to my blog as a guest author. Its always more fun if we all play. Please consider being a guest author and entertain us with your unique and humorous travel adventures. If interested, just drop me an email and we will work through the process together. PT
