Gatlinburg, Day One

For my first attempt at blogging an actual trip, I left my dog with friends and headed to Gatlinburg, Tennessee. So, what’s the first thing I did after abandoning my dog, Bear? I went to Ober Gatlinburg to see…

More bears!

But getting here was no easy feat. Not having a good feel for exactly how far it was, I walked all the way across downtown Gatlinburg, from the hotel to (the lower terminus of the aerial tram to) Ober Gatlinburg. Fatigue, heat, and a shortage of shady places to sit made this walk quite difficult. When I stepped onto the aerial tram and found that it was standing room only, I was seriously concerned that I wouldn’t be able to stay upright for the 10-minute duration of the ride. As it turns out, I did OK holding onto a strap and leaning against a rail, but I wasn’t about to try any photography. Now, getting back to the bears…

There are a variety of activities to choose from at Ober Gatlinburg. I chose the Wildlife Encounter and the Scenic Chair Lift. The Wildlife Encounter is one of those places that takes in local wildlife that can’t be re-released into the wild, but this one has the look and feel of a formal (albeit small) zoo. Actually quite a nice little zoo.

One of these bears may actually be a bison…

Bears are not the only animals here. They also had owls, snakes, eagles, vultures, a fox, river otters, and this ENORMOUS snapping turtle:

After getting my bear fix, I made my way to the base of the Scenic Chair Lift. My motor symptoms were bad enough that the ride operator decided (without any input from me) to bring the ride to a complete stop for me to get on. Having operated a similar ride myself (MANY years ago), it was kind of a downer to think that I now appear to be one of those folks who need special assistance just to SIT DOWN.

There are two parallel chair lifts (as seen above). The one on the right appears to be about the same age as the one I used to operate, which was built nearly 50 years ago. The one I rode appears to be an even older style (below).