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Pigeon Forge=Family Vacation Fun!
 Just like the welcome sign says, Pigeon Forge really is the Hub of family vacation fun in this area.
You see, this region is often described as the Gateway to the Smokies, and rightly so. You should think of this Gateway as the three cities of Sevierville, Pigeon Forge, and Gatlinburg. Visitors often mistake one city for another. That's ok. It's easy to do if you are not familar with the area. However each has it's own high school, chamber of commerce, public parks, and police department ect. And yes, each compete for the touri$t dollar.  Many years ago each town was connected by not much more than dirt roads. But as each one has grown and expanded you might say they have blended together in spots.
 The Trolly stops are conveniently located about every half mile or so.
Make sure you find Patriot park. Turn off the main drag at Stoplight number 7 at Old Mill Avenue. Not only is the 16 acre park a great place to go, but it is located right beside the Trolly Station on Old Mill Avenue. It also has occasional events such as concerts, but there are many little shops along the way that you will want to check out if you are into shopping.  Above you see a genuine Patriot Missle....defused I'm sure. Donated by the Raytheon Corporation. The plaque reads: "Dedicated to Patriots, Past-Present-and Future". Below is the huge Liberty Bell built within the park to honor the veterans of Sevier County.
 Not only is the park a great place to come visit all year long, but there are special events held there many times throughout the year. Every 4th of July, the city holds the independence day celebration here. If you would like to learn more about this July 4th event, click here: 4th of July.
Below you see a piture of:  Issac Love was this huge muscular cartoon figure like the Welcome Sign depicts above.....no not really. Pioneer Issac Love is the man however that established an Iron Forge here back in the 1820's, where the three prongs of The Little Pigeon River forge together. They say that the three prongs of the river was frequented by passenger pigeons. Get it? Pigeons + Forge = Pigeon Forge? Well, anyways it's a heck of a lot easier to say -Pigeon Forge- than "The place where pigeons frequent down by the three prongs of the little river". Haaa! Works for me! His son William evidently had an entrepreneurial spirit. He dammed up the Little Pigeon and built a Mill. It was the center of activity for the area. During the Civil War it had a loom to make clothing articles for soldiers.
These days you can visit The Old Mill and find dozens of differant kinds of old fashion products like jams, sorghum, country hams, bacon, fudge and various Old Mill souvineers. Well, that's probably more than enough of a history lesson for now. Let's just say that The Old Mill is the Hub at the center of the Hub!
If you get hungry you can take your family to The Old Mill Restaurant. Located right beside The Old Mill itself. It's main stay is Homestyle southern cooking. Maybe a couple notches above what you find at The Cracker Barrel. But the price will also be a couple notches above as well. A little pricey in my opinion but the food is great. Tightwad Tip: *Go for breakfast or lunch. Very reasonable. The dinner menu however has nothing under $15. If you do decide on Dinner, the reward is that their servings are very large! There are also some other great shops to browse in that area.
Here is The Old Mill link if you want to dig a little deeper. Remember, look for stop light number 7 in the middle of Pigeon Forge. Find light number 7 and you can't miss Old Mill Avenue. Find Old Mill Avenue and you are there.
Pigeon Forge truly is oriented towards family fun and just about everyone that comes to Pigeon Forge will wind up going to Dolly Wood sooner or later. If you have kids I'd say sooner. I've built a whole web-page for Dollywood, Dolly Splash Country, the Dolly Parade and more. Check them out! My wife, son, nephew and mother-in-law are planing another vist this summer and will be getting great photos. If you are coming into town and are wondering which light to take in order to get to Dollywood, just look for stop light number eight.  Remember, all the stop lights in Pigeon Forge are numbered. Look for the number in-between the stop lights. You will find that this little tip well help you a bunch gittin' around town.
Hey folks, I've started a Git2know Newsletter.
The Git2know Newsletter will simply be an easy to read, quick to the point update and/or "scoop" on the Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg area. I will send it out anytime there is something "news" worthy. Sometimes It will inform you of new stuff I add to my website. Other times it will just remind you of things that I have already covered but that you may have forgotten or missed. When I find a Tid-Bit that I think you would want to be informed about, I'll flap my lips a little bit about it and give you the scoop. A Tid Bit might be: If you are like me, you don't have a heck of a lot of spare time. So I promise I will not go on and on about some meaningless something or other that will not help you to Git2know Pigeon Forge or Gatlinburg. It's very simple to sign up!
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