As you may have heard, there is a movement that What Happens in Gatlinburg, Stays in Gatlinburg.  Well, I didn't really see anything there that I couldn't talk about so let me tell you about my trip.

First off, it seems that even though this was a last minute trip, someone gave the nice folks of Gatlinburg a heads up that I was coming and that it was my first visit because they had posted Spring Fest signs in my honor.  It was really cool, they were on just about every telephone pole and light pole in the down town area.  So to all that worked so hard in my honor, thank you.

So after a longish ride in the truck, we arrive at what I thought was our destination and I was excited.  Turns out it was just the rental office and we had another five minutes or so to get to the cabin.  Well, we went inside and Lyle notices the windows are dirty so he compels the boss man to wash them.  The boss man didn't appreciate the help.  Neither did the boss ma'am.  Anyhoo, windows washed, luggage unpacked and crates set up (no really, couldn't they have forgotten those?) and it was time to check things out.  Turns out that pet friendly means dirty carpet.  Lyle and I had a great time checking things (messages left for us by other dogs) out while the boss man followed with some cleaner.   It was a nice enough place and we settled in to the comfy couch.  Before long, the bosses had the nerve to leave me and Lyle behind to go eat a tasty meal (or so they said) without us.  Finally they came back and brought some ice cream.  Mmm, Mayfield's Dairy Ice Cream!  I'd heard about it and it was every bit as delicious as I'd heard it was.

So the next morning rolls around and since the cabin didn't come with any alarm clocks, I figured the job was up to me.  I woke them up at 7:00 and after a short breakfast, the fun began.  We loaded up the truck and headed to the famous Gatlinburg Trail.  There is so much to sniff.  So much to see.  So many holes to investigate.  Afterwards, we continued our walk down the main drag and smelled things like freshly fried corndogs.  And we bought some Mountain Taffy.  Mmm, taffy.  It was delicious!   I just wish I could have bought one of those wonderful smelling corndogs too. 

The rest of the trip went by in a blur.  After our hike I was exhausted and hardly even noticed that the bosses left to go for another hike without me.  The next day was much of the same.  Turns out that there are actually real bears in the Smoky Mountains and not just those wood carved ones everywhere you turn.  The bosses say that they were hiking on Friday and found one about 50 yards off of the trail.  They said he seemed big but very unconcerned with their presence so they just kept going.  Figured if he wanted to say hi it would only take a second or two to catch up either direction and since he didn't care about them, that they might as well see the waterfalls that they had already hiked 3.5 miles to see.

Well, I've barked long enough so I leave you with a few photographs to enjoy.  Have a great day!

Spring