 You'll find "Something for Everyone" in the Smokies and we will explore the commercial amenities of the area including amusement and theme parks, shopping, historical sites and backgrounds, and add in facets of the local culture which can be a step back in time as we explore the countryside, and the artisans keeping our ancestors' arts and crafts alive, as well as the rich culture of the mountains, including the indigenous wildlife in the mountains. Musings of a Mountain Rambler will be just that, musings of poetry, stories and original oil or acrylic paintings...just wherever the muse will take us today in this journey we call life. For other paintings, click on Musings of a Mountain Rambler.Be sure and check back with us for new updates regularly for more information to help in your plans of the "Fun Things to Do" in your visit to the Great Smoky Mountains.
 Tired of the same ole/same ole when on vacation in the Smokies? Foxfire is a new and exciting place to spend a family vacation. Only twelve miles from all the action in Pigeon Forge, Sevierville or Gatlinburg, and close the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Foxfire is a wilderness park full of fun for a few days or just a few hours. They have packed a lot into 150 acres of the lush forest of the Smokies' foothills. If you like to camp beginning in the fall of 2010 there will be "Luxury Tent Camping" All you have to do is bring yourself. Tents are already set up on platform with beds and bed linens furnished...talk about camping in style. For the more hardy souls, they have provided ten camping sites along Dunn's Creek with a fire ring for each site.
There are plenty of fun things to do that you might have always wanted to try but never got around to. There is a Base Camp set up to gather and decide which of the seven Zip Lines you want to try. What's it going to be? Are you going to pick the longest or the highest Zip Line in the Smokies, or Zip over the gorgeous historic iron mines of Dunn's Creek, take a three-hour scenic Canopy Tour, or the Family Tour?
 If Zipping through the sky isn't your cup of tea and you like your feet more firmly planted on the ground, there is plenty for you, too. Foxfire provides educational nature hikes where the guides will educate you on the history, herbal lore and culture of the Appalacian Mountains in a  one or two-hour hike. Then there is "Llama Trekking" for a half day or a full-day trek with your own llama to back-pack your gear and food for your trek off in the woods, or through a creek in the serenity of the Smoky Mountains.
If you like the "wheels" type of transportation, you can take the "Off-Road Segway Tour" on the Segway paths that will take you through meadows, follow Dunn's Creek and then deep into the cool of the forest...all on two wheels. There is even a basic Segway-riding training session before you hit the trails.
There is a unique experience and adventures awaiting you and the whole family at Foxfire. They invite everyone to visit and to follow them on Facebook and/or Twitter. For all of the tours, reservations are definitely recommended but walk-ins are welcome, too. Reach them online at FoxfireMountain.com.
 Looking for something different after all the tourist attractions and the shopping, with laughs galore to enliven an otherwise boring evening in front of the tube, and a place the entire family can laugh till they cry?Don and Pat MacPherson formed MacPherson Productions, Inc. in 1968, writing, producing and staging "Tom Jones", in Las Vegas at the Desert Inn Hotel. The musical comedy played for two years and became "the most successful musical comedy", in a city known for professional entertainment. In 1974 their stage script was turned into a movie and filmed as "The Bawdy Adventures of Tom Jones" starring Trevor Howard and Joan Collins, as well at the MacPhersons.
After two years of producing all of the Beef-N-Boards Dinner Theatre productions in Louisville, Lexington, Cincinnati and Indianapolis, the MacPhersons opened the doors of Sweet Fanny Adams Theatre in 1977. Just down the street from the Hard Rock Cafe in Gatlinburg you are invited to join them for their 34th season of professional musical galas with true professionals on stage with each bringing their individual unique talents to the stage for fabulous performances. This world-class theater is quite renown and been proclaimed a "National Historical Treasure" by the city of Gatlinburg. The accolades don't stop there either. The "Cincinnati Enquirer's" review of this bawdy musical comedy troupe has been: "Quicksilver nonsense. Entirely delightful".
Just entering the lobby, with the Victorian decor, you know this is going to be a very unique evening's experience. The Sweet Fanny Adams Theatre is open Monday through Saturday during the months of April through October with special holiday shows in November and December. The show starts at 8:00 p.m. and you are in for two hours of music, comedy, laughs galore, reminiscent of the 1800s Music Halls of old.
For instance, the whitetail deer don't migrate and generally confine their territory to a one square kilometer with their "basic social unit" being that of a doe and her fawn(s). However, they will gather together in a herd of up to a hundred to graze. They can swim, usually to evade a predator or to get from one area to another, and can also escape through the underbrush of a dense forest floor at a speed of up to 30 mph. When they do lay down to rest, they will never do so in the same place. Being the most skittish of the deer family, the whitetail doe will hide her fawns in the dense undergrowth, as she leaves to graze, and the fawns will instinctively flatten themselves out, and further camouflaging themselves by stretching their necks out, will remain in that inconspicuous position for up to four hours. During this time they won't urinate or defecate until their mother returns. She will then clean up any mess thereby getting rid of her offspring's scent, or evidence, to protect them even further from any predators lurking in the area. todayshunting.com is an indepth website for anyone wanting to know more about animals and has excellent hunting tips and information.
 As well as spectacular views of the Great Smoky Mountains once at the top of Mt. LeConte, awaits another experience for individuals searching for unique, out-of-the-box adventures when traveling. At the summit of one of America's famous peaks, thousands a year hike the trails to the top, there sits LeConte Lodge, and the only lodging in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The Lodge had its beginnings as far back as 1925 when the Great Smoky Mountains Conservation Association was formed to explore the Smokies in search of an area astounding enough to be given "national park status" of the Southern Appalachians. In the organization's funding campaign, Paul Adams, set up a camp for prominent guests to visit and hopefully help fund the new park.
 The rustic lodge and cabins still stand today feet on a mountain top which is the third highest in the Park at the steepest elevation climb in the Eastern U.S. rising to its full height of 6,595 feet in only one vertical mile from Gatlinburg. There are a three lodges and seven cabins to spend the night to watch the sunset from Cliff Tops and upon the dawn of a new day get up to watch the glorious sunrise from Myrtle Point.
Each unit is equipped with propane heaters, Kerosene lanterns, a bucket and wash basin, as there is no plumbing nor electricity up at the top. However, there is a "hot water spigot" just outside of the dining hall. Bed linens are provided, but you are requested to bring your own washcloth and towel, however.
 Believe it or not, but there is also a dining hall that serves dinner at 6:00 p.m. and breakfast at 8:00 a.m., and all of the food is packed in not by truck...but on llamas. Up here you live by the sun in the pristine mountain air all the while enjoying the great outdoors and magnificent views. Now this place puts a new spin on "roughing it".
 Talk about a fascinating and enthralling store, Smoky Mountain Knife Works is not just for the avid sportsman, military or police. This place has pretty much something for everyone within their various departments. Depending on which door you enter, you will be met with some of the most interesting displays of knives and swords, tables set up in the aisles with some real "deals" on different items of  interest that could make great stocking stuffers or Christmas presents for someone on your list. Who knew Remington and Smith & Wesson makes knives, too?Once you make your way down the stairs past a big gristmill-type waterwheel and waterfall, you enter their cooking section which, of course, has the latest in cutlery for the cook in the family, cast-iron cookware, jars of honey, jellies, pickled okra, corn or beets, plus many other canned and tempting tasties that you would be hard-pressed to find in your local grocery store.
 As you meander through the lower level, there is a whole area dedicated to all things rocks, hand-carved figurines from various stones, strings of beads, uncut rocks and tumbled stones, and jewelry fashioned by local artisans. Perfect for the Rock Hound in the family. You'll also come upon books, postcards, license plates, Tee-shirts and souveniers throughout the store.Now what is a good knife if it isn't sharp? On this lower level, they have everything you need to keep that cold steel sharp, or they even offer a professional knife sharpening service if you don't care to do that yourself.
 As the "Home of World's Largest Knife Memorabilia Store", with the taxidermy displays of animals set in a natural habitat, all of the different varieties of knives and memorabilia from the past, this is an amazing place to spend some time as there's so much to look at, and a great place for the kids, with just the decor, to capture their imaginations and curiosity, too. Just remember which door number you entered so you can find your way out...that could be a real dilemma.
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For all wildlife lovers and hunters, the article "