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It was laundry day, and my clean pair of underwear smelled like I had smoked them in a smoker with smoke from a campfire. Maybe because I had dried them in the shelter the other night after a creek-wash and the shelter was beyond smokey from the fire warming the shelter-dwellers.

Well, I didn’t care for smelling like a smoked ham (or turkey), so it was time to go commando while the laundry ran.

I killed some time at the hotel, discussing with hikers the sudden but inevitable betrayal of the weather closing the road up to Newfound Gap, delaying half the hikers in town with another unplanned and unwanted day off. Eventually, after the hotel breakfast of waffles and hardboiled eggs wore off, it was time to hit the town and look for cheap eats.

I had not wanted to visit Gatlinburg, and had spoken against being lured into the tourist trap while on trail. But here I was, may as well see what there was to see.

Turns out, like similar tourist town Niagara Falls, Ripley’s believe it or not seemed to own the place. With Dollywood at the neighboring Pigeon Forge, and mountain roller coasters and ski lifts taking tourists up the side of the mountain without the need for legs, the town was packed with people.

“You mean I can get a ride up the mountain? Why am I walking?”

I quickly avoided the main strip (where the Ripley’s was), and found a nicer, quieter walk along the river that runs through the town. I still had hot dogs on the mind from my dreams of trail magic yesterday, and I thought I might do myself a favor and find a nice cheap dawg for sale.

As I was strolling along in my distinctive poncho (maybe a rain coat is more stylish, but I still think the poncho has better airflow and better coverage), who should text me but Alex, the section hiker who was still hanging out in town before going home on Saturday. He had realized that $60 for the Ripley’s aquarium was a rip off, and he deigned to join me on my quest for cheap dogs.

We walked all the way through the touristy section of town and found ourselves at the edge of what seemed to be “old Gatlinburg”. A small deli in an old building called itself “Parton’s Deli”, and apparently sold sandwiches and hot dogs. We gave it a shot, and low and behold, they were selling $2 hot dogs !!! Did they know where they were? They could easily charge $6 or more given the rest of the town’s pricing. I believe this was one of those shops where the owner owns the building, as the deli counter lady confirmed the business has been around for more than 50 years and hasn’t had more than a few owners over its time.

This place really hit the spot of both amazing prices, and amazing personality. Finally, sitting in the wood-paneled walls and surrounded by old Pepsi signs, watching the rain outside with the mountains beyond, it felt like we had found Gatlinburg. I love a good little mountain town, and I had dismissed Gatlinburg for nothing more than a tourist trap. Instead, I had found that small town with good vibes and cheap hot dogs.

Does this deli not scream old world charm?

(Image of hot dog not found, hiker ate too fast again. This is a recurring theme around hot dogs.)

After the satisfying meat and bread meal, we set out for our next stop in search of old Gatlinburg (and avoiding the hyper touristy downtown): the Salt and Pepper Shaker Museum !!

That’s right. Salt and Pepper Shaker Museum.

Oh, you haven’t heard of the gem of Gatlinburg, home to over 20,000 salt and pepper shakers? Well, get ready for the world’s only salt and pepper shaker museum.

Did you know you can buy long salt and pepper shakers? Shaped like Weiner dogs or cats? Or giraffes?
Did you know salt and pepper shakers can be found in every variety of vegetable, mushroom, fruit, or egg?
Have you ever seen so many salt and pepper shakers in one place?
How about this pepper grinder that’s half as tall as a grown man! Imagine being the waiter at the Olive garden asking customers “pepper, sir?”
People came from all over the country and the world to see the salt and pepper shaker museum. Or they found out it existed when they came to Gatlinburg to see the Smoky Mountains, but they still came from far and wide! But mostly the Midwest. And Florida.
Toward the end of the museum tour, I was joking that the museum and the $3 entrance fee was a way for someone to fund their crazy addiction. It turns out, the original collector was an archeologist who fell in love with the history and creativity of salt and pepper shakers. It turns out there’s plenty to learn here, like origins of pepper from around the world, and the history of salt mining.

Yes, I bought a set of salt and pepper shakers from the gift shop and sent them home as a surprise gift for my husband. I hope he gets a laugh and enjoys them as much as I did.

Aside from the S&P museum, we enjoyed a neighboring art gallery of chainsaw carvings, which were also surprisingly cool, and not just bear shaped. 

For example, TMNT chainsaw art. Does my red hair make me Raphael? I’ve always identified more with Michaelangelo…
I kind of loved this sleeping dog chainsaw art.

On the walk back from our side quests, Alex learned about the infamous bear that supposedly lives near the river that goes through town, and through musings of where the bear lived, we discovered Alex’s trail name –  Sewer Bear! 🐻 I swear sewer bear is real and the locals talk about him. Don’t feed the sewer bear.

Overall it was a great day in Gatlinburg despite my early judgement. It’s also been nice being warm and dry while we hear updates about snow on the mountains. Having underwear that no longer smells like smoke is another wonderful perk of being in town.

If all goes well, the road will be open and we will be back on the trail tomorrow. Fancy Pants and I have been going back and forth between complaining and encouraging each other to “embrace the suck” when we think about hiking in possible snow, ice, and rain tomorrow.

One way or another, I’ll be through the Smokies in just a few more days, and hopefully on to warmer weather, longer hiking miles, and maybe even a lighter pack! Boy, I can’t wait !!

Bonus picture: Fancy Pants has a thing for picking up rocks she likes. She didn’t even realize until she was cleaning out her pack tonight in the hotel room that she’s been carrying a whole handful of rocks in her pack !!! We both laughed so hard at her “ultralight set up” and her fistful of quartz.

Final thoughts – last night I couldn’t sleep and decided to reply to some comments on my blog (bad idea to do this in the middle of the night). I really appreciate the positive comments and knowing there’s people reading along every day besides my mom! (Love you, Mom!)

Last night though, I was really upset and discouraged by some comments on the blog about using my Garmin SOS and getting taken to the ER, and may have done some replying at 3am which is never a good thing… But anyway, I’m grateful for others pitching in and letting me know they think I did the right thing. I will not do everything perfectly, but I try my best to be smart and not do stupid dangerous things. Just stupid fun things, like hiking the AT – with a GPS/SOS device. I almost didn’t bring one on this trip because I found it to be cost prohibitive, but I’m glad I invested in it, I’m glad I had it on me, and I’m glad I used it. Maybe I didn’t “need” the ER visit because I wasn’t actively dying (nor did I need the bill), but it is what it is, and I’m glad I got help down the mountain.

Alright, that’s enough of that. Time to log off and get back to the woods where I can be notification-free and oblivious to the news cycle too. It may be cold and wet out there, but at least I don’t have to read hate comments or hear about reciprocal tarrifs! 🥴

Thank you again specifically to those of you who read my blogs regularly and post positive, encouraging comments. They mean a lot when I’m catching up on notifications in town, and I really do read them. I can’t believe it’s already been a month on trail! I hope my stories of the trail and the towns, good days and bad, can bring some levity and interest to your days.



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