Ober Gatlinburg - Chair Lift and Amusement Park - August 25, 2020 |
The two RV Gypsies rode the Aerial Tramway at Ober Gatlinburg, an amusement park and ski area, located in the mountains overlooking Gatlinburg, Tennessee. Established in 1962, the area contains a large mall with indoor amusements, an indoor ice skating rink including new ice bumper tubes, snack bars, a full-service lounge, restaurant, gift and clothing stores.
Outside there was an alpine slide, the ski mountain coaster, a chair
swing, a maze, mini golf, a scenic chair lift to the top of Mount Harrison,
kiddie rides, water raft rides (summer only) and a new rock climbing
wall. What was formerly known as the Black Bear Habitat where visitors
could see bears close-up, has been expanded to become the Wildlife Encounter,
where in addition to the black bears, there are animals native to the
Great Smoky Mountains such as North American river otters, bobcats,
birds of prey, opossums, raccoons, turtles, snakes, and flying squirrels.
The two RV Gypsies did not take the time to enter the Wildlife Encounter
area. |
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There are two 120-passenger cabins. Although
the two RV Gypsies would definitely NOT want to be in the aerial tram
with that many people. The 2 mile tram ride runs 17 miles per hour and
takes about 10 minutes. It provides views of the mountains in the daytime
and the sparkling lights of Gatlinburg, Pigeon Forge, and beyond at
night. The tramway crosses the Gatlinburg Bypass, a road which connects
around the north and west side of the town and provides an alternate
route of U.S. 441 (Great Smoky Mountains Parkway, or just "Parkway",
which is the main street through town). The road is part of adjacent
Great Smoky Mountains National Park. |
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Below: Meeting the downward gondola at the half-way mark |
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Below: This house has only 6-inches of the foundation touching the
ground. The rest of it is on stilts. |
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Below: The two RV Gypsies looked down
at the bear area located at the top of the mountain. |
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Below: Getting off the Gondola, Karen Duquette photographed one of the two wheels and gears (one controls upward movement, one controls downward movement) of the gondola. |
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Below: The two RV Gypsies bought a photo of themselves, then explored Inside the Amusement Park and shopping area. |
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Below: Lee Duquette found a bear to kiss |
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Below: This bear was pouring honey
into a pond |
Below: An Indoor Ice skating rink and
bumper cars |
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Below: Then the two RV Gypsies explored the outside area of Ober Gatlinburg. |
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Below: A chair lift up Mt. Harrison,
Ober Gatlinburg |
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Below: The two RV Gypsies got on the scenic chair lift. On this date, it cost $7 a person to ride, and the weight capacity was 600 pounds. The entire ride lasted 30 minutes. |
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Karen Duquette noticed the Alpine Slide that she fell off of back
in 1978 (yes, she actually did fall off it and got scraped up a bit
- going too fast on a corner). Karen snapped a quick photo of the Alpine
Slide (shown below). She does not take many pictures while on a ski
lift because she does not want to chance dropping her camera or phone.
This whole area has obviously grown and changed a lot since Karen was
last here. |
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Photos of the same Alpine Slide and ski lift taken in May 1978 just
before Karen Duquette went over the side and off the Alpine Slide track.
Notice that they did not space the riders out like Alpine Slides do
now-a-days.
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Below: Photographs of the view from the
ski lift in 1978. |
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Below: Brian and Renee Duquette in 1975 |
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Below:  Return
to the year 2020. It started to rain, so the two RV Gypsies had to get
off the ski lift at the half-way station and took the ski lift back
down. But they were given a rain check which they used the next day. |
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A ski lift up Mt. Harrison, Ober Gatlinburg - August 26, 2020 |
The two RV Gypsies had started to ride
this on the previous day, but due to heavy rain, they had to return
the next day. |
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Ski Lifts and Chair Lifts are not that
exciting, but the two RV Gypsies liked the relaxing ride up and down
the mountain. They were disappointed that once they were at the top,
there was not much of a view of the town. There were some country singers
with about 4 people listening. So the two RV Gypsies got back on the
ski lift and went back down the mountain. They would not pay to ride
this Chair Lift ever again. They found it to be too boring. |
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Below: Going back down the mountain, there
was a bit of a pause as workers spent time finding a cell phone that
somebody dropped. |
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Below: Gatlinburg Space Needle provides
a 360-degree view of the Smoky Mountains from its 407-foot observation
tower. The attraction includes glass elevators, educational exhibits
on the history of Gatlinburg, a two-story arcade, and since 2016 a magic
and mentalism performance at the Iris Theater. Lee Duquette did NOT
want go to the top of the Space Needle, although Karen Duquette would
have liked to. But they have been at the top of other space needles,
so it was ok, even though Karen was a bit disappointed. |
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Below: At the bottom of the ski lift, Karen Duquette photographed the Angel Trumpet flowering tree. |
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Below: Then it was time to ride the Aerial
Tram back down to the town of Gatlinburg. Karen Duquette noticed a building
with a "Do Not Jump" sign on its rooftop, shortly
before the tram hooked at the bottom. DUH! |
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Ober Gatlinburg is the only ski resort in the state. It has eight ski trails, three chair lifts, and a wildlife encounter area and is accessible via roads and a gondola from the city strip. It was not ski season when the two RV Gypsies were here, but they do not snow ski anyway.
