Chapter 37 - Dollywood and Beyond!

We made it to Dollywood!

Welcome to Chapter 37 of Crabby & Chipper Travels!

We hit the road for Dollywood on May 30, with our first stop in a familiar place: Hannibal, Missouri, where everything has huckleberry in the name (Huckleberry Park, Huckleberry Heights Dr., Huckleberry Inn, Huckleberry Bakery & Bistro, etc.). We've stayed here many times en route to Florida. This time, we had a little hiccup—I accidentally booked the wrong night through Agoda.com and the reservation was non-refundable. Note to self: always double-check dates before hitting “confirm”!

Dinner made up for it, though—we found a great Mexican restaurant downtown, then walked around historic Hannibal, which sits along the Mississippi River and is famously the hometown of Mark Twain.

I can't resist getting a photo with a destination mural.

May 31 – Hello, Chattanooga

After another eight hours on the road, we arrived in Chattanooga, Tennessee. 

We explored downtown for dinner and drinks—Chattanooga has a great vibe, great food, and a nice mix of ages. 

June 1 – Rock City & Bike Rides
We kicked off the day at Rock City Gardens and Lookout Mountain. The gardens were stunning—massive rock formations, quaint paths, and sweeping views across seven states.  I hadn’t been there since I was about 5 years old and it was even better than I remembered. 

I remember being terrified as a kid when my dad and I tried to cross the suspension bridge—
I don’t think I made it all the way. This time it was a breeze! 

I remember my dad being worried he wouldn't get thru "Fat Man's Pass".  We made it through just like he did.

Then we stumbled upon the Fairyland Caverns—and got a creepy surprise! I couldn’t believe I didn’t remember it, but my mom confirmed we’d skipped that part of Rock City on our previous visit.  

Fairyland Caverns was built in the 1930s and is described as a "whimsical, slightly surreal subterranean maze where childhood stories come to life in ultraviolet glow. It’s perfect for those with a fondness for fairy tales, vintage charm, and an offbeat, immersive experience".  It was definitely all those things and creepy too.

We had no idea what weirdness we were in for.

Each of the openings has a vintage nursery rhyme vignette...Jack and the Bean Stock, Hansel & Gretel and so on.

Video of a large collection of nursery rhyme characters.

We both really enjoyed Rock City and would highly recommend it! Tickets were $43 per person because we bought them the same day. We were told they’re a bit cheaper if purchased in advance. Definitely worth the price!

Later, we rode our bikes for about 10 miles along Chattanooga’s RiverWalk. Beautiful views of the Tennessee River, but the signage could definitely use improvement—we got lost a few times!

We discovered some neat places on our bike ride.

We tried crawfish for the first time at Champy's.  Not bad, but it was pretty time consuming eating the two pounds we ordered.

We admired the waterfall/splash pad feature outside the Tennessee Aquarium.

June 2 – It Was Dolly Day!
We took the trolley from Patriot Park to Dollywood—super easy! 

The trolley was easy to find, cheaper than parking at Dollywood, and dropped us off just steps from the entrance.  We would definitely suggest using it.

Dollywood opened in 1986, so 2025 marks the 40th anniversary of Dolly’s dream coming to life. They advertise that the park is filled with over a million flowers—and I believe it! The blooms and floral sculptures were absolutely stunning!

I loved the living plant sculptures that were all over the park.  Thousands of plant and flower varieties are grown over wire frames to create detailed shapes like bears, butterflies, and Smoky Mountain wildlife.

We only rode one ride, Big Bear Mountain, because the lines were so long.  It was exactly what we were hoping for—smooth, fast, and full of twists and turns.

The Cinnamon Bread? Delicious...worth every bite! 

The Wings of America show was a highlight—the tiny owls were adorable and of course, Challenger the Eagle stole the show.

This owl was adorable.

Challenger the Eagle, a rescued bald eagle and former National Anthem flyover star, now lives at Dollywood’s Eagle Mountain Sanctuary as a beloved conservation ambassador.

I especially enjoyed The Dolly Parton Experience, a museum that takes you from her humble beginnings to superstardom. 

I remember the excitement of watching her descend from the ceiling on her swing in the opening credits of her "Dolly" TV series in the 1970s.

I loved this movie too!

Just a few of her many guitars.

This video shows clips of her concerts on a big screen that is shaped like a guitar.

The "Behind the Seams" exhibit featured her clothes, wigs, and shoes...my favorite!  

There were lots of her outfits on display.

Here are just a few of her many wigs.

Oh and how I loved all her shoes!

Look how tiny her shoes are compared to Corp's shoe.

I enjoyed reading about how they designed her looks over the years and how her look evolved.

Dollywood has been on my bucket list of places to visit for a long time and it didn't disappoint.  

We stayed at Creekside Inn and were pleasantly surprised—our balcony overlooked the West Prong Little Pigeon River, complete with rocking chairs and a front-row view of some very playful woodchucks in the evening.

At one point, four woodchucks were scurrying around, darting in and out of their burrows. It was especially fun watching the two babies play together.

Our "Dolly Day" continued when we went to the Dolly Parton Stampede that evening.  The Stampede is a high-energy dinner show with 32 horses, several bison and long horn cattle, trick riders, music, stunning aerialist, and a four-course classic Southern meal. 

This cello player in the pre-show was very entertaining.

Our meal included a whole rotisserie chicken, smoked pulled pork, corn on the cob, mashed potatoes, biscuit, and apple turnover....very yummy!

Video of the bison racing into the stampede.

Video of the patriot light show.

 

Video of the little pig races.

Max the horse and his trick rider.

The Dolly Parton Stampede was a perfect ending to my "Dolly Day".

June 3 – Smoky Mountain Adventures
A park ranger at Great Smoky Mountains National Park recommended two hikes: Cataract Falls and the trail to Kuwohi, the park’s highest point and the tallest peak in Tennessee at 6,643 feet.  

Cataract Falls was a pretty small waterfall.

The mountains were so green!

Along the way, we crossed the Appalachian Trail, which stretches over 2,190 miles from Georgia to Maine, winding through 14 states.

We hiked one mile of its 2,190-mile stretch because we had other plans for the day.

The trail to the walk to the top was easy going, except for a few steeper inclines along the way.

View from the highest point of the Great Smokey Mountains.

On the way back down the mountain, we spotted a small black bear munching on the roadside.

He looked so cute and cuddly...we were sure momma bear wasn't far away.  At least no one was dumb enough to get out of their car to get closer.

We explored Gatlinburg and realized something: if a town has a Margaritaville, Ripley’s Believe It or Not, and a Bubba Gump Shrimp Co., it’s probably not our scene.  We spent less than two hours there and then moved on.

We grabbed some good pizza for dinner and floated down the river behind our hotel on tubes provided by the Creekside Inn—such a fun, unexpected way to wind down the day.

Our float down the river was a quick one—maybe 15 minutes.  The hotel told us you can go as far as you're willing to walk back!

Corp successfully walked across the river back to our hotel.

June 4 – Knoxville Visit

Our next stop was Knoxville to visit friends John and Meg. Along the way, we made a quick stop in Downtown Sevierville, which has a charming small-town vibe, historic character, and its most famous hometown icon—Dolly Parton.

Sevierville has a beautiful historic City Hall.

We met up with Jon and Meg in Downtown Knoxville where they shared one of their favorite Mexican restaurant's with us.  Then we checked out Yee Haw Brewing Co.—the Pink Lemonade Seltzer was delicious.   

We walked down Downtown Knoxville’s Strong Alley, which is lined on both sides with vibrant murals.

This ever-changing public art gallery is refreshed periodically to keep things fresh.
It was so vibrant and fun.

Of course, Meg and I think the Dolly Parton mural is the best!

June 5 – Aspire Park & A Lucky Find
We visited Aspire Park in Clinton, TN—a beautiful space made possible by the Git-N-Go founder, who donated the land and self-funded the park’s creation. The 450 acre park is one of the largest privately funded parks in the Southeast, with no entrance fee.

It's hard to tell in the photos, but The Meadows is a 13‑acre wildflower and grass area in the center of the park that has features great walking paths above a capped landfill.  It featured a lot of beautiful wildflowers of all colors.

 

This unique mountain bike statute was at the entrance to the bike course.

Aspire Park goes as far back as you can see in this photo. 
There were 20+ miles of paved trails, too.  We spent about 30 minutes checking them out.

Downtown Clinton brought us a huge surprise: we finally found a bar cart we’ve been searching for—for over two years!  And to top it off, we scored a great set of vintage drinking glasses with a matching holder to go with it.

We quickly learned that in the South they don't call these bar carts.  They call them garden or tea carts.  We will find some shelves and be ready to serve some fancy drinks.

June 6 – Detour to Jack Daniel’s

We started the day with the Flight of Jack Tour at the Jack Daniel’s Distillery. 

It's hard to believe Jack Daniels died from gangrene after kicking a safe and injuring his toe.  He was only 5'2" in height. 

The museum before the actual tour was pretty interesting.

This one of 97 barrel houses in the area that store the finished whiskey.  The barrels are housed for 4 years before they go to market.

Jack Daniel’s barrels are made from American white oak. The wood is dried, shaped into staves, and assembled without glue or nails. The inside is then charred over an open flame, which helps develop the whiskey’s flavor and color as it ages. Each barrel is used only once.

Part of the barrel charring area.

They say the Cave Spring Hollow is the key to Jack’s flavor.  This spring provides iron-free, 56°F limestone water, which has been the source of every bottle of Jack since the beginning.

The sooty look around the distillery comes from whiskey fungus, which feeds on alcohol vapors that escape from aging barrels. It’s harmless, but leaves a black coating on nearby buildings, trees, and surfaces.

It was interesting to see how every bottle of Jack Daniel’s is packaged right at the distillery.  They can produce hundreds of bottles per minute during peak times.

A flight tasting of 5 whiskeys at the end of the tour.

We were happy we went on the tour and decided we like Jack Daniels Honey the best.

That night, we stayed in downtown Louisville and caught a fantastic blues band called V-Groove at Stevie Ray’s Blues Bar. They played an energetic mix of funk, R&B, blues, rock, and pop covers. The music was awesome—and the people-watching was just as entertaining!

A video of the V Groove band.

June 7 – A New Windy City Favorite

We made it to Chicago and headed straight to Lincoln Park—one of my favorite neighborhoods anywhere. It was Corp’s first time there, and I loved sharing it with him. We visited the Lincoln Park Zoo, which is free and right along Lake Michigan. 

We saw flamingos, black rhinos, reindeer, lions, seals—you name it.

June 8 – Barrington Antiques & Architecture
We spent the day with friends Dan, Marla, and Kayla in Barrington, IL. They took us to the new home they are remodeling that was designed by a Frank Lloyd Wright's apprentice—so cool to see. 

Corp couldn’t resist snapping a photo with the vintage intercom system in the mid-century house.

 

Corp, Dan, and I really enjoyed the bloody mary's at Tracks Bar & Grill!

We visited America’s Antique Mall in Algonquin, IL, and Kayla hit the jackpot—she found several vintage perfume atomizers for me to choose from! 

I’ve been on the hunt for one of these ever since I started watching The Crown on Netflix.

June 9 – Home Sweet Home
After 2,600 miles and about 50 hours in the car, we arrived home.  We were tired and our travel bug was satisfied for the time being.  

 

Well, that's all for Chapter 37...until next time, safe travels and happy exploring!

Corp and Tammy