Aaron: Hello and welcome to another podcast from Explore The Smokies. Are you planning this trip to the Smoky Mountains? Are you too busy to spend hours playing in search and sites for the best activities? Find all your answers at explorethesmokies.com. Let us take the guesswork out of planning with customized itineraries, a community forum where you can ask questions, vacation rentals and also a sweet podcast and so much more at explorethesmokies.com.

Female Host: Okay so Aaron, growing up we used to love this movie Harry and Henderson’s, have you ever seen it?

Aaron: I have seen it.

Female Host: Okay, so for those who haven’t seen it, it’s about family who was camping and then accidentally hits a Bigfoot with their car. And even now as adults, I know, it’s crazy. So we’re in our 30s or 40s. My brothers and I still watch that every year when we go on vacation. And so, that’s why I’m super excited to talk to the guest today. His name is Jason Maples. He’s from My Bigfoot Adventures and he’s joining us. Hi Jason.

Aaron: Welcome Jason.

Jason Maples: Hi, how are you doing?

Female Host: Fantastic, thank you so much for coming on the podcast today.

Jason: Absolutely, it’s my pleasure. Thank you for having me.

Female Host: So, I love the name. Is there a story behind it?

Jason: Well you know, just like you, I really love the movie Harry and the Hendersons. And also, when I was little, my nickname was Bigfoot around the neighborhood. And, you know, I’ve always liked the idea of there, being a Bigfoot. I do tours down here in the Smoky Mountains and people would ask me, do you ever see Bigfoot in the Smoky Mountains? And, you know, the answer was always, no. But then I got to thinking. Man, I should maybe capitalize on that and there’s other areas in the country where people do bigfoot-type of Expeditions and I thought, you know, there’s nothing like that down here. So, I bought every conceivable domain name with anything to do with the Smoky Mountains and/or Bigfoot. And that’s how I came up with it.

Aaron: Well, speaking of that, you’ve been in business since February of this year, right?

Jason: That is correct.

Aaron: And we looked at, and you’re already offering some amazing itineraries and you’ve got a 14-passenger bus and it’s basically an itinerary for almost anything. So, tell us a little more about that.

Jason: Yeah, correct. I mean, you know, when people come down here, sometimes, you know, it’s good to be spontaneous and sometimes people, they just want to get away. They want to get out to nature, but they don’t know exactly what they want. And so, I can customize, I can groom an adventure for anything. I mean, we do hiking tours, we do scenic motor tours, I do a barbecue tour, I’ll even do a moonshine and wine tour and then you probably really see Bigfoot.

Female Host: Awesome.

Jason: But we also do a Smoky Mountain Adventure tour and I’ve teamed up with a few different businesses here, and we can do anything from zorbing down a hill, which means crawling into a giant inflatable ball and rolling down a hill to Whitewater Adventure. We even do ziplining and I package something up pretty much for anybody. I mean, I even took a group of people over to the Biltmore Estate in Asheville.

Female Host: Wow.

Jason: So, I mean, really anything you want to go do in a bus or on feet hiking around the mountains, we’ll do it.

Female Host: That’s great. So, the city of Townsend is not far away from Sevierville and Pigeon Forge and I see that they have a Bigfoot Festival each year. And as I was digging deeper, I see that you are one of the founding members of that festival, right?

Jason: Yes, that is correct. You know what’s funny? I didn’t know about that festival prior to coming up with My Bigfoot Adventure and then someone from their organization reached out and said, well, the name of your business has something to do with Bigfoot. We’re doing a Bigfoot Festival. Would you like to be a founding member? And I said, absolutely. So I jumped on board and became a member and I got to tell you. There was about 4,000 people over that day, over there in Townsend, you know, trying to do any and everything that has to do with Bigfoot, Sasquatch, you know, whatever you want to call it. It was an amazing afternoon. I loved it.

Female Host: Oh my gosh. So, what what time of the year does that happen?

Jason: That was just about a month and a half ago or so?

Female Host: Okay. It is on the month of [crosstalk], is it June?

Jason: [crosstalk] a lot of great people, you know, people who really, you know, they believe in Bigfoot, they were showing me pictures. One person was showing me pictures on his phone of a Bigfoot that he came with like 20 feet from and wanted to book a tour with me to go out and find him although you already found him but I will take you back out there.

Female Host: I’d be happy to!

Jason: Well yeah, it was good.

Female Host: Oh my gosh. That’s great. So okay, four thousand people you had to have seen some interesting things. So, you have any good stories?

Jason: You know, I mean there were people that came dressed up like Bigfoot is kind of like if you go to a Comic Con and you see people dressed up like Superman or Wonder Woman, these people were dressed up like Sasquatch. I mean it was crazy. It was like a Sasquatch. I mean, it was. But it was like a Sasquatch festival and, you know, there’s people out there, man. Have you ever seen walmart.com? Some of the crazy people are walking on that page. It was kind of like a class reunion of that at the Bigfoot Festival. It was pretty entertaining.

Aaron: Hey, Jess, I have another question. So every time they talk about Bigfoot, seems like there’s only one, is there any recorded sightings of family of a big feet, or foot or Sasquatches. Anything like that?

Jason: I was reading up on some history and the Cherokee Indians in this area used to document that they would hear and see large furry beasts out in the woods and they would go after it and it didn’t sound anything like a human, but they would go out in the woods after this sound and, you know, it would be over on the left and they go a hundred yards that way and then they’d hear it on the right and they’d go that way and then they’d hear up behind them. And so they estimated, there were tons of them out there but you know, they never saw them, they were never documented, anything that the Cherokees had said, well, we absolutely saw this beast and he was nine foot tall, or what have you, but then, back in the late eighteen hundreds down here in the Smoky Mountains, there were pioneers who claimed to have seen large hairy beasts that were eight or nine foot tall and there was one incident where they said that this hairy beast came and abducted a child and took it off into the woods and the child was never to be seen again and they started hunting for bigfoot down here. But they never found him again.

Aaron: That’s great. That’s a great story.

Female Host: Yeah, so you are on the warpath really to find him again and so, all I need to do is to what? Look up at your website and book a tour?

Jason: Yeah, mybigfootadventure.com. It’ll actually reroute you around to our Facebook page. And from there, you can book an adventure, or you can reach out and call me right from that page. And we can just look over the calendar and see what’s available. In the bus, I can take groups up to 14 people or certainly if there’s a party larger than that, we can meet out on the trail somewhere and we can just head out together and have our own Bigfoot Adventure.

Female Host: That’s awesome. And I just want to run down the list of different things that you potentially could offer, people who are coming to the area, guided hiking tours, moonshine tours, Bachelorette and Bachelor parties which I know some people going down pretty soon so I’m going to have to pass along your information. Casino tours, Tennessee Vols tailgate party tours, live event concerts, party bus and private opportunities. So, you’ve got a large group that’s coming down and they’re getting a cabin for like fourteen people, they can just rent you for the day, right?

Jason: Yeah, they can. In fact, I got to be candid with you, if you tried to get an Uber or a lift here in Pigeon Forge, Gatlinburg or Sevierville. You’re going to wait three, four, five hours to get a ride. It’s just kind of non-existent. The reality is, there’s so much traffic here. It doesn’t make financial sense. For one of those operators to try to offer rides because they maybe do one or two a day, so, you’re right. I mean I pick people up at a cabin or their hotel. And in fact, if you wanted to charter me for a half a day or a full day, or I’ve even had a party last weekend, they chartered me the whole weekend. I will literally pick you up and hang out with you and we will spend the whole weekend driving around the Smokies, going out hiking. I’ll take you out to dinner. I mean, whatever you guys want to do, that’s what we’re going to do. And just some background, I’ve been a stand-up comic since 1986, so I’ll keep you in stitches along the way as well.

Female Host: I love it, I love it. Well, Aaron has got a Smokey Mountain five. Some five questions, he wants to throw your way. Aaron?

Aaron: Quick answers, Jason. Favorite place to look for bigfoot? Where can you go? Where you might actually see Bigfoot out in Smokies?

Jason: Let’s see. The Roaring Fork Motor Trail.

Aaron: Okay, what’s your personal favorite view in the Smokies? What do you like to see?

Jason: Clingmans Dome. Because that is the absolute highest spot in the Smoky Mountains. On a clear day, you may already know this, you can see the mountain peaks in seven different states from up there.

Aaron: Favorite restaurant. What’s your favorite restaurant?

Jason: Alamo Steakhouse.

Aaron: Didn’t take you too long to say that. And your best Smoky Mountain memory?

Jason: I’ve been visiting the Smoky Mountains since 1975 with my parents. It took me a long time to move here. I’ve only lived here a little over a year and my favorite memory would be one time when I was about 8 years old, riding down to the Smoky Mountains, with my dad, on the back of his Harley-Davidson and I kept falling asleep and I don’t remember it as much as he remembers it but when he tells a story I remember it. He had to use his belt to tie me to him so I wouldn’t fall off the Harley on the way down here. And we rode through the Smoky Mountains on his Harley and I’ve always wanted to do that with my kids. So I bought myself a Harley so I could do that with my children.

Aaron: That’s awesome. I hope you have a belt as well.

Jason: Absolutely. Absolutely.

Female Host: Or sidecars. [inaudible] if you have more kids.

Aaron: So final question, Jason, if we had person say, hey I only have 24 hours in the area, what do they need to do in your opinion? What’s the place to have to go to?

Jason: I think you know, you can go out to eat anywhere, they can go out to eat dinner at their home in their hometown, they can go ride, go-karts anywhere, they can go do a zip line anywhere. My absolute answer would be to get out in nature, even if you don’t do it with My Bigfoot Adventure, go out. Check out the national park. Go see some beautiful scenic mountain views, walk along the river, put your hands in the waterfall as it’s coming down the mountain and just get out and enjoy this beautiful National Park that we have down here. That is absolutely free to go and wander around in is absolutely beautiful.

Female Host: Great. Awesome Recommendation. Jason I have one final question.

Jason: Absolutely.

Female Host: Have you ever seen Sasquatch?

Jason: You know, at the end of every My Bigfoot Adventure tour, I absolutely guarantee that you’ll get a selfie with Bigfoot.

Female Host: Okay, the mystery continues. Thank you for being such a great, great guest Jason. You can check out all the tours that Jason offers and book your tour by going to mybigfootadventure.com. And we will be sure to add My Bigfoot Adventure to explorethesmokies.com as well.

Jason: Thank you so much. My absolute pleasure.

Aaron: Have a great day.

Jason: You too.

Aaron: Welcome to Explore The Smokies podcast. If this is your first time joining us, welcome! I’m your host Aaron.

April: And I’m your other host, April. Today, we’re going to dive into a bit of the history of Pigeon Forge to talk whisky and moonshine.

Aaron: I love history and I know you love moonshine, April.

April: I do. I really do.

Aaron: We’re going to talk about [crosstalk] the Old Forge Distillery and how it came to life. The roots, I understand can be traced back to the 18th century, when Mordecai Lewis was granted 151 acres along the banks of the Little Pigeon River. The Lewis family then built an iron forge mill and a post office and established the community of Pigeon Forge.

April: And so, the name Old Forge Distillery was inspired by the iron forge that sat on the grounds and help shape the community. The distillery is located just next to the original mill that was built in 1830.

And our guest today is Keener Shanton, the head distiller at Old Forge Distillery, and he handles the research development and production at Old Forge. He has been described as a mixture between a comedian and a mad scientist, which sounds super intriguing. So, welcome, Kinnear, to the Explore The Smokies podcast! Thanks for joining us.

Keener Shanton: You have it pretty well covered. You got more of the history and the dates and I knew.

April: Oh well, okay. Well, I guess we can end this now. Thanks.

Keener: We could talk about liquor now.

April: Yes. All right. Well before we jump into Old Forge, tell us a little bit about you. How did you first become a distiller, because this is an outstandingly cool gig?

Keener: I couldn’t agree more, about how much I have a blast. It’s a fun job. It started, then if it’s probably been close to 14 years ago now. I’m having a hard time keeping track of those dates. But I was working full-time as a paid fireman for the city of Sevierville, which is a neighboring town of Pigeon Forge, where we’re located. Our schedules are 24 on, and 48 off, which is pretty common. At least, it was. So I work 24 hours and the next two days were basically a weekend. And just for an errant internet search one time, I found out how easy it was to at least build a very basic pot still for distillation of alcohol and at my garage and a torch and some solder and did it. Probably hope the federal government isn’t listening but the very first batch I made was poor. I didn’t have any fermented mash, obviously. I just finished my pot and I needed something with some alcohol in it to distill and I had an 18 pack of beer.

A very famous blue canned beer. I don’t know if I should mention it or not, but I dumped it in the pot and made my first batch of distilled alcohol that way. And quickly realized that I was probably going to be doing it forever. So I’d probably better get permitted and there’s a couple of different routes of permitting for the Tax and Trade Bureau, the federal government that regulates the industry. There’s a fuel ethanol producer permit, which is fairly easy to get, and a distilled spirit plant permit, which is the one you have to have if you’re going to do it professionally for consuming. The fuel ethanol producer permit is not terribly difficult. You can’t drink it, you can’t sell it. You do have to still report it, but it does allow you to own and operate it still for the distillation of alcohol.

April: So you did that, and let me guess, you tried it out on all the firefighters. Yes? They did some sampling?

Keener: That was the joke. It was going to be, you know, I’m making fuel for the soul here not for your lawnmower.

April: Nice.

Keener: That was going to be my story if they came knocking on my door. I’m sure it wouldn’t have flown at the time, but hey, I was 14 years dumber then so I thought it might work. But anyway, so I realized pretty quickly, like I said, that I was hooked. So for 6 or 7 years there, while I was at the fire department, I was doing that on all of my time off. And I have the opportunity through some cousins of mine, who we may have mentioned already. I doubt it, but the Blantons, the Faulkners, said that they were going to be opening a distillery.

I read it in the newspaper, actually. I wasn’t even in on the discussion, originally until about a year later into the build, I came along and I got the opportunity to sample some of that lawnmower fuel in front of some important people over there, and I got the opportunity to jump ship and do it full time and haven’t looked back. We just celebrated 7 years of being open this past July 27th.

April: Oh wow, that’s great.

Aaron: That’s great. Hey Kinnear, explain it to me. How do you combine the old with the new craft your whiskies and your moon shines?

Keener: Oh gosh. Well, you know you kind of mentioned some of the histories that we have there. You know that place is rich in history, right there in that square in Pigeon Forge. We do try to pull from, you know, some historical people in that area. And say we do, we’re trying to, and our first person was actually not even a person. Cyclone Jim is our first expression, in a line of products that kind of harkens back to a historical figure there. And it was a horse, or actually, a series of horses that wore that name, that turned a clay grinding-and I’m not a potter. Tommy would probably be better to speak to this, he’s our head potter. But it turns a mill, is my understanding that kind of pumps clay. So his job was basically to walk in a circle, hence the term Cyclone. It wasn’t a terribly exciting job, so I guess the Cyclone part’s a little tongue-in-cheek. He just kind of walked in a circle and over-through the year- He started, sorry, about 1946? I think is when that mill or I’m sorry, that pottery opened. And he was really the town’s first tourist attraction. There was nothing else in town except for this pottery and this horse.

April: Oh my gosh.

Keener: And throughout the years, you know, they had to replace him. I think he might have even- Lori, you know, probably wouldn’t want me to mention this, but I think probably at one time like when Jim might have been a mule or a donkey or something briefly.

April: Well, too [crosstalk] late. You mentioned it. So [crosstalk] I can’t take it out now.

Keener: [inaudible] What money? I guess.

April: Oh yeah, okay. I can see that. So, you know, we talked about what sets you apart from other distillers and other distilleries because you know there’s a lot down there now. You can go from one place to the next place, trying things out. But for those people who actually know about whiskey, and know about moonshine, there are things that set you apart from others.

Keener: Sure, Cyclone Jim is just one of them. The Iron Forge, which is our namesake is another one. The Old Mill as far as I’m concerned, which we sit right next to, came into operation in 1830, has been continuously operating ever since. It’s one of the top 5 if not the oldest continuously operating mill in America. So it’s been grinding grain for people to eat and people to drink since then. And like you mentioned, Aaron, a little earlier, it’s also been a post office. It provided power very briefly, for some in town before TVA. So, that’s interesting.

April: And you also offer other things outside of the moonshine line. I just want to make sure that we do just like, a quick thing on your Harvest Gin because [crosstalk] I think that’s a really interesting story.

Keener: Oh yeah, but don’t let me bog us down on anything boring. I mean, for the others there’s history but-

April: No, this is great.

Keener: For sure. You know, we opened originally with three clear moonshines. The labeling and the formulation process is pretty difficult and time-consuming, so that’s what we had come out of the gate with. We quickly released several more moonshines, but just as quickly, we wanted to make sure that we stepped outside of the moonshine category. Not abandoning it, obviously, I mean, that’s a lot of history there, a lot of heritage for us. But we wanted to set ourselves apart is as a craft distillery as quickly as we could. And that Harvest gin that you mentioned is definitely one of those products. Bourbon, Rum, Vodka. There’s a rock and rye line, that is kind of a nod to pre-Prohibition liqueurs.

We get a lot of inspiration for that line from our farmhouse kitchen, as far as savory notes like thyme and rosemary. We have a little herb garden. We have a rum-based cream liqueur line. So yeah, we wanted to make sure, like I said, not to abandon the category that does so well for us, but we want to let you know that we’re doing things outside of that too that are really exciting. Probably the most exciting I get in there is muscadine season when we do get to bring in those fresh grapes from a local neighboring town and crush them, ferment them, distill them into brandy, and then re-distill them into a gin and then we finish it in a Tennessee Bourbon Barrel that’s used. So that Harvest Gin spans several categories. As I said, there’s a little bit of bourbon to it, a little bit of brandy, and a whole lot of gin. But it starts in Tennessee and it ends there too.

April: I can hear the passion in your voice.

Aaron: Yeah, seriously.

April: I mean you’re talking about it. I can hear the passion.

Keener: That’s not passion, that’s caffeine.

April: Oh!

Keener: I wanted to make- [inaudible]

April: Well, I mean come on. You have to have a lot of passion behind this because I’ve never met a firefighter that didn’t love their job. So to be able to go from being a firefighter to something that even kind of, elevates that level of excitement is pretty cool.

Keener: Well, good, I’m glad that you’re picking up on it because I really do, I enjoy it. And it’s something that I’m passionate about. You know, just to be honest, I like drinking too, so it’s not bad to be able to make it cheaper than buying.

April: So I will be honest, I’ve been to Old Forge a number of times. I love the specialty cocktail room that you have. It kind of reminds me of, a very, in the open, speakeasy. But the specialty cocktails are amazing, and the sampling! For people who haven’t done any of the samplings down in that area, it’s phenomenal. You know, all the little cups that they give you. How many is it, when you come for a sample?

Keener: We will start you off at our moonshine sampling bar with 10 cups. Our SKUs, our products, have grown to basically 24 in that line. So you’ve got some choosing to do. We have a cream stand in there, that’s set up like a little ice cream bar that you can go sample another you know, the seasonal creams over there too. So you’re probably looking at a total of, you know, anywhere from 13 to 16 samples that you can come in there and do for free and kind of get an idea of what you may like from those samples. And then you know, weasel your way or meander your way into a cocktail bar.

April: You could spend some time.

Keener: Yeah, you can. And you can tell, you can ask him. Say, I like coffee moonshine. What can I do with this to take this experience home? If I want to take coffee moonshine home, how do I enjoy it at home? [crosstalk] And they’ll whip you up something really-

April: I am so glad you said that. Coffee moonshine. Do you know, [crosstalk] that was one of the ones I kept skipping over every time I come do sampling over there? And finally, somebody’s like you have to try this and like I just can’t imagine and I did and I left with the bottom. It is it is phenomenal.

Keener: I’ll be honest, you know, that was one of the first ones we came out with after those three initial clears because we wanted to come out with something that nobody had yet. That was one of them. Coffee, Chocolate was one, that was modeled off a chocolate cake across the street at the cafe. And our French Toast, which is kind of a nod to the french toast at the Old Mill Restaurant, because nobody those. The coffee was just straight-up. I like White Russian. I’m actually wearing a Big Lebowski t-shirt right now. It has some choice words on it, I can’t repeat right here for you. But I like White Russians, and so I wanted to basically a Kahlua, a higher-proofed substitute for that, to make a good White Russian.

April: Nice. And they serve that in the cocktail lounge.

Keener: Absolutely. It may be called a White Russian or depending on who’s in there. But I think on the menu we call it a Pale Appalachian, and it’s made with, our vanilla ice cream liqueur, which is some of that rum-based stuff I’ve been telling you about earlier. Really it’s just one-to-one or a 2-1 there depending on how much how strong you want it. It makes a pretty good White Russian.

April: Keener, I think I’m going to come to visit you after the podcast is done today.

Keener: You might as well, you know, how far away are you guys?

April: Far enough away, can’t see it today but maybe tomorrow.

Aaron: That’s funny.

April: Actually, we do have to wrap it up. This is so much fun. I feel like we need a part 2 segment for all of this and maybe we will do that at another time. But I know Aaron has got his Smoky Mountain 5 questions he wants to be able to get in.

Aaron: Keener, are you familiar-

Keener: Yes, please.

Aaron: We have 5, we call it the Smoky Mountain 5.

Keener: Okay.

Aaron: We just do quick answers to our five questions and first thing that comes to your head. Okay?

Keener: Okay.

Aaron: What’s your favorite place in the Smokies?

Keener: Mount LeConte.

Aaron: Your favorite place to eat?

Keener: It’s a new place called The Appalachian, in downtown Sevierville.

Aaron: Okay, good to know.

Keener: Wait a minute, back up. Hang on a minute. The Old Mill Pottery House Cafe, of course.

Aaron: Got it.

April: So we have 2. You have lunch at one place, dinner at another. Got it.

Keener: Yes.

Aaron: Where’s your favorite place to take a photo at? Like if I’m coming there and I’m taking that special photo shot. Where am I going?

Keener: I think you’re either going to go back up to Mount LeConte, which was my first answer there or you’re going to take the greenway, I think. Gosh. I’m drawing a blank on the name of which does us absolutely no good right now. Just go up to LeConte, 5-10 miles up the Alum Cave Trail, and take all the pictures you want.

Aaron: Got it. And what’s the reason why you think people love coming back to the Smokies year after year?

Keener: I think the biggest reason is, obviously the mountains. There’s the national park. Everything there is to do, it’s a family-oriented place and that’s what I think the biggest takeaway is. We want you to bring your kids, we want you to have such a good time, and those kids to have such a good time that they come back with their kids. The next generation. You know, we want to build a relationship with the entire family and there’s something for everybody.

Aaron: And do you have a bartender named Rob by chance?

Keener: Oh my gosh, he goes by Rob sometimes. Yeah, we do. Rob is incredible.

Aaron: I hear he’s incredible.

Keener: Yeah, he’s a character too. He’s definitely one of the prominent faces behind that sampling bar. We’ve got so many good personalities back there. But you know, Rob’s is his own thing for sure.

Aaron: Okay, that’s good. Hey, we appreciate it. That’s the Smoky Mountain 5.

April: All right, thank you so much for being with us. I actually do have to come in because of a friend who is in love with your peach moonshine, and she is actually constantly asking so maybe I should be a little more worried about that. But I gotta pick some up for her. Thanks for joining us, Keener.

Keener: Thanks for the opportunity guys. It was good to talk to you.

April: Welcome to Explore The Smokies, the podcast.

Our sponsor today is Smokey River Vacation Rentals. The Sweet Magnolia is a beautiful resort condo. Located just off the Parkway in Pigeon Forge with resort amenities and a fully stocked coffee bar. The Sweet Magnolia sleeps six, and while it’s a peaceful location. It’s a minute away from the action, just down the street from the Apple Barn. You can check out this property at smokeyrivervacations.com.

So if you visited Gatlinburg recently, you know that Anakeesta is among the top attractions in the Smokies. A world of its own exists 600 feet above the City of Gatlinburg and joining us today is a managing partner and founder of Anakeesta. Her name is Karen Bentz.

Thank you for joining us and speaking with us about Anakeesta, Karen.

Karen Bentz: Thank you very much. It’s a great opportunity to talk. I appreciate it.

April: So Anakeesta is actually a Cherokee word, correct?

Karen: That’s correct, it’s Cherokee Indian. Actually has a couple of different meanings. There is a certain type of stone that only occurs in the Great Smokies and it is an Anakeesta Stone. It’s a type of slate that you’ll see as you come in the Spur in Gatlinburg and it’s also known for the other references the Cherokee Indian word for place of high Balsam. So the very very top of the mountain. So we felt like that was an appropriate name for this beautiful place in the Smokies.

Aaron: That’s a perfect name. Perfect name. Hey, I understand, you’re a founder of Anakeesta. Where did the idea come from came?

Karen: So my husband and I have had family properties here for many years. Both of our parents had homes here in this area and I’m from Knoxville. So I came up and hide. Both my husband and I were both National Park Service Rangers very very long time ago.

So this particular property was adjacent to the property that we owned and so we knew about it. Had hiked on it for years and years and so when it became available to purchase we really jumped on the opportunity and we actually purchased it from the Pi Beta Phi Fraternity For Women. It’s a sorority and it was actually a legacy property so it had never been basically fully developed in 100 years. Some of the trees are climax forests.

They’re absolutely beautiful. And we really felt like this was a very, very special piece of property and we really wanted to have a vision for what it could be. Develop it according to kind of our own personal guidelines of ecological development stewardship of the land. And a very important tune, to make sure that families can and enjoy the Smokies. So that’s kind of been our guideline all along.

April: So how did you first- It’s seventy acres? Is that correct? 70 acres of land?

Karen: It is. Well, actually we’ve acquired more now. So it’s roughly about between 70 and 85 acres.

April: So how did you first start bringing this vision to life?

Karen: Well, once we purchased the property. We actually only have the property that was above Baskins Creek Bypass. And so then, we actually turned to the same group of people and we’re able to acquire the rest of the property that’s on the parkway. So what we were left with is two acres on the parkway and the rest of it. The balance of that was on the mountain.

And so it was a wonderful opportunity to really think about how we were going to join those two properties and the really the only way because of the terrain was to create this Chondula. So it’s a chairlift that also has gondolas on it and that allows us to scale the mountains. So it goes 2,200 feet and an elevation gain of about 600 feet from the parkway in Gatlinburg all the way up to the very top of the mountain.

April: Wow. So that was my first experience on a chairlift. I have to tell you and I’ve never had.

Karen: It’s fun, isn’t it?

April: It is. The first time I went up there. It was definitely like hanging on for dear life but then I realized, no, this is relaxing, calm down. It was good. It was very good. So you know obviously 2016, the fire that came through. How did that affect what you were doing there in Anakeesta and how you were developing that land?

Karen: So interesting part of the story is that we had just closed on the loan two weeks prior to that fire. So we were already through all the planning stages we had already had a lot of the architecture work already. You know, designed and we had completed our master plan and the fires came and of course, it was the perfect storm of an unbelievable phenomenon that had never occurred in this area to anyone’s knowledge.

And so we had not gone vertical and in other words, we had not actually started to build. We had our utilities in. We were starting to put the roads in but in terms of actual loss of built property, we didn’t really have any. But what we did have was the fact that the fire went through all 70 acres and the land that faces South, that faces Mount Le Conte was absolutely devastated.

So we lost all the trees and it was just absolutely fried everything and as the fire reached the summit and went over to the north side. That side was much more moist, that’s entire forest.

So the fire went out eventually and we didn’t lose our office or anything. So we were very fortunate in that respect and what it taught us was the resilience. We made the decision. You know, days after we found out that the property was damaged.

There was a curfew, no one was allowed on the property, and in respect of all of Gatlinburg and we knew that we lost five houses in three hours but we did not lose any office at Anakeesta. So we made the decision that we were going to go forward with the project and the silver lining for us when we started to take down all those burned trees is that we revealed an unbelievable view of the Smokies.

So the land that I described that was burned the worst, we remove those trees and that is our beautiful viewshed of the Smoky Mountains. So we look to Mount Le Conte. We look to Sugarland’s range and we also look to the interior of the mother nature trail. So our view is all of the national park and it is incredible.

You feel like you can just reach out and touch it.

April: Yes, indeed.

Karen: It’s just beautiful.

Aaron: Well, that’s a great silver lining to that story, right? And a lighter note, I understand there’s only two ways to access the park. Can you talk a little bit about that for us?

Karen: Yes. So, when you see the entrance to Anakeesta on the parkway. It is a beautiful public space. We actually put in brick and we really wanted it to be used as a public space. The parking is down there.

So, some options for getting to the top because all the fun is at the top. We have the chairlift and it also has, so it has chairs that actually bring you to the top. You can fit four people to that to the chairs. And that’s the fastest way of.

We also have gondolas. So those are enclosed cabins and they’re fully enclosed and your family is perfectly safe. If you have any, calms about being, fear of heights, and that will take you up equally as fast.

And then the other option, which I think is really fun is the Ridge Rambler and it says massive Peterbilt 18-wheeler that we’ve completely turned into this outdoor kind of a safari vehicle. So you’re outside and you’re going up, what we call our interior road. So you actually come by our offices. You go up this beautiful road and it’s like hiking except you’re on this Ridge Rambler. Which carries about 35 people and it’s a great way to get to the top. And when you get to the top, you’re right there in the middle of all the villages and black bear village. And you can just, make your choice from there where you’d like to go.

April: So a couple of follow-up questions I have for you on that. We have a Facebook group with Explore The Smokies, and people ask questions about
places to go and things to do. And a couple of the reoccurring questions is accessibility for Anakessta.

Are those ramblers wheelchair-friendly? Can you get up on one of the ski lifts? Explain how somebody in a wheelchair can get up there?

Karen: So we have a couple of different ways. So that the gondola that I described that has the closed cabin. We have the ability to actually roll a wheelchair right inside that Gondola and so that the chairs, pop up. And so they’re totally comfortable and very, very safe and inside there.

Then we also have some handicap bands. So we can actually accommodate anyone with a wheelchair as well. So we have a van with a lift that can actually carry the chair all the way up to the top. So, a couple of different choices.

April: That’s fantastic. Fantastic information because it’s such a sight to see.
There’s so much to do when you get up there between restaurants and shopping in the Firefly Village and the- I love just sitting on one of the rocking chairs.

Overlooking the mountains. Listening to the music playing in the beer garden. It’s an amazing experience even ziplining. We’ve definitely done the zip lining too, but the one thing that I always tell people that they cannot miss when they go up there is, the photographic journey that actually documents the fire. Why don’t you tell us a little bit about how that came to be?

Karen: So, we actually created that signage just to kind of inform people about what had happened with the intention of taking it down a year later because the fire was over.

The entire forest has regrown even way, way, way more lush than it ever was previous to that. But you know, people were interested. So we kept it up and really the photographic journey just kind of dictate the details of all the information about where the fire started, how many acres burned, and then it really kind of also tells a story about the individual people who were affected.

And so the photographer that came from Nashville actually came here. Interviewed a number of different families and people and organizations. It describes their specific story about how it affected them. So people were interested in it, we were going to take it down but we decided that we would reprint it and keep it up.

So there’s a lot of information on that and the signage also ends with the real story behind, that the natural phenomenon of fire and a lot of national parks and of course, in the Western United States. We just got back from Yellowstone and Tetons and Glacier, fires as a normal incident, that happens on a regular basis, and that the forest heals itself. The trees come back and the forestry grows.

Over time, I think we all heal and I think that’s kind of the message that we want to end with that, with the fire memorial walk.

April: And I’m glad that you decided to keep it up. I tell you, I’ve been up there a number of times, and each time I take the time to walk through it and I think it was very beautifully done.

So I’m just going to add- end with one more question before we get into our Smoky Mountain 5. And that’s, what is next for Anakessta? I see, you’re consistently building up. What’s the next thing that we can see?

Karen: Well, it’s interesting that you ask that question because as soon as we complete one thing, we’re starting another. So we have a whole team of people that just really focus on development.

My husband is the one that really focuses on that. He’s got a great vision for what’s next and what we really do is we look at what people like the most. So people love the tree canopy walk. They love the treehouse adventure. And what we like to see is that families are here interacting with each other.

So it doesn’t matter if you’re a grandmother like myself or a young child. What people like to do is just to kind of be free and play and so we’re really focused on another family adventure.

So you know, I don’t want to get too specific about it, but it’s going to be amazing. And we’ve already defined the area. It’s on the drawing boards and it’s going to be really fun. There’s always more space. I think we’ve only really developed about maybe five to six acres. So we have so much more room for growth and we have such a beautiful forest to do it in. So we’re constantly being very mindful about what’s next and it’s going to be fun. It really is.

April: I can’t wait. I can’t wait to experience it. I’m going to turn it over to Aaron for a Smoky Mountain 5.

Aaron: This is my favorite part. It’s Family Feud style, Karen. The first thing that comes to your mind. I’m just going to ask you a quick five questions and let me know when you’re ready.

Karen: Okay, not sure if I can do this.

Aaron: Okay. So, in the Smokies, what’s your favorite place in the whole smokies, outside the Anakeesta? What’s your favorite place?

Karen: My favorite place. So I’m going to go someplace, I’m going to Greenbrier and that’s outside 321. Yeah, that’s my favorite place. Love it.

Aaron: So within Anakeesta, which your favorite place to eat?

Karen: Oh, Clifftop, absolutely Clifftop. It’s just so beautiful. It’s all glass and everywhere you look all you see is that the Smoky Mountains. That’s definitely– and the best food ever. It’s really good.

Aaron: It’s awesome.

April: It is good. Yeah.

Aaron: And if I’m in, I’m in the Smokies for 24 hours, where to must places that you tell me to go to, outside Anakeesta? We know we’re going there so that’s three.

Karen: Okay. Okay, so I have 24 hours so I think one thing I would do if it’s summertime, I would get wet. So I would either find a place where I could go tubing like Greenbrier or I would hike through a stream or I would go river rafting and I would also hike for sure. I mean, you can’t leave the Smokies without being in the national park and doing a hike. Either at Elkmont Tremont, Cades Cove, you’ve got to do that.

And the third thing I would do for sure is I would take a hike that I could see a view and one of my favorite view is Gregory’s bald in the spring and they have wild azaleas and it’s absolutely gorgeous. And you really have to work hard to get there, but it’s worth it. So I think those would be my top. If I had 24 hours and not sleep.

Aaron: Not sleep, yeah. What do you think the one reason, people keep coming back to the Smokies, keep coming back to Anakeesta, what is it? Is the views? The people, what’s your opinion?

Karen: You know, I thought a lot about that and I think that the thing that people really like to do on their vacations is have kind of that spontaneity of fun where you don’t have to stand in a line. You don’t have to do a specific experience. That it can be the experience that your particular family has together. And I think that you can create that at Anakeesta and I think that regardless of age or athletic ability. Everybody can walk and everybody can stroll and everybody can enjoy each other and that time spent together. So I think that that’s what brings people back.

And in terms of the Smokies. The Smokies is one of the most incredible national parks in our nation and I think it’s beautiful, and it’s intimate. And you can walk through it. And you can touch the flowers and you can climb the mountains and it’s not so overwhelming that you can’t do it at any level of ability.

I just think that it’s within driving distance of so many people and it’s just it’s easy, it’s comfortable. And you know, every time you come, you realize how wonderful the hospitality is in the area and it really is true. I think there is such a thing as southern hospitality and I think people genuinely appreciate visitors. And they take time to talk to them, to help them make choices about where they go, where they spend their time.

And I think of that, that brings people back. I definitely believe that.

Aaron: Final question, when you and your husband are walking around Anakeesta, what makes you smile? What do you see? And it makes you smile as the families, the children playing, what’s your favorite memory?

Karen: I think watching the kids laugh. I think that that’s the fun thing that they start to really relax and enjoy themselves and they know that they’re not going to get hurt. There- Nothing is dangerous and you know they do their little antics and they play in the treehouse Village or they’ll run across the tree canopy walk and they’ll turn around and look at their parents and just with this mischievous smile and start laughing and everybody kind of relaxes.

And I think that’s what really really makes a big difference to me. Seeing families, just enjoy each other.

April: I love it. Thank you so much, Karen. This has been a really fun podcast and I learned a lot. There’s a lot about Anakeesta that I didn’t know. So I really appreciate you being with us today.

Karen: Well, I appreciate it too. Thank you so much. I really do.

Aaron: Don’t forget everyone, you can get all of your planning needs for Anakeesta and other travel planning needs on explorethesmokies.com. Thanks for joining us again. We really appreciate your time.

Karen: Thank you.

April: Welcome to the Explore the Smokies Podcast. Have you ever wanted to jump on that Pigeon Forge Trolley System ?

Host: Yes, April. But I just don’t know where I’d end up. And who has that kind of time?

April: Well, today we’re going to teach you how to confidently use the Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg Trolley systems. But before we jump into that, we want to give a shout-out to the sponsors of today’s podcast – Smokey River Vacation Rentals. The Sweet Magnolia is a beautiful resort condo located just off the Parkway in Pigeon Forge with resort amenities and a fully stocked coffee bar. The Sweet Magnolia sleep six, while it’s a peaceful location, it’s just a minute away from the action, down the street from the Apple Barn. You can check out this property at smokeyrivervacations.com.

Host: Okay. So let’s talk about this trolley system now. I’ve obviously seen the trolleys and I’ve seen the stops. But the routes are what get me. Is it one trolley that goes from Pigeon Forge all the way into Gatlinburg?

April: So, I’ve actually wondered that same thing and luckily we have an expert with us today. Joining us is Lynn Wilhoite, the director of the Pigeon Forge Mass Transit Authority and he’s going to help us and all of our listeners feel confident about using the system. Hi, Lynn.

Host: Hi Lynn, thanks for joining us.

Lynn Wilhoite: Thanks guys, thanks for having me. I appreciate it.

April: So there’s some common misunderstandings about the system and one of those is that there’s just one trolley system, but there’s actually two.

Lynn: That’s correct. Eight City Gatlinburg, has their own mass transit system and of course, we have ours and we connect with them up at the Gatlinburg Welcome Center to bring their guests down to Pigeon Forge and to take our guests up to Gatlinburg. We work together so we can commute between the two cities.

Host: It’s great, it’s great Lynn. Another misconception is that people think the trolley system is a tour. Is that not the case?

Lynn: It’s not. That’s a great question. We have folks looking for the tour and what it’s going to be. We are for transportation purposes. We move you around all over Pigeon Forge, any of the areas that you want to go. Like I said we get you up to the Gatlinburg Welcome Center so you can get on to Gatlinburg. We take you to Sevierville so you can get down to the malls and that area part of Sevierville, the Apple Barn area. We take you to Dollywood, to Splash Country, and we’ve got trams over at our convention center next to the island to move you around the park over there. Our goal is to take you anywhere in town to see any attraction that you might want to find.

Host: That’s awesome. That’s awesome. Hey Lynn, how long does the trolley run?

Lynn: Right now, we’re in our season, our summer season, we open at eight in the morning and we bring them off the road at about 15 minutes till midnight. So we’re trying to get the vast majority of folks around town. We also help out with J1 students, trying to get them to work and back. So we try to stay open long enough for them to get off work and let’s get them home.

April: So, one of the questions I have, this is what always goes through my mind when I’m thinking about using the trolley for Dollywood is you know, say, my family ends up staying longer than we thought we were going to and we come out and we need to get onto the trolley in order to get back home or back to, you know, a resort destination and there’s so many people lined up for the trolley. Trolley gets filled takes off, what happens then? Will they run long enough in order to take care of the people that they have there?

Lynn: Yeah, our promise, when we take people to Dollywood is we stay in contact with their security and we will not stop running until we’re told the park is empty. Because a lot of folks stay for their fireworks. Especially in the summer, they have fireworks. Now they’re not. We want to make sure that you can enjoy the fireworks and enjoy walking around the park and still have time to get back out there. You know, the convenient thing about going to Dollywood is you can park here for free as long as there’s space available and we take you to the front door. And then we pick you up at the front door to bring you back. So it’s an extremely convenient way to travel to and from and we will not leave you stranded over there.

April: That’s good. That, I think that that’s a relief for a lot of people because I think that’s one of the things that hold them back a little bit about knowing whether or not they want to utilize it for Dollywood and you mentioned parking. So parking is at Patriot Park, it is free of charge but the lot does fill up pretty quickly.

Lynn: Yeah, I know we’re working on that parking lot to add almost 200 parking spaces over this year to make it even more convenient for folks, to be able to have some space once they get here. But it is a great way to get over there and a great way to get back and that’s also true for Splash Country. Take you to the door. Pick you back up. It’s just a very convenient way to move around.

Host: That’s awesome. Hey, Lynn, what about the cost? Season passes? Daily passes? How does that work?

Lynn: Okay, first of all, if you’re on a Parkway and you just want to get on a trolley and go for a ride, it’s a dollar per person, if children, three and under are free. But if you want to come here and pick up a Day Pass, they’re $3 and they’re good from the time you purchase it until midnight that night. You can get on and off the trolleys as much as you want. You can ride any route. It’s a great way to get around town. That gets you to Dollywood, it gets you to Gatlinburg, it does all those things. We have a season pass for $35. That is good from whenever you purchase it to purchase it until December 31st for $35 per person. And it’s literally unlimited riding – day, night, whatever, as long as we’re open. That’s a very good prospect for folks who are going to be in town more than, you know, a few times a year. It’s definitely worth it. To go to Dollywood. If you just paid on the trolley, it’s $2.50 over, $2.50 back. So instead of doing that, if you just get the day pass for $3 a person it would be over and back plus the rest of town, the rest of the evening. That seems to be what most folks want to do.

April: Right. I was just going to add that the Pigeon Forge trolley route map, can be downloaded on explorethesmokies.com under the Travel Hub. So that’ll be a good place for them to access that.

Lynn: Absolutely.

Host: Is there a direct route to Dollywood?

Lynn: There is. We have such a large amount of folks who want to travel you know, just to Dollywood. We have normally two trolleys that are dedicated strictly to Dollywood. They run about every 15 minutes from here to there. So there’s not a very long wait. Just to and from, all day long. Just to keep the service open there.

April: And I want to just give me… let’s just give one real-life example, of somebody who’s maybe staying in Pigeon Forge, but they really want to get to Ripley’s Aquarium. What would it look like?

Lynn: The easiest thing to do would be come here, get on the Gatlinburg trolley, which is a dedicated trolley just to Dollywood, on a, when we’re fully staffed, that’s normally about a 30 minute time, period of 30 minutes, we pick up. We would take you to the Welcome Center. From there, you would transfer over to Gatlinburg’s. And for now, those are free. You would transfer over and ride, and matter of fact, if they drop you off at the aquarium, that’s where their transit facility is at, so you would already be at their aquarium. It would cost you $1 from here to the Welcome Center and then $1 to get back.

April: That’s great. I mean that’s fantastic, especially since it gets so busy down there to be able to reduce some of the cars on the parkway would be fantastic.

Lynn: You know, both transit facilities, we pride ourselves in folks parking their cars, enjoying their families, the driver there doesn’t have to be concerned about traffic. Obviously, we have a low traffic here. The driver can relax and enjoy and see things. You’re going to see things you wouldn’t normally get to see you because you’re concentrating on the traffic; whereas if you’re on the trolley talking and looking out the windows and enjoying your stay, you see more things that you might want to check out and you know, traffic is rough in Gatlinburg of course, and the parking stop there as well. So for us to be able to get you there without you having to take a car and then bring you home the same way, it’s a great way to travel around town.

April: That’s awesome. So I understand you’ve got some new features coming to the transit department.

Lynn: We do, we’re really excited. Actually, we have a brand new transit facility that will open in late August. It’s the plan at the moment, we’re watching the construction daily, it’s really improving. We’re going from a very small facility to a facility that’s almost 18,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor with covered berths for folks to get on and off the trolleys. It’s just so much … such an easier way for things to work here, as far as getting on trolleys. We’re going to be opening out a mobile app so that you can actually get on your phone and see where trolleys are at, and you can actually make purchases of day passes and other passes from your phone, you never even have to come into our building.

April: That’s great, that’s awesome.

Lynn: So, we’ve got a lot of technology coming along to kind of bring us into the future.

Host: It’s great. That’s great. Hey Lynn. I want to play a little game with you for our last segment. Are you familiar with Family Feud at all?

Lynn: I am, I sure am.

Host: I’m going to hit you with five quick questions. First thing that comes to your mind. I’ll start the clock now, are you ready?

Lynn: Sure.

Host: Okay. Favorite place in the Smokies.

Lynn: Probably either the Le Conte trail or Cades Cove.

Host: Favorite place to eat.

Lynn: Probably the Smokey Mountain Brewery or the Local Goat.

Host: Local Goat, okay. Favorite photo spot if I had to take one photo, where would I go?

Lynn: I would definitely be in the Cades Cove, huge fan.

Host: And if you’re just there 24 hours – 24 hours. Where are the two places I have to go?

Lynn: You have to go hike Le Conte, take pictures from the top up at the cabins. And again, I got married at Cades Cove; my wife and I did 30 years ago. So on the Carter Shields Cabin, the last cabin in the park, in Cades Cove. Photo shoot out from there and normally, you’ll find a deer or a bear or something out there waving at you.

Host: Oh my goodness. And one reason you think people love coming back to the Smokies year after year?

Lynn: I want to think it’s the hospitality of the folks that live here. We are country people. We are mountain people. We invite you here. We don’t even call you tours. When you come here, you’re our guest. So I hope it’s our hospitality. We know we need you and we go out of our way to make sure you’re comfortable while you’re here.

Host: That’s awesome. One bonus question, Lynn. Do I get anything special in the trolley? If I show up with a I love Lynn Wilhoite t-shirt.

Lynn: Absolutely. That’s negotiable. You come into that, and we will give you the keys to the city.

April: Awesome. I would like to see that. So, thanks for joining us today, Lynn. I think I’m going to harness my inner Judy Garland and go take a little ride on the trolley.

Host: Thanks. Appreciate it, Lynn. Thanks so much.

Lynn: Thank you guys for everything. We appreciate it.