By far, our favorite place in Gatlinburg is a new venue called Anakeesta.
It's a site on a mountain top with breathtaking views.
They have restaurants, playgrounds, trails, rides, a fire pit, and lots more.
The only way I was willing to go up was in one of the cars and not the ski lift chairs.
They have several but you do have to wait a few minutes.
It's the red box among the lift chairs.
Worth the wait in my opinion.
This panoramic photo was taking from the deck of the restaurant at the top.
It was so peaceful and quiet.
There's really no good way to describe Anakeesta.
It's not a flashy place that's settled far above the hustle and bustle of downtown.
They have benches in several places that face the mountains.
P e r f e c t !
This area is now a road for their military style trucks.
These trucks are another option for ascending/descending the mountain that was done after our visit.
I think I'll like that option better than the ski lift.
:)
This is in the picnic table area.
There were large yard games for families to enjoy.
Sometimes the mayhem before the actual picture tells more...
Thanks Dan for taking these!
Still trying to get our act together.
Oh look, we did it!
There was this beautiful garden with a waterfall.
So pretty.
Designated scenic selfie spot.
One of the coolest things there is the tree canopy walk.
In most of the pictures you will see barren trees.
You can still see charring on some of them from the 2016 fire.
They have a special tribute regarding the fire.
It's the Memorial Forest Walk. I didn't take any pictures.
It gives the history and stats of the fire.
There are also tributes to those who fought the fire and
those who were greatly affected by the tragedy.
More charring.
You can barely see the wires, but the zip lines run through the trees.
We may just try that next time!
The rest of the gang waiting for us.
Good thing there was an ample supply of rocking chairs!
The brochure for Anakeesta says, "discover the magic in the mountains".
I think they nailed it.
We definitely plan on going there again.
