Great Smokies Inn

The Great Smokey...

by 10acn

The Great Smokey Mountains....the best view ever, but if you don't like heights, might not want to get out at the sight areas...the elevation is very high. Oh, coming down the mountain is a real trip too, might want to take dramamine. For the motion sickness, of going around in circles. the tours

Fun Camping in Cherokee

by carriecar

"KOA Great Smokies/Cherokee"

We visited during the free camping weekend May 8-10, 2009, which was buy one night, get one night free. The campground had many activites for visitors. We brought our 10-month-old Newfoundland puppy with us. The campground had an air-conditioned kennel with about 6 crates in there, and they were all enough room for the dog. We camped in a tent at a site with water and electricity. The only problem was that there was minimal drainage and a lot of puddles in our campsite. Indoor and Outdoor pools were nice. River levels were up on the Raven Fork river and if it were warm enough, there would have been a great opportunity for tubing.

"Harrah's Cherokee Casino"

No big winnings on this trip. But we did stay in the casino for a good 2 hours and only lost around $60.00

From ancient times to new commercialism

by goingsolo

Cherokee is named after the Indian nation that has occupied this land for over 10,000 years. The Cherokee civilization was interrupted by the arrival of white settlers, the American Revolution and, after years of treaties, proclamations and promises broken, the forced removal of the majority of the tribe in the 1800s.

This event, known as the Trail of Tears, was a forced march of some 16,000 members of the Cherokee trbe from western North Carolina to Oklahoma. No one knows for certain, but an estimated one fourth to one half of the Cherokee population perished during this long winter journey. But the most defiant members of the tribe refused to relinquish the land. They hid in the hills and these hardy souls are the ancestors of the Cherokee who occupy the land today.

Cherokee is part history and culture and part vapid commercialism. The museum and the Indian village are attempts to preserve the history and culture of this fascinating people. The main drag of Cherokee, which includes, as many modern Indian reservations do, a casino. It also includes numerous shops and attractions of varying degrees of commercial exploitation reflecting a sad attempt to conform to the modern times. Fortunately, Cherokee isn't quite as garish as Gatlinburg on the park's northern border and the town does have some interesting places to visit.

I spent a brief amount of time here, exploring, learing, and, I'll admit it, gambling. I'll try to highlight some of the points of interest and interesting points of this area on this page.