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A Day in Gatlinburg, TN,

A Great Walking City

If you like relatively small yet exciting cities you can walk over, let me suggest Gatlinburg, Tennessee. Tucked at the northern gateway of the Great Smoky Mountains, Gatlinburg offers visitors just about anything imaginable. Recently, my fianc and I spent a few hours wandering the city's sidewalks and courts. On our walk along Parkway, the main drag, our biggest barrier was trying not to use all our time in one place. For instance, once I entered a photography studio or art gallery, of which there are many, I had to be coaxed out.

Our first stop was at the Ken Jenkins Photography gallery. This photographer's works are breathtaking from the wolf captured in midair as it leaps over an icy creek to grisly bears running somewhere in the wild. I couldn't resist purchasing a copy of Jenkins' first poster mounted on cardboard and covered with clear wrap; it's of a bear cub introduced 20 years agoand get this, the cost was $3.95. "His name is Blow," said the shop clerk of the cute little brown cub. "Ken named him Blow because every time he was ready to take his picture, the cub would blow at him." I asked the clerk if Jenkins was in the store, but unfortunately he wasn't. With him living a few miles from the gallery, I hope to chat with him and have him autograph a picture purchase on my next visit.

By the time we had marveled over the art and craft galleries at the northeaster end of Parkway, a huge red guitar at the front of a stone-like building a few feet away, lured us forward. Our tummies cried "Hard Rock." It was just prior to lunch hour so we beat the crowd. Even if there had been a line, as holders of a Hard Rock "All Access Card" (can be obtained at any Hard Rock or online) we would have moved to the front of the line anyway. We were seated in the back non-smoking room (smoking is still allowed in restaurants in Tennessee). From our table we admired photos of famous entertainers, guitars and other paraphernalia that had belonged to such famous people as Johnny Cash, Buck Owens and Dolly Parton. Various rockers commanded space, but it seemed country-western material was more "upfront" at this Hard Rock caf. And meneat your hearts outthere's a jacket previously worn by Shania Twain in a showcase. And the food here was delightful. Trust me, the "Joe Perry's Rock Your World" quesadilla with grilled chicken and pineapple tossed in Mango-peach tango hot sauce with melted Jack cheese and stuffed in a chili-dusted tortilla

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