Anakeesta Expedition!

I recently had the opportunity to spend a few days in Gatlinburg, Tennessee, which happened to coincide with the re-opening celebration of Anakeesta theme park.  The park has been in operation for quite some time, but the completion of various phases of their expansion goals, is a good reason to celebrate.  

Before the ribbon cutting of the expansion, attendees had the opportunity to get be "framed" with the photo prop shown below:

One of the new experiences they were celebrating is the "Crystal Express" gondola cars, that have glass floors, glass roof, and surrounding glass windows, that gives guests a bird's eye view of the beautiful countryside:

The view below our feet:

To my delight, I was able to be there when "The United Tastes of America" was taking place:

Throughout the park, a visitor had the opportunity to celebrate foods from a particular state.  The photo below shows the trailer being used to serve up delicious salmon dishes from Alaska:

I opted for Texas BBQ, and had a beautiful setting in their cafe, that overlooked the mountains:

The cafe has a good view of the famous Park Hilton, that sits above Gatlinburg:

The Little Pigeon River runs through Gatlinburg, so there is an abundance of "river rocks", made smooth over eons, by the flow of water over their surfaces.  I was very impressed with the work done by a river rock artist/sculpture, to make a very artistic design from the various colors and sizes of river rocks available:

Close up of rock work:

Photo opportunities are abundant:

The map of the park had little camera icons, telling visitors where to look to get great photos for social media posting:

One of the park rides is called Hellbender.  Even though I did not ride it, the attendant was happy to take my photo in one of the cars used for the ride:

In addition to coaster rides, there are various performance stages throughout the park, so I was able to see dance routines, as well as hear some great mountain music!

Many of the park decorations gave a nod to the USA celebrating 250 years in 2026:

Liberty statue:

Photo Swirl special event was something new to me:

The presence of a balloon arch always signifies a celebratory mood!

Vista Gardens is another very fun place to take pictures:

For youngsters, or those "young at heart", the bird venture section is both educational and activity oriented:

The tower that is used in all of the Anakeesta advertisements is shown below:

One of the helpful signs at this very high location, was a placard, naming the mountains I was looking at.  The view brought to mind one of the memory verses for my First Place 4 Health class that says, "I lift up my eyes to the mountains---where does my help come from?  My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth"  Psalm 121:1-2

I was thankful to be able to climb that tower all the way to the top, and still make it down in time to see the special lighting effects use to highlight its features:

The new Firefly attraction at the park was fantastic, and because of its popularity, one gets a ticket in advance, that gives you a timed entry.  The entry time for everyone in my group was 9:15 pm:

As I rode in my glass gondola at the end of the night, to return to the Greystone Hotel, where I was staying, I was giving thanks to God for the wonderful experience I had at Anakeesta.  It was a day fill with "MILES OF SMILES"!!  Tricia