By Jackie Sheckler Finch

Dolly Parton says that she is still living her childhood dream. And she has no intention of quitting what she loves so much.

"I always knew I would be a star from the first time I sang into the can on the tobacco stick on the front porch," Dolly says. "I thank God every day."

The fourth of twelve children of Robert Lee and Avie Lee (Owens) Parton, Dolly was born and raised in a ramshackle cabin in the Smoky Mountains of Sevier County, Tennessee. The country doctor, Dr. Robert F. Thomas, who delivered Parton on January 19, 1946, received a sack of cornmeal for his work.

"I was always acting out, probably to get noticed," Dolly says. "When you are one of a bunch of kids, getting noticed is important."

Before she learned to read or write, Dolly was "making up" her own songs. "My Momma used to write down rhymes I would make," she says.

When she was about three, Dolly wrote a ditty for her dolly.

"The first song I ever wrote was called ‘Little Tiny Tassel Top' about a doll my Daddy made me out of a corn cob," she recalls. "It had corn silk for hair, and he burned in two eyes with a fireplace poker."

The family struggled to make a living but life was good, Dolly says. "Growing up in the Smoky Mountains was wonderful. You know we had it kind of hard, but not any more than most folks. I had an incredible family, and we had so much love we didn't know we were poor."

The family home had "two rooms, a path, and running water ... if you were willing to run get it, that is."

Her parents were hard workers, Dolly says, and had great expectations for their children. "They were determined to set a good example for all us kids."

Music was an important part of Parton family life. "I was always singing," Dolly says. "I come from a very musical family. My mother's people are very musical. My Aunt Dorothy Jo and my Uncle Bill and Uncle Lester still perform at Dollywood. Some of my brothers and sisters are also very talented."

Although her farmer father did not play, her mother played guitar and her grandfather, Rev. Jake Owens, was a fiddler and songwriter. His "Singing His Praise" was recorded by Kitty Wells. When Dolly was seven, her Uncle Bill Owens gave her a guitar. Three years later, she got a big radio job.

"My first break came from a gentleman named Cas Walker in Knoxville," Dolly says. "He had a chain of grocery stores, but he also had a radio show on every day. He hired me. My first record was a song called ‘Puppy Love' that my Uncle Bill got me to record in Louisiana."

Her career steadily climbed and in 1959, Dolly made her debut at the Grand Ole Opry. The day after she graduated from high school in 1964, the eighteen-year-old packed her cardboard suitcase and moved to Nashville to seek her fortune—and found her husband.

"I met Carl my first day in Nashville at the Wishy Washy Laundromat," she says. "Carl and I have been married forty-one years this year."

Owner of an asphalt paving business in Nashville, Carl Dean has always shunned publicity. Although they have no children of their own, the couple raised several of Dolly's younger siblings.

Dolly's initial success came as a songwriter, writing hit songs for Skeeter Davis and Hank Williams, Jr. In late 1965, she signed with Monument Records where she earned her first national chart single for the pop record "Happy, Happy Birthday Baby." Her first country single, "Dumb Blonde," reached No. 24 on the country chart in 1967, followed later the same year with "Something Fishy," which went to No. 17.

About this time, Porter Wagoner was looking for a new "girl singer" for his syndicated television show. Dolly accepted the job in 1967, signed with RCA Records in 1968, and joined the Grand Ole Opry in 1969. Her career was in high gear.

After several hit duos with Porter, Dolly left the show in 1974 as her
solos—"Joshua," "Coat of Many Colors," and "Jolene"—topped the charts. After their split, Dolly wrote the song "I Will Always Love You" for Porter, and it reached No. 1 for the first time in 1974.

Over the years, Dolly has published almost six hundred songs and earned twenty-four Broadcast Music, Inc., (BMI) awards for her songwriting. And, she says not a day goes by that she doesn't write. She was named the Country Music Awards' top female vocalist in 1975 and 1976 and won entertainer of the year in 1978.

Turning her attention to movies, Dolly starred in 1980's 9 to 5, where the title song earned her an Oscar nomination. In 1982, she starred in Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, where her song "I Will Always Love You" appeared on the soundtrack and reached No. 1 again. The song would once again hit the charts in 1992 when it was performed by Whitney Houston on The Bodyguard soundtrack.

Dolly has appeared in more than fifteen movies. She earned her second Oscar nomination in 2006 for "Travelin' Thru," which she wrote for the movie Transamerica. She's also been nominated for an Emmy and a Golden Globe and won countless Grammys.

In fact, Dolly has become the most honored female country performer of all time. She has sold more than one hundred million records worldwide, including having more than twenty No. 1 hits. In 2006, she was recognized by the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts for her lifetime of contributions to the performing arts.

Despite all the awards and international acclaim, Dolly has never forgotten her roots. In the early 1980s, she began musing about projects to help her Tennessee hometown.

"I was thinking I wanted to give something back to the area where I was born," Dolly says. "I wasn't sure what I wanted to do, but when I was back home, I used to take my nieces and nephews to a theme park called Silver Dollar City in Pigeon Forge. Thanks to a man named Ted Miller who managed the place, we were able to start a partnership with Jack and Pete Herschend and their families to create Dollywood."

The name had stuck in Dolly's mind from her first visit to Los Angeles. She had looked up at the landmark Hollywood sign and thought, "I would like to change that H into a D.'' But she hastens to add that the theme park is "much more about the mountains and the people who live there than it is about Dolly Parton. I saw Dollywood as a chance to honor them."

Now in its twenty-second year, Dollywood is bigger and better than ever. The park has more than doubled in size, encompassing 130 acres. More than $110 million in expansions and additions are a result of Dollywood's ongoing commitment to offer guests something new each season.

"It brought a lot of jobs to the area for my kinfolks and others to work. We just added a new ride called Mystery Mine this year at Dollywood, a whole new area at Splash Country, and Dixie Stampede is celebrating its twentieth anniversary," she says, adding with a laugh, "I am not sure how they keep getting older, and I just stay the same age."

Several old favorites continue to welcome guests to Dollywood, including Klondike Katie, a 110-ton, coal-fired steam train built in 1943 that still roams the tracks through the foothills of the Smoky Mountains. A one-room country church, the Robert F. Thomas Chapel, has simple wooden pews and hardwood floors that echo with the sounds of families and neighbors gathering for Sunday morning worship. The chapel, of course, was named in honor of the doctor who delivered little Dolly Rebecca Parton.

Dollywood is also home to Eagle Mountain Sanctuary, a thirty-thousand-square-foot aviary that houses the country's largest presentation of protected bald eagles. Over the past eighteen years, the foundation has become widely recognized as a national non-governmental leader in bald eagle conservation, recovery, and public environmental education.

In 1988, Dolly decided to add another fun family attraction to her hometown. Located just one mile from the entrance to Dollywood, Dixie Stampede is a dinner attraction with an emphasis on down-home cooking and a modern-day Wild West revue. The thirty-five-thousand-square-foot arena features thirty-two magnificent horses, talented actors, dramatic lighting, and thrilling pyrotechnics, all seen while guests enjoy a hearty, four-course meal. One hour prior to the main dinner and show, guests are seated in a "Carriage Room" where a live band, Wild Oats, plays bluegrass and country music. Dolly thought visitors should have a good time waiting to see the main show, so Wild Oats is sort of a warm-up band. When the doors to the Dixie Stampede theater open, most visitors are already in the waiting room and ready to go, plus they have had an enjoyable time listening to good live music.

Dixie Stampede proved so popular that the attraction was expanded to three other Southern cities—Myrtle Beach, South Carolina (1993); Branson, Missouri (1995); and Orlando, Florida (2003).

In 1996, Dolly developed another gift for her native Sevier County—and for children everywhere. Her Imagination Library is all about inspiration and discovery. Dolly wanted every preschool child to have his or her own collection of books. Imagination Library is currently at work in six hundred communities in forty-four states. Although Dolly initiated the program only for her home county, it became so popular that she soon expanded it to other communities where her businesses now operate, at Branson and Myrtle Beach. She also opened Imagination Library for other communities. In those programs, the community pays for the books and postage, registers the children, and enters the information into the database. From there, the Dollywood Foundation takes over and manages the system to deliver the books to every preschool child in that area.

"We were always helping kids through the Dollywood Foundation," she says. "We had a scholarship program and then a program to keep kids in school. When I asked how early we needed to reach kids to help them the most, experts told me at birth, so we started the Imagination Library."

The Library provides books to children of any income in that county from birth to age five. "The first book they receive in the hospital is The Little Engine That Could. It was my favorite book as a child, next to the Bible, and it has a great message for kids," Dolly says.

Books were scarce and valued in her childhood. Her father, who died in November 2000, was a smart man and a wonderful father but never learned to read. He was proud that his daughter finished school and chose to promote child literacy.

Through the program, children get a book each month in their mailbox from Dolly. "They think I am like the Easter Bunny or something," she says. "They call me the Book Lady. We sent out more than three million books last year and are inching closer to mailing out our ten millionth book ever. The program has grown a lot."

Dolly herself has produced a children's picture book, Coat of Many Colors, based on her hit song of the same title. The story tells of a coat she owned as a child that her mother had stitched together out of many different pieces of cloth. Although the other children at school made fun of her, Dolly took pride in her coat and the love her mother had sewed into it. Her mother died in December 2003.

Visitors to Chasing Rainbows, the museum devoted to Dolly's life history at Dollywood, can see a replica of that childhood coat, as well as family photos and other memorabilia.

In December 2006, Dolly pledged $500,000 toward a new $115 million hospital and cancer center being constructed in Sevierville with a building dedicated in the name of the doctor who delivered Dolly. She also held a benefit concert in May to raise additional funds for the project.

As only Dolly can say it, she wants to put her money where her mouth is. "And with such a big mouth, that's a pretty large sum of money."

Labels: Branson, Dixie Stampede, Dolly Parton, Dollywood, Gatlinburg, Pigeon Forge, Tennessee

Give Grandma's house a break this season

By Barbara Gibbs Ostmann

The countdown to the holiday season has begun, and it's time to start planning your holiday getaway. Instead of the usual get-together at Grandma's house, grab Grandma and round up family and close friends and go over the river and through the woods to an exciting destination. It will be a Christmas to remember—and no one will have to worry about decorating elaborately, cleaning the house, or cooking the meals.

• An Ozark Mountain Christmas Celebration

• Holiday Magic in Orlando

• Winterfest in the Smoky Mountains

• Eureka! It's a Victorian Christmas

Labels: Arkansas, Branson, Christmas, Eureka Springs, Florida, Gatlinburg, Holiday, Missouri, Orlando, Pigeon Forge, Tennessee

By Barbara Gibbs Ostmann

The Smoky Mountains literally sparkle in the wintertime. Both Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg, Tennessee, poised near the entrance to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, celebrate Winterfest from November through February. The activities vary somewhat in each town, but both are decked out in millions of twinkling lights that are guaranteed to put you in the holiday spirit.

The Pigeon Forge Winterfest kicks off in early November for four months of holiday spirit, fun, activities, and most noticeably, five million lights. The best way to view the lights is onboard the Trolley Tour of Lights, featuring heated enclosed trolleys with step-on guides. Theaters in Pigeon Forge produce special holiday shows in November and December, and nearby Dollywood becomes a winter wonderland recreation of a traditional Appalachian Christmas celebration. The outlet malls team up to offer The World's Largest Outlet Sale in December—a true shopping frenzy.

Also included in Winterfest are the 18th Annual Wilderness Wildlife Week (January 12-19), 17th Annual Smoky Mountains Storytelling Festival (February 7-9), and the 8th Annual Saddle Up! Festival (February 21-24). During Wilderness Wildlife Week, visitors explore the Smoky Mountains via workshops, lectures, and guided hikes that range from easy walks to strenuous treks. The storytelling festival brings some of the country's finest storytellers to the Smoky Mountains to spin tales of fact and fiction, ranging from folk-lore to ghost stories. West meets southeast during Saddle Up!, which features cowboy poetry, Western music, songwriting workshops, and a Cowboy Clothing Mart.

In Gatlinburg, Winterfest kicks off with a Chili Cook-Off on November 7. During that day's festivities, a flip of a switch will trigger Gatlinburg Winter Magic, the second phase of a three-year roll-out of more than one million dollars of custom-designed LED outdoor lighting displays. The first phase, introduced in 2006, featured winter forest scenes along sections of the Downtown Parkway. This year's addition will illuminate the entire parkway, from one end of town to the other, plus adjacent River Road and the triangular junction of the two. Some of the new lighting displays will feature animals typical of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Next year's lighting additions will include an international zone, Santa area, snowman land, and whimsical children's characters.

Visitors can enjoy the light displays from the comfort of the Gatlinburg Winter Magic Trolley Ride of Lights.

Winter Magic Tunes & Tales also debuts this season. Throughout November and December, visitors can meet storytellers and costumed characters and enjoy caroling and entertainment along the Downtown Parkway every evening.

Other Winterfest activities include the Great Smoky Arts and Crafts Holiday Show, the nighttime Fantasy of Lights Christmas Parade, old-fashioned hayrides, and a gala New Year's Eve celebration with a street party, ball drop, and fireworks show.

Labels: Christmas, Gatlinburg, Holiday, Pigeon Forge, Tennessee

15 summer thrills for adventurers of all ages

By Barbara Gibbs Ostmann

This isn't your grandma's vacation! Push the envelope this year and try something new, something exotic. We’ve scouted five popular destinations — Branson, Missouri; Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg, Tennessee; Eureka Springs, Arkansas; and Orlando, Florida — for thrilling experiences that will refresh and rejuvenate.

Sleep With the Sharks

Sharks to the right of you, sharks to the left of you, sharks all around — that's how you'll feel at the shark lagoon at Ripley's Aquarium of the Smokies in Gatlinburg (www.ripleysaquariumofthesmokies.com). You'll come face to face with twelve-foot sharks and thousands of other fish as you walk through the underwater acrylic tunnel on a moving glide path.

Although you can pet stingrays and hold horseshoe crabs at the aquarium, you can't swim with the sharks — but you can sleep with them. Designed for a group of at least fifteen children (but not more than one hundred), the fun-filled overnight package includes a dive show, scavenger hunt, snack, late-night activity, and camping in the shark lagoon tunnel. Instead of counting sheep, you can count sharks as you drift off to sleep.

Snorkel With the Manatees

If spending the night with the sharks isn't the ocean adventure you're looking for, try swimming with the manatees. Citrus County, Florida, is the only place in the United States where you can legally swim alongside manatees. These large, gentle marine mammals like the warm waters of the spring-fed, seventy-two-degree Crystal and Homosassa rivers. The Crystal River National Wildlife Refuge provides habitat for the endangered manatees and is home to more than one-fourth of the nation's manatee population.

Snorkeling is the best way to observe manatees at close range. It's a thrill to swim alongside a one-ton manatee and her newborn calf. Excursions should only be made with the assistance of a guide or tour company. For a list of recommended companies, visit www.visitcitrus.com/manateelist.asp. The web site also posts an up-to-date count of the number of manatees in the waterways. The numbers rise in the winter when the West Indian manatees leave the Gulf of Mexico and flock to the Crystal and Homosassa rivers to join the resident manatee population.

For the non-swimmers in the group, there's an underwater observatory at Homosassa Springs Wildlife State Park where you can watch manatees and other fish as well as listen to underwater manatee sounds via telephones.

Swim With the Dolphins

For more encounters of the watery kind, spend a day at Discovery Cove in Orlando (www.discoverycove.com). The main feature at this all-inclusive tropical hideaway is swimming with bottlenose dolphins, but you can also snorkel amid rays and exotic fish through coral reefs and grottos. In free-flight aviaries, you can touch and feed tropical birds. You may choose to simply relax on the beach or at the pool. All resort activities are included in the one-day price.

For a more intense experience, there's the trainer-for-a-day program. It includes expanded dolphin interaction and training, feedings at the coral reef, feeding and care of exotic birds in the aviary, behind-the-scenes small-mammal interaction, animal food preparation, and animal behavioral training class.

Scuba Dive in a Lake

Learn to scuba dive with “Diver Dick” Dalager at the State Park Marina on Table Rock Lake at Branson (www.stateparkmarina.com). Try a three-hour Discover Scuba mini-course, or go for a complete certification course. Dalager has been teaching scuba on Table Rock Lake for eighteen years. While at the marina, check out the boat rentals, wave runners, parasailing, bass fishing, and daily cruises.

Near Eureka Springs, head to C&J Sports at Beaver Lake (www.candjsports.com) for introductory or certification courses, or if you already know how to scuba, for shore diving or boat rides to select scuba spots on the lake. Carol and Jim Butler, owners of C&J Sports, also offer camping, lodging, and archery.

Ride the Ducks

If you'd prefer to stay on top of the water rather than getting wet and wild, ride the Ducks. You don't have to have any special athletic skills. Just climb aboard and start quacking on your souvenir Wacky Quacker, which comes free with every admission. The ducks are amphibious vehicles based on the famous World War II DUKW amphibious design. The company's vehicles are built to order in a factory near Branson, and are U.S. Coast Guard certified and tested. Many people think the vehicles are called ducks because they can go in and out of the water. Actually, DUKW is a military acronym that indicates the 1942 vehicle was designed (D) for utility (U) and amphibious purposes, with front wheel drive (K), and two rear driving axles (W).

The seventy-minute sightseeing tour of Branson takes you along The Strip on Highway 76, up Baird Mountain, and past Table Rock Dam. The highlight for most is the splash into Table Rock Lake for a short cruise, during which kids may get to steer. The driver offers a running commentary about the history and sights of Branson, complete with zany tour-guide humor.

Purchase Tickets Here for Ride the Ducks in Branson, Missouri. You can also board on the Branson Landing or, during the holidays, experience the new Holiday Land & Light Ride the Ducks Tour at both the Classic Highway 76 location and the Branson Landing.

Boat Through a Swamp

Experience the everglades of central Florida with an airboat ride through the wetlands. You'll see birds, turtles, and alligators, while the boat idles through the canals and flies through the swamps. Airboats can travel up to forty-five miles per hour. Boggy Creek Airboat Rides and Black Hammock Airboat Adventures let you get up close and personal with scenic outdoor Florida.

Raft the River

White-water rafting is always popular, and some great rafting is available in and near the Great Smoky Mountains National Park on the Pigeon and Nantahala rivers, with outfitters near Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg. Many of the runs are suitable for family outings, while others are more difficult. To help you select an outfitter, visit Appalachian Outdoors, providing the outdoor enthusiast with recommended vendors for the southern Appalachian region. Look for tips not only on white-water rafting but also for backpacking, bird-watching, fly-fishing, skiing, orienteering, and much more.

Purchase Tickets to Appalachian Outdoors / Whitewater rafting.

Fly Like a Bird

If you prefer the birds of the air to the fish in the sea, take the Gatlinburg Skylift (www.gatlinburgskylift.com) over Gatlinburg and the Little Pigeon River to the top of Crockett Mountain for a panoramic view of the town and the surrounding Smoky Mountains. Enjoy the scenery during the five-hundred-foot ascent in the open chairlift, and take time to hike or soak in the views at the top.

Or climb aboard the 120-passenger Ober Gatlinburg Aerial Tramway, one of the country's largest aerial cable cars. It departs every twenty minutes from downtown Gatlinburg to the Ober Gatlinburg All Seasons Amusement Park on Mt. Harrison. The park offers skiing in the winter and outdoor fun year-round.

Soar Above It All

Escalate your air adventure by taking either a tethered or a free-flight hot-air balloon ride. Floating above the earth in the quiet atmosphere of the balloon basket, you're able to hear dogs barking down on the ground. The bird's-eye views are inspiring. You might even snap a photo capturing the shadow of your balloon below you. Most flights leave early in the morning and provide a sunrise vista. Once back on land, many air excursion companies offer a champagne toast, celebration picnic, and commemorative photos with the pilot.

There are plenty of ballooning options in and around Orlando, including established vendors such as Blue Water Balloons, Bob's Balloons, Magic Sunrise Ballooning, or Orange Blossom Balloons (www.orlandoinfo.com).

If you'd like to fly but stay a little grounded, too, check out Branson Balloon (www.bransonballoon.com), the largest tethered helium balloon in the country. Unlike the free-flight balloon rides, this balloon goes straight up and down, reaching an altitude of five hundred feet in a scenic ascension. The balloon is huge — more than ten stories tall — and the basket can carry thirty
passengers.

Daytime rides offer a panoramic view of Branson, Table Rock Lake, and the surrounding Ozark hills. At night, the sparkling city lights provide a magical vista, and the balloon offers a perfect bird's-eye vantage point for viewing the closing ceremony fireworks at nearby Celebration City.

Glide Like an Eagle

For an over-the-top experience, try aerotow hang gliding at Wallaby Ranch Hang Gliding Flight Park near Orlando (www.wallaby.com). Aerotowing is where a hang glider is towed aloft with a specially designed, ultra-light tow plane. Wallaby Ranch offers aerotow tandem instruction as an easy, safe, and quick way to learn how to hang glide. Although foot launching and mountain flying are important aspects of traditional hang gliding, aerotowing makes the sport accessible to almost anyone, year-round.

Fall Like a Rock

For sheer excitement, nothing compares to sky diving.

But you can break the bonds of gravity without having to jump out of an airplane — just let yourself be lifted up and away by the wind flow in a tunnel. Consider a company like Flyaway (www.flyawayindoorskydiving.com) in Pigeon Forge or SkyVenture (www.skyventureorlando.com) in Orlando, both of which offer an indoor sky-diving experience through a supercharged wind tunnel. It is designed to give beginners the sensation of free fall and body flight in a safe environment. The experience is so realistic that it is used by sport sky divers, competition teams, and military units for training.

If you want to try the real high-flying adrenaline sport, most sky diving schools can have visitors airborne in just one day. To find a U.S Parachute Association-affiliated sky-diving center, click the online Drop Zone Directory at www.uspa.org/dz/index.htm. There are sky-diving schools near such popular vacation destinations as Branson, Eureka Springs, Gatlinburg, Orlando, and Pigeon Forge.

Hop On a Bike

More of a landlubber? The hilly Ozarks surrounding Branson offer cycling opportunities for riders of different ability levels. Although there are no mountains tall enough for extended downhill coasting rides, there are plenty of scenic, hilly rides. Craig Erickson, owner of Downhill Bikes (www.downhillbikes.biz), a retail and rental outlet, offers directions for area rides on his web site and in person. He's also knowledgeable about hiking and kayaking in the area.

A great ride for any age or skill level starts at Table Rock State Park near the marina and runs alongside the lake past the Branson Belle showboat and on to the Dewey Short Visitors Center next to Table Rock Dam. The paved path is about eight feet wide and about two-and-a-half miles long and offers great views of the lake.

City officials are working on a trail system that would incorporate roads and trails into an eighty-nine-mile system, but no completion date is set.

Crawl Through a Cave

Caving is available at three caves close to Eureka Springs: Cosmic, War Eagle, and Onyx.

Both Cosmic Cavern in nearby Berryville and War Eagle Cavern (www.wareaglecavern.com) between Eureka Springs and Rogers offer an off-trail wild cave tour in addition to the usual guided tours. At Cosmic, the off-trail tour includes a one-thousand-foot passage and lots of climbing. At War Eagle, the wild cave tour goes straight back into the mountain through a horizontal cavern so there's not much climbing, but there are many side passages and the opportunity for plenty of crawling. In either case, you'll get really dirty, so bring a change of clothes for the ride home.

A highlight of the regular tour at Cosmic is the pristine and delicate Silent Splendor section discovered in 1993. The cave has several underground lakes, one of which is stocked with rainbow trout. The rare Ozarks Blind Cave Salamander lives in the cave.

At War Eagle, you enter the cavern through the natural entrance on the shores of Beaver Lake. You can also arrive by boat, if you wish. The cave is home to more than one hundred thousand bats, one of North America's largest colonies. The cave was used for a scene in the movie, “Frank and Jesse,” and there's a display of props from the movie set. Aboveground, you can hike the nature trails or stay overnight in the secluded lodge.

At both caves, you can try your hand at panning for gemstones; you get to keep what you find. Cosmic Cavern also offers fossil digging. Authentic fossils are cemented in the ground and covered with sand. Diggers are supplied with brushes and shovels, plus an identification sheet to help them identify the fossils they discover.

Onyx Cave (479-253-9321), just outside Eureka Springs, was discovered in 1891 and is the oldest show cave in Arkansas. The living cave offers easy access on a non-strenuous trail with self-guided headphone tours.

In Branson, Silver Dollar City presents a new yet old way to visit its original attraction, Marvel Cave — by lantern light. Visitors step back in time as they explore the cave with only the light from lanterns showing the way. For decades, guests have explored the cavern with the help of electric lighting, and most tours are still done that way.

The theme park began offering special lantern tours last year to reenact the early days. Guides dressed in period costumes tell the history of Marvel Cave and some of its legends. Marvel Cave first opened for visitors in 1894. In 1950, the Herschend family took over the cave operation, and it became the foundation upon which Silver Dollar City, the amusement park, is built.

Zorb Down a Hill

Be the first on your block to try Zorbing! Created in New Zealand, Zorb opens its first North America location in Pigeon Forge this spring (www.zorb.com/smoky/index.html). Called Zorb Smoky Mountains, it's a new type of action ride. Zorb is eleven feet high and eleven feet wide; it's round and bouncy. You jump inside and roll down a hill. The wildness of the ride is up to the Zorbonaut — that's the term coined to describe riders of this crazy attraction.

There are two types of Zorb rides, hydro (wet) or harnessed (dry). The hydro Zorb has a single small door and no harness. The rider slides in through a tunnel, then about two gallons of water (cool in summer, warm in winter) are added to the outer sphere. The Zorbonaut is loose inside the Zorb and is free to slip and slide around inside as it rolls downhill, making the ride as easy or as wild as desired. The hydro Zorb is described as a slippery ride that's a cross between a waterfall and a car crash.

Hydro-Zorbing can be done with one, two, or three people at a time. Because the weight inside the hydro Zorb remains at the bottom, the Zorb can achieve high speeds without bouncing and can be done safely down steep or gentle slopes and with downhill or uphill winds.

Dry-Zorbing is a completely different experience than hydro-Zorbing, and you may want to try both. The Zorbonaut is strapped into a harness attached to the wall of the inner sphere. The rider revolves with the Zorb as it rolls downhill, giving a unique sensation of alternating G-forces as the rider tumbles head over heels and the sky and the ground go spinning past.

Ride a Hurricane

In the Disaster Zone at WonderWorks in Pigeon Forge (www.wonderworksonline.com), you can experience the fury of a hurricane or what the 1989 San Francisco earthquake felt like. You can try rock climbing in the Challenge Zone or design your own roller coaster and experience it on a virtual ride on the WonderCoaster. Billed as an amusement park for the mind, WonderWorks offers 150 interactive exhibits. There's also a WonderWorks in Orlando with slightly different exhibits.

Labels: Arkansas, Branson, Eureka Springs, Florida, Gatlinburg, Missouri, Orlando, Pigeon Forge, Tennessee