TENNESSEE

World's Largest Guitar
Jack Daniel's Distillery
Tennessean Presidents
Carnton Plantation
Sun Studio
Peabody Ducks
Graceland
Tennessee State Capital
Grand Ole Opry
Largest Rubix Cube
Women's Basketball HoF
Pigeon Forge

Pigeon Forge

(Pigeon Forge, Tennessee)

**TOP PICK OF OUR TENNESSEE ROADTRIP**

Excerpts from Kristy:
Every state has at least one of them, if not more and we thought Tennessee would be no different. What are we talking about? Why a cheesy tourist trap town. Driving to Pigeon Forge, we were treated to a visual smorgasbord of billboards advertising everything from the world's LARGEST Knife collection and laser tag to places to eat. The closer we came to Pigeon Forge, the closer the billboards became until we drove into the town. On the outskirts of Dollywood, Dolly Parton's famous theme park/concert venue, Pigeon Forge features every kind of family adventure, tacky souvenir and edible treat you could hope to encounter.

We managed to run into a giant rooster, a giant Santa Claus, 'The World's LARGEST Cuckoo Clock' (minus the actual clock part) and a huge spaceship looking building that housed laser tag. We stopped at the world's LARGEST Knife Collection, saw where they make Smokey Mountain Taffy, bought tacky souvenirs and toured the Carbo Smokey Mountain Police Museum.

This was our second police museum of the trip, the Memphis Police Museum being our first. This museum was privately owned and a bit pricey, but they said on the outside that they had Buford Pusser's death car, so how could we pass that up? Featuring badges from every state and many countries this was a police junkies dream. There was more police memorabilia gathered in that one museum than I think I'll ever see in my entire life.

But the centerpiece of the collection were the Buford Pusser mementos. Not having been to Tennessee before, I had never heard of this legend who, as sheriff, closed up the moonshiners and cleaned out the riffraff. As a token of their affection for him, the local mobsters shot off his jaw, killed his wife while they were driving somewhere together and riddled his body with scars throughout his years of service. They finally got the best of him after his retirement by tinkering with his car and causing a fatal accident. Hence, the presence of the death car (the charred hull carefully concealed behind glass).

I don't know what was more disturbing: the car, the bloody belt from the accident or the accident accounts. Regardless, it seems to draw people in and it's not tasteful, two big criteria for a great roadside attraction.

http://www.pigeonforge.com