Anakeesta

"Anakeesta is a Cherokee Indian word referring to high ground, literally meaning “the place of the balsams.” Today, the word is most often associated with a massive rock layer known as the Anakeesta Formation that encompasses many of the peaks in our part of the Smoky Mountains."

High above the town of Gatlinburg, TN in the Great Smoky Mountains you will find Anakeesta, a magical theme park. It is not your typical theme park. There is a zip line, a rail runner, shops, food and more beauty than you will ever imagine. Beautiful views of the Smokies. And gorgeous flowers. There are plenty places to sit and relax on porch swings and rocking chairs as you enjoy the beauty of the mountain ranges. It is so peaceful. I want to go there and just sit in a swing and read my book and enjoy the peace and quite found at the top. 

A friend of mine had out of town company and they were planning a visit to Anakeesta. They called me to see if my granddaughter Shelby, who they had met before, wanted to join them. we did and it was amazing. The flowers were not only beautiful but the smell was so fragrant that we hated to walk away from them. 

Situated along the walking trail were cute little gnomes and little gnome homes. The gnomes are wild looking since they are decorated for Halloween.

Everywhere you went you could see the breathtaking mountain views. 

There were a lot of places for photo ops that were really cute. 

But the funnest part of all was walking through the woods via rope bridges and tree houses. Each little tree house spot offered some type of obstacles or simply walk through. It was a blast.

I was a little cautious because rope bridges with little gaps between the "steps" made me a little nervous at first but then I fell in love with it. Shelby had no inhibitions whatsoever. She especially loved walking through what she called the rope room.

When our day ended, we boarded the lifts to take us back down into Gatlinburg. Just another opportunity to enjoy the view of the mountains. Since the descent faced west, we watched the sunset on the ride down. It was spectacular and a fitting end to a wonderful journey.

A special thanks to Aaron and Kelsie for taking us along on their adventure.