Here are Miss Parton's favourite things to do in the Smoky Mountains.
Great Smoky Mountains National Park —The Great Smoky Mountains are the most special place to me in the whole world. I often say that no matter where I go in the world, I take my mountains with me—no!—not those mountains! My Smoky Mountains! They are a part of my DNA and influence everyword I write and every thought I have.
Cades Cove —There is not a more beautiful or unique place in the whole world, and I have been all over it. Every time I gothere I think of the people who settled this area and how hard they had to work to live. My upbringing was not much different than the lives they led in the Cove. Yet no matter how tough it may have been, the blessing of living in one of the most beautiful places in the world always reassures you that everything will be just fine.
The Tennessee Mountain Home —This is the house where I grew up. It’s a humble place but we had everything we needed, including running water, as long as you were willing to run and get it. I use it now as my own little retreat, a placeto relax, to think and to write.
Sevierville Courthouse Square —My hometown is Sevierville—at least that’s where I went to school. Several years ago a talented artist named Jim Gray created a statue ofme that sits in the courthouse grounds. My daddy was so proud of that statue. He used to kid me that no matter how important I felt about the statue,it still was just an outhouse for pigeons. I also know he used to go down there at night sometimes with a brush andsome water to clean it. The statue meant a lot to him so it means a lot to me.