Screaming for attention in the shadow of the Smokies

This is my second consecutive week of writing about the Great Smoky Mountains. This time, however, the focus is less on the park and more about its neighborhood. Somewhere between the two, there seems to be a disconnect. Along the main road that cuts through the middle of Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, and transports visitors south to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park is a large venue called WonderWorks. It is not large just because of the excess of activities contained within its walls. It is large because large attracts attention better than small and attracting attention is the name of the game along this stretch of road. WonderWorks' façade contains tall columns that give a hint of Roman or Grecian influence. Its wide stance and white(ish) exterior suggest some nod to the White House. In a strip dominated by more modern architecture, it stands out, and standing out is another name of the game along this strip. WonderWorks has competition. Just down the road and across the street is a large, interactive arcade called Beyond the Lens. Its ample building seems to replicate the aftermath of an earthquake, with its main building tower leaning toward the road at a 45-degree angle. Just down on the same side is the Hollywood Wax Museum. Its motif features a squat version of the Empire State Building. While this could be enough to attract the necessary amount of attention needed to sell tickets, their version of the Empire State Building comes complete with a life-size King Kong. In Kong's hand is a hapless biplane. Wow! This screaming for attention is serious. And at this point, you may wonder how WonderWorks could possibly compete. Well, I assure you, it can. I purposely forgot to mention that the entire WonderWorks structure is built upside-down. And these three attractions are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to trying to separate Smoky Mountain visitors from their money. And "tip of the iceberg" is not used here casually. There is a half-scale Titantic Museum right in the middle of it all. Yes, its exterior features "the" iceberg! But, let's backtrack. Visitors to this area of Tennessee come to visit the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. They come to take in the park's scenic wonders, incredible vistas and awesome wildlife. And for those coming from the north, the turn south off of Interstate 40 just east of Knoxville places the park, and its misty mountains, smack dab middle of the windshield. It's exciting, and I am sure many first-time visitors exclaim, "Wow! There they are!" Unfortunately, a few miles later, the view is challenged by one attraction after another. (Or, is it distraction?) The 15-mile drive to the Sugarland Visitor Center is stacked and packed with everything and anything, and basically nothing related to the mountains themselves. It is a funnel, and a vacuum, that not only sucks away the real excitement of the region, but it undoubtedly leads to family discussions centering on why you actually came here. I know the former child in me would be engrossed with anything upside-down, leaning precariously or featuring a large gorilla. (I would just hope the plea doesn't devolve into, "Do we really have to go see the mountains?") This commercial setup is not unique. I can vividly recall Niagara Falls, Ontario's Clifton Hill some 60 years ago. It was packed with everything that would catch a child's imagination and nothing about the Falls themselves. It even had a Ripley's Believe It Or Not Museum, just like Gatlinburg, Tennessee, does. This makes this a recipe for profit, and I am not against profit. I am just wondering why the awesomeness of the Great Smoky Mountains themselves isn't enough? It might easily be concluded that just focusing on the mountains would never work. It would never sell. In 1952, a small group of people in Tucson, Arizona, thought it could. They formed and funded the idea that is today the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum. Their crazy idea was to focus their museum/zoo on just the Sonoran Desert, and to do it in the desert itself ... and to do it for both the locals and for visitors. Plants, animals, geology, culture … all of it only pertaining to the Sonoran Desert. Did it work? The Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum is listed annually as one of the top zoos in the world. Its practices and exhibits set the bar for many other zoos to follow. Its gate accepts over 400,000 visitors a year. And, remember, it is in the desert and to drive to it you have to go over Gates Pass in the Tucson Mountains. And if you have ever been there, you know how truly special the place is. The answer ... it works! In the greater Smoky Mountains area, only one establishment takes a small step in this direction -- Ober Mountain. This attraction does feature about eight forms of wildlife that make their home in the Smokies, but mostly, it features an aerial tram, ski lift, alpine coaster and slide, ice skating and amusement park rides. Their website says that more wildlife exhibits are planned. Let's hope so. On pages 92-93 of Pigeon Forge's 2023 Travel Planner Guide there is a coloring page layout that introduces visitors to the community's mascot Martha. As depicted, Martha is birdish, as in a bird costumed character. She is freakishly human looking and hopping happy. My mind formulated Martha's story almost immediately. Martha represents the last ever passenger pigeon. The real Martha died in the Cincinnati Zoo in 1914 and with her death came the extinction of her species. Tying Martha to their name, the city of Pigeon Forge reincarnated Martha as its feathered representative … which is kinda a good thing. They also tell the natural history of passenger pigeons in their promos … which is a better thing. But then, they depict Martha as a fun-loving party bird who loves riding down mountain coasters and throwing axes. She can show up just about anywhere in the city and when she does, a party happens, and that's not such a good thing. Perhaps it is a flaw in the reincarnation process, but it would easily be assumed that Martha might still be a little peeved about this extinction thing. Her forgetfulness, as created by her creators, perfectly replicates the lack of focus on nature that is ever-growing today. It can happen anywhere and everywhere. Sadly, even in the shadow of the Smoky Mountains.