Page 98 - Cityview May-June 2017

SMOKIES SPOTLIGHT
you’ve experienced our trails and are ready for a different way to traverse the terrain. Ever had the desire to climb into a giant inflatable bubble and tumble down a hill? The Outdoor Gravity Park in Pigeon Forge is a tradition straight from the “adventure capital of the world”: New Zealand. You begin your own adventure by diving into an OGO—an 11-foot in diameter, transparent sphere. You
can choose between a few different courses, but be prepared to get wet. When you hop into your OGO, you’ll also be hopping into ten gallons of water that allow you to slip ‘n’ slide all the way down. And don’t be surprised if you feel yourself running over a little bump at the bottom. The Outdoor Gravity Park allows guests to lay flat on their stomachs and experience an OGO rolling over them as it completes its downhill journey. When Cityview went to check it out, we were told to go wherever we wanted. “Just don’t get hit,” owner Chris Roberts joked, before explaining the rollover practice. We climbed all over the hill and watched multiple OGOs zip past, filled with shrieks of laughter from old and young alike. To top it off, they have GoPro cameras hooked up to each OGO to make sure you cannot escape the joy of laughing at yourself while you play in a human-sized hamster ball.
The tale of infamous moonshine- bootlegger Popcorn Sutton put the corn liquor industry of Tennessee
on the map. People found the story intriguing, and before East Tennessee knew it, moonshine was regulated and sold in stores. If you are traveling to Gatlinburg, you will see advertisements boasting the many distilleries in
the area. But one of them, pardon
us, outshines the rest. Half a dozen different distilleries claim to have the original and best recipe, but we are particularly impressed by Sugarlands Distilling Company. Their motto is “Stories in Every Jar,” which is what attracted us to them in the first place. Sugarlands has a strong connection to the traditions of native East Tennessee moonshiners. They built their still
to not only look like the traditional
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MAY JUNE 2017