Monday, September 27

THe Iron Mountain

It’s not often we get a glimpse into the road not taken.  There was a movement in the early 1900s to preserve the beauty of the Great Smoky Mountains and create the national park.

But that movement came with consequences. Whether those consequences were good or bad depends on your point of view.

Ultimately, people lost their homes, their land and their way of life for the greater good. Communities were erased. Bizarre fairly lands built for the amusement of the ultra-rich were abandoned back to the mountains.

Loggers who were clearing great swaths of the forest were forced to look elsewhere.  I think by and large, we’re all quite pleased with how things turned out. We love the national park, and the areas surrounding the park drive the local economy.

But what if things had turned out differently? What if the parks had remained private land?

Maybe it would have turned out like Foxfire Mountain Adventure Park, located not far from the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in Sevierville.  It’s a wonderful place with lots of manmade adventure, where you can hike the natural beauty of the Smokies.

Foxfire Family Adventure Park in Sevierville
The park was founded by the Postlewaite family. Prior to 2009, it was chiefly a cattle farm. By 2009, the family was ready to sell the farm for financial reasons.

However, during an Alaskan vacation, Marc tried ziplining. They called the realtor, took Foxfire off the market and built an adventure park, offering some of the best ziplining in the region.  READ MORE

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