Dollywood Christmas

We had heard that the Christmas lights at Dollywood were something to see. I don't know that it was much different from any other amusement park's holiday lights, but we did enjoy them. Most of our photos of the lights did not turn out though. 

Our first day at the park, the day after Christmas, the park opened late due to the extreme cold. We figured we'd catch a couple of the indoor shows and come up with a game plan for subsequent visits. Well, the park ended up closing less than 5 hours later. The flurries forecasted became a steady, light snow around dusk. Dollywood itself has a lot of elevation changes, and the paths around the park were slick. Everything quickly became a treacherous mix of ice and snow. The roads around Pigeon Forge were a mess. Temperatures stayed below freezing for much of the next day, and Dollywood stayed closed. 

We went to the park in the early afternoon on our next visit. The park was super crowded with folks squeezing in their Dollywood visit. The plan was to stay late and see the lights. Well, it got rather cold when that sun went down. Temperatures were above freezing, but it was cold. We rode the coal-fired train, made a quick lap around the park, and called it good. I was so glad I had bought a heavier coat just before the cold snap!

Our last day we got to the park at opening. Our goal was to ride a couple of rides before the lines got long and see one more show. We left around mid-afternoon. The temperatures were much nicer that day, making the experience much more enjoyable. That should have been our late night to see the lights. Oh well. We were quite glad we had gotten the 3-day pass. We didn't feel like we had to do everything and see everything in one day. 

Park closing, time to go

It's freezing out!

About our speed

Wild Eagle - great roller coaster

Cinderella - coal fired

Cinderella and the Old Grist Mill

Cinnamon Swirl Bread - Yum!

Dolly tour bus

Where Are We Going Next?

It's Cold!

We knew that Tennessee had the potential to be cold in December and January. We just weren't quite ready for the severe cold snap that occurred around Christmas. Much of the country was experiencing blizzard and subzero temperatures. In comparison, we had it good. Still, we managed to set a new record low for our RV experience, 0° F.  

Thankfully, the New Aire performed great. We heat through our Oasis hydronic heater. Electric elements in the heater put out 10,000 BTUs. The diesel burner component of the heater puts out 50,000 BTUs. We burned a fair amount of diesel during the cold snap. We do not have any propane onboard. 

I was a bit concerned about the fuel filter freezing or even having the diesel fuel gel up. I guess we kept fuel flowing often enough that the filter didn't freeze. I learned that most of the diesel fuel sold after October has an additive to help prevent freezing. 

We were ever so grateful for the heated tile floors and that we never lost electric power. Well, there was that 15 minute rolling blackout that we didn't know was going to happen. Talk about a moment or two of panic. Anyway, we turned the floors up as high as they could go, moving the floor rugs to areas of the floor that were not heated, namely the dinette slideout and the engine cover hump in the bedroom. That radiant heat really helped us stay warm.  Between the Oasis and the floors, we stayed a comfortable 66 - 68°F. 

We did frost up the front windshield since we don't have a dehumidifier. We also stuffed throw pillows into the side window boxes next to the headboard in the bedroom.

We do have a heated water hose, and we insulated the water spigot upon our arrival. Even so with the extreme cold, we drained the outside hoses and shut off the spigot, running water from the tank and filling as needed. 

A couple of days later, we even had a bit of snow. The kids from Florida next to us had never seen snow. They were delighted. I'm thinking we head further south next year. 

Zero!

Guess the shade worked to insulate us too

The flamingos weren't happy

Staying toasty

Snowy Sunrise!

 

Where Are We Going Next?