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Lot o points [155973]
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Ghost Town in the Sky
Jan 23, 2021, 12:24 PM
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Pretty sad to see these pics. Lotta good childhood memories with my grandparents at this place.
https://www.loveexploring.com/gallerylist/91788/inside-the-eerie-abandoned-theme-park-full-of-secretsKnown as Ghost Town in the Sky, this abandoned Wild West-themed amusement park in Maggie Valley, North Carolina, has seen as many ups and downs over the decades as its old roller coaster. Here we explore Ghost Town from its heyday to its decline through eerie photographs courtesy of Abandoned Southeast. Read on to explore this unusual abandoned theme park…
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All-In [40353]
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That place was awesome***
Jan 23, 2021, 12:41 PM
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Heisman Winner [135999]
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Never got to go
Jan 23, 2021, 12:43 PM
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Dad refused to pay admission for anything in the mountains when he could take us hiking for free.
One year right after my cousin got her driver license, we said we were going to hiking at Moses Cone Park and went to Tweetsie Railroad instead. I was disappointed and never challenged dad on the no amusement park policy again. Ghost Town was probably a lot cooler than Tweetsie.
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Lot o points [155973]
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Daaaang, now that’s frugal.
Jan 23, 2021, 12:46 PM
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My grandparents were definitely on the lower income side of blue collar, but the pulled off an annual weekend trip for us grandkids to Maggie Valley. Always stayed in one of those little motels arranged in a semi-circle with the pool out front. We’d look for the “vacancy” sign. Free phone and cable on the sign was a plus.
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CU Medallion [60043]
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My very first job was at
Jan 23, 2021, 7:49 PM
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Joeys Pancake House in Maggie. Slammed every single freaking day.
I am sure many of you have eaten at that spot. Joey was the meanest old man, but he paid well and kicked us in the aas when needed. He would literally kick your leg if you were close to him and messed up.
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CU Medallion [60043]
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The gunfights while eating
Jan 23, 2021, 12:44 PM
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Greasy pizza!!! Sign me up baby!! So many good memories.
It was so close to our house, but we felt like we were on a legit trip. Ha ha
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CU Medallion [64837]
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If you like gunfights while eating greasy pizza, surely
Jan 26, 2021, 9:44 AM
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there's a dozen places in Detroit where you could get the same experience.
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CU Medallion [60043]
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Re: If you like gunfights while eating greasy pizza, surely
Jan 26, 2021, 11:04 AM
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Heisman Winner [119748]
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Didn’t that place have the crooked house that was
Jan 23, 2021, 12:49 PM
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Full of optical illusion?
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Hall of Famer [24477]
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Seems like that was somewhere between Boone and
Jan 23, 2021, 12:52 PM
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Banner Elk. But I might be making that up. What is a banner elk, anyway?
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Heisman Winner [135999]
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Yeah, I think it was a stand alone attraction
Jan 23, 2021, 1:04 PM
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The town got its name from the phrase “Banner’s Elk,” in reference to it being the location where the last elk in the region gave its life to the dining table and its hide to a worthy cause.
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Heisman Winner [135619]
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Heisman Winner [112363]
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Went there a few times and also saw the ....
Jan 23, 2021, 12:52 PM
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Unto These Hills drama thing.
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Lot o points [155973]
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Ohhhh yeah I remember that my parents took me to that
Jan 23, 2021, 12:53 PM
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When I was like 7, and they thought it was super-moving and great and I was like “TL;DW”
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All-In [30860]
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CU Medallion [54011]
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You’re related to a celebrity!***
Jan 23, 2021, 6:13 PM
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All-In [30860]
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I've been riding her coattails ever since***
Jan 23, 2021, 6:16 PM
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All-In [25721]
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Oculus Spirit [75725]
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Did it every really stand a chance against this joint?
Jan 23, 2021, 7:42 PM
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https://santaslandnc.net/PRO Business - Responsive Multi-Purpose Theme, Great Wordpress theme, wordpress templates
I am not sure why I never made it there. Been to Tweetsie a few times though.
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Heisman Winner [135619]
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It's still there.
Jan 26, 2021, 8:20 AM
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Most of the time we head to Maryville for shows, we take the long and winding road for scenic purposes and come in on that side of Cherokee. Every time we pass Santa's Land it's open and there are like 8 cars in the parking lot. Not sure how they stay in business there, unless the Cherokee tribe members are walking to it on a regular basis.
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Oculus Spirit [75725]
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I actually went twice in my youth.
Jan 26, 2021, 8:31 AM
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I've joked about stopping in the saw admission was not $10.
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CU Medallion [60234]
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my family hit all those Smoky Mtn vacay spots
Jan 23, 2021, 8:06 PM
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Maggie Valley, Gatlinburg, Chattanooga (Rock City!!!), Ruby Falls, Fontana/Cherokee, The Lost Sea, etc.
When you grow up in the Lowcountry, mountains were THE family vacation destinations. Mountains - heck, big hills - were amazing to see when you are a born flatlander. We could hit the beach (HHI, Edisto, Chas) most any day we wanted, routine, so we never spent vacation time there. My family oddity - we NEVER went to Myrtle Beach. Why drive hours to see the same water you could see every day. I never went to Myrtle Beach myself until I was probably 25, and that was to do a work project at the airport there. I feel no loss or regret from that either.
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Heisman Winner [135619]
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Our family hit every tourist trap attraction in both North
Jan 26, 2021, 8:26 AM
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and South Carolina when I was growing up...beach, mountain, and flatlands. Wife and I decided a few years back to circumnavigate Florida for vacation and specifically chased down every old school tourist trap we could find. That's a part of Americana that is disappearing and attractions are becoming expensive corporate ventures as development sweeps across the country. I really want to do the same kind of trip on Route 66 some day before that's all gone.
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Lot o points [155973]
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Last time we drove to Telluride (well, time before last,
Jan 26, 2021, 8:36 AM
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since last year we only made it to OKC before CO gov shut down ski areas with a singular tweet), we drove out the southern route to NM and then northward. It was really cool at many points to be running parallel to old Rte 66 and see the actual two-lane running right beside the interstate with a bunch of weeds growing up through it and thinking about the trips people must have taken on it.
Lots of cool motels from that era that are in the same vicinity are seeming to be re-opened by people bringing back the feel of the era and they have a really cool 50's art-deco or 60's space-race vibe. Probably my favorite tourist attraction we hit along that route was the Cadillac ranch in Amarillo....it was fantastic.
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CU Medallion [65536]
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Parents took us there a couple times as kids, and I took
Jan 25, 2021, 7:23 PM
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my wife and child there once in the early 90's.
Fun fact, there used to be a couple of those old style locomotives abandoned in the backwoods where I grew up, when I was just old enough to go woods exploring. They later disappeared, and I always heard they went to either Ghost Town in the Sky, or Tweetsie Railroad.
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Hall of Famer [22335]
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Just saw this thread... yeah, went there a couple times as a
Jan 25, 2021, 7:38 PM
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kid, maybe 6-8 years old, so early 60s. I have some pictures somewhere. Seemed like a magical place at the time... may as well have been Disneyland for a poor kid from Greenville.
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All-In [46825]
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Went there once on a trip to Maggie Valley
Jan 26, 2021, 8:19 AM
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Got caught in a lightening storm on the way back down the chair lift.
People in the trolly were pointing at us.
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Oculus Spirit [85339]
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