There are people that go to Gatlinburg and honestly think the edge of the earth exists beyond that last traffic light. I have several co-workers that only frequent the area strictly for the aquarium, jip joints and go carts. One guy in my office that got married there had never heard of Cades Cove when I asked him about it.

As for the Wednesday 10 am opening, it's great to bike it at sunrise up until they open the flood gates.

As for your post, years ago as for a prank me and a buddy after hiking 5 days on the AT came down and drove the loop. For a gag, during some bumper-to-bumper traffic, my buddy jumped outta my truck and took off running with his camcorder. Several other people threw their cars up in park,grabbed their cameras and followed him. Hahahahaha. And it was absolutely nothing but a prank.

It's also fun to start wildly pointing out the window and watch the reactions of the people in your rear view mirror.