Ivy Cottage | Enjoy a serene escape in this cute cottage on the Ocoee River

As a family of 10, we often find it necessary to get away from the noise of modern life in order to connect with our kids. We have experienced amazing adventures as a family from the Great Smoky Mountains to the Canyon walls of Zion National Park and along the way we have found opportunities to become hosts to fellow nature-loving travelers.

Our first opportunity for creating memorable vacation experiences began in 2018 when Nicole & I purchased the property next to our family home. In a labor of love, we converted the existing trailer park into Wauhatchie Woodlands, a family-friendly rustic retreat at the foot of Lookout Mt. TN. We replaced the trailers with tiny log cabins naming them after our 9 children, and a number of beautiful people that we have “adopted” into our family over the years.

Nicole and I feel that creating opportunities for families to connect is an important part of the vacation experience. In order to facilitate family bonding, we included gathering spaces throughout the property with fire pits, private hot tubs, a playground, and a duck pond.

Our little slice of heaven grew to include our Skyuka Chalet, Wauhatchie Blue House, the May Family Home, and the newly renovated Alford Hill House.

In 2020 our second opportunity to host vacationers came when we acquired Pinewoods Resort in Duck Creek Village Utah. Utah is a state that has held a special place in my heart since the moment I experienced her breathtaking beauty in a person as a college student. Nicole and I have taken our children out there many times and now that my eldest daughter is attending college at the University of Utah, I have an “excuse” to fly out there on a regular basis.

Welcome Valley Village is our most recent opportunity to host fellow travelers and we hope to live up to the legacy its original founder Warnie Dooly Finnell left behind.