When the Jeeps go home, they leave behind a lot of ducks at this Pigeon Forge motel

What started with a few rubber ducks has grown into a collection of more than 1,000 at the longtime Pigeon Forge motel.

PIGEON FORGE, Tenn. (Smokies.LIVE Adventure Center) — The Jeeps may have left Pigeon Forge after another successful Jeep Invasion, but at one local motel, they left behind something a little smaller — and a whole lot cuter.

Ducks.

Hundreds of them.

Walk into the lobby of the Norma Dan Motel and you will find rubber ducks lining the walls, sitting on counters and tucked into just about every available space.

And the collection keeps growing.

“It’s grown over the last couple of years to where we’re over 1,000, and love every one of them,” said Danette Rolen of the Norma Dan.

The duck tradition started about two and a half to three years ago. Jeep Invasion has become one of the biggest times for new ducks to arrive, but guests bring them throughout the year.

Rolen said her grandchildren were out during Jeep Invasion and came back with several ducks. They brought a couple into the motel and placed them on the monitors.

“Everybody decided we were collecting ducks,” Rolen said.

That simple decision turned into a full-blown collection.

Today, the ducks have become part of the Norma Dan experience.

“We have so many repeat customers that they just — they’re telling us we’re ducky,” Rolen said with a laugh. “Either that, or we’re quack one. It depends on how they look at it.”

For children visiting the motel, the ducks have become a favorite attraction of their own.

Rowland said she will sometimes be standing behind the desk when a child reaches over the counter.

“You won’t see a face. You’ll just see a hand. It’s like, ‘I brought you a duck,’” she said. “And it just tickles them to death.”

Every duck has a story

The collection is anything but ordinary.

There are police officer ducks, EMS ducks, sharks, black bears, sparkly ducks and even several Dolly Parton ducks.

“There’s a little bit of everything,” Rolen said.

The Dolly ducks are especially appropriate for a Sevier County motel.

“I mean, come on. Dolly is Sevier County,” Rolen said.

Some of the ducks have traveled a long way to find their home at the Norma Dan.

One police-themed duck came from Westminster, South Carolina, from guests who have stayed at the motel three or four times over the past year.

“They just thought we actually had to have a Dolly,” Rolen said.

Another Dolly duck came from North Carolina.

And the motel keeps track of where the ducks come from.

Guests are encouraged to write their names on the bottom of each duck they bring, creating a small history for the collection.

That means every time a new duck arrives, the motel knows who brought it — and where it came from.

A Jeep tradition that keeps spreading

The tradition of “ducking” Jeeps has become a familiar part of Jeep culture, with enthusiasts leaving small rubber ducks on other Jeeps as a way to make someone smile.

Rowland said the practice became especially popular during the pandemic and was started by a Canadian Jeep enthusiast who loved ducks and wanted to spread some happiness.

She later attended Jeep Invasion in Pigeon Forge.

Rowland said the woman has since died, but the tradition has continued.

And at the Norma Dan, Jeep Invasion continues to make the duck population grow.

The motel’s collection has become a conversation starter for guests of all ages. Visitors stop to look at the different ducks, take pictures and sometimes return with one of their own.

Rowland jokes that she may eventually run out of room.

“I’m still wanting more shelves,” she said.

The ducks, however, aren’t the only way the Norma Dan gives back to the community.

Rowland said the motel is involved with a number of charitable efforts, including the Robert Thomas Foundation, Relay for Life, the American Cancer Society and United Way.

She said there are enough ducks now that the motel could even put together a duck regatta someday.

For now, though, they remain where guests can find them — watching over the lobby, one tiny rubber duck at a time.

And when the Jeeps roll out of Pigeon Forge after Jeep Invasion, they may take their memories home with them.

But at the Norma Dan, they leave a little piece of the event behind.

A rubber duck.