Water Wonders Workshop in the Great Smoky Mountains national park

Ready for some exciting and educational summer fun in the Great Smoky Mountains national park? Well this Friday and Saturday August 1st and 2nd you can be wading on a stream in the Great Smoky Mountains national park alongside a biologist from the University of Arkansas Dr. Andrea Radwell to discover the glory of the biodiversity of the Smokies.

This exciting chance for you to explore the Smoky Mountains will take place from 10 am to 3 pm at the Twin Creeks Science and Education Center in the Roaring Fork section of the Great Smoky Mountains national park next to Gatlinburg Tennessee.

Bring some waders, boots or an old pair of sneakers and prepare to get down and dirty and a little wet while you learn about stream sampling while you search for water mites, other invertebrates including gooey and interesting things in the streams which you will get the chance to study up close for yourself.

Can't wait like me to do this? IF so RSVP Heather MacCulloch at Discover Life in America if you'd like to participate in the Water Mite Workshop by calling (865) 430-4756 or emailing: Heather MacCulloch at Discover Life in America.

Child injured in the Great Smoky Mountains national park airlifted to UT

A small child from Coweta county Georgia was injured in the Great Smoky Mountains national park early this evening with injures serious enough to require that the child be transferred from a Gatlinburg Tennessee ambulance in the Sugarlands Visitor Center to a UT Lifestar helicopter for air transport to the hospital.

An unconfirmed source told us that the injuries occurred in or around a camp fire causing the child to be burned in the Elkmont Campgrounds.

Fortunately from what we saw the child was breathing on its own seemed quite calm when being transferred from the Ambulance to the waiting helicopter.

Foothills Parkway Closed due to Fire Started by Lightning

Foothills Parkway East near Cosby Tennessee is now closed due to a wildfire created by lightning from a storm this Monday. At this point the fire is now contained but the road is still closed.

Due to last nights storm you can expect that there can be downed trees in the Great Smoky Mountains national park and the surrounding area. There may be possible closures of some of the hiking trails and roads in and around the GSMNP so drive carefully and hike or ride horses with the understanding that a trail may be impassable and you may have to return the way you hiked in.

Air quality issues plague the Great Smoky Mountains region and the GSMNP

The past week air quality issues caused health warnings in the Great Smoky Mountains region and the Great Smoky Mountains National Park due to elevated ozone levels.

The air pollution levels were so high in the Smokies, that it I was concerned for my own health and was unable to hike my normal 10 -15 miles a day in the GSMNP for 2 days in the past week. Even though I am extremely healthy, I did not want to exert myself and excessively expose my lungs to the irritating and damaging effect of the ozone.

The cart below shows actual readings taken from within the Great Smoky Mountains national park near the Cades Cove, Townsend and Maryville area at the Look Rock weather observatory.

Click on the chart above to see a full size image.

The photo below was taken on Sunday at the Hemphill Bald in the Cataloochee section of the Great Smoky Mountains national park near Maggie Valley North Carolina. You can see the excessive unhealthy haze created by the air pollution that not only causes poor visibility, but is a health risk especially to the young, old or unhealthy.

Not only is the ozone level in the Great Smoky Mountains increased due to the coal burning power plants, the sulfur dioxide pouring into the atmosphere is also acidifying the Great Smoky Mountains. The acid rain is affecting the plants and animals that inhabit the Great Smoky Mountains national park and it slowing killing the fish and other amphibians in the higher elevations and working it way down to the valleys.

As we will come to depend more and more on electricity for power, the level of dangerous pollutants in the air will increase further damaging the delicate balance in one the world's most important biosphere: The Great Smoky Mountains National Park unless drastic measures are taken.

Blackberries and blueberries in the Great Smoky Mountains national park

The summer days are long and the weather is awesome here in the Smoky Mountains and right now throughput the Great Smoky Mountains national park ripe blueberries and blackberries can be found in the lower elevations and they are working their way up.

Visitors to the Great Smoky Mountains national park are allowed to pick fruits and berries for their own personal consumption. You are not allowed to pick plants, or harvest Smoky Mountains delicacies such as ramps or Ginseng as picking these plants is not only illegal it reduces its already precarious population within the park.

Black berries should be picked when all dark and slightly soft for the best flavor. Blackberries has varying degrees of thorns so be careful picking berries and please only take what you will immediately consume and don't damage or cut the plant.

Since the berries are ripening, be careful that bear who also loves these summer treats are not close by and that if you are walking into tall grass or weeds you don't steep on either a copperhead or rattlesnake which can be hiding in the undergrowth.

If you did go into brush make sure that you check yourself for ticks as ticks are in season on the Smoky Mountains.

Accident with injuries at Oconaluftee Farm Museum in Great Smoky Mountains National Park

A ride in the field at the Oconaluftee Outdoor Farm Museum by the Oconaluftee Visitor's center at the Cherokee entrance of the Great Smoky Mountains national park went horribly wrong when the driver somehow ended up in a drainage canal.

An occupant on the back seat of the car had injuries serious enough to require being airlifted by helicopter to a nearby hospital while another occupant of the car was taken by ambulance to a hospital.

Luckily no other cars or bystanders were injured in this completely avoidable accident and traffic flowed smoothly on Newfound Gap road even though there were almost a dozen park, rescue and police vehicles and flat bed tow trucks at the scene which gave officers a change to use brand new forensic Nikon equipment to investigate and document the accident.

The driving of cars or any other motor vehicles off of designated roads and in fields is prohibited in the Great Smoky Mountains national park and presumably the driver of the vehicle has been issued a citation for at least this offense.

Air quality alert issued for the Tennessee Smoky Mountains today.

A code orange air quality alert for increased ground level ozone has been issues for the following counties/areas in Tennessee Smoky Mountains:

• Anderson
• Blount
• Cocke
• Grainger
• Hamblen
• Jefferson
• Knox
• Loudon
• Roane
• Sevier
• Union

This warning is mostly directed persons who are extra sensitive and they may experience health effects from the high ozone levels. The general public should not be effected by may wish to restrict heavy exertion outdoors and limit exposure.

The Great Smoky Mountains national park is predicted to have moderate air quality today but is expected to deteriorate to "unhealthy for sensitive groups" tomorrow in both North Carolina and Tennessee.

See the July 4th Salute to veterans in Cherokee North Carolina

The Unto These Hills drama will honor fallen heroes in special presentation this July 4th with some of the proceeds of the ticket helping the family of NC State Trooper Shawn Blanton who was tragically killed in the line of duty this year.

The salute to veterans will start at 7:00 pm and will include a special presentation recognizing our nation's veterans and local warriors by Lewis Harding, retired United States Air Force and Chairman of the Cherokee Historical Association Board of Trustees. After the presentation the "Unto These Hills" show choir will perform a musical tribute.

The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians fought bravely in both world wars, the Korean War and the Vietnam War. Since the First World War more than 47,000 Cherokee have served their country in times of war. Cherokee Civilians have helped as well during times of war by manufacturing war supplies and the purchase of war bonds.

Young and old will love the Unto These Hills drama about the history of Cherokee people which then starts a 7:00 pm. This outdoor drama has been seen and loved by the millions who have seen this spectacular outdoor drama that has been running continuously for 59 years!

The Unto These Hills drama runs only during the summer months Monday through Saturday starting this year in June and ending on August 30th. There is always a preshow at 7pm and the main even begins at 7:30 pm.

Reserved seating is only $20 for adults and $10 for youth. For General Admission adults tickets are $18 and for children from 6 -13 the price is $8. Children under 5 admitted free with a paying adult.

Special discounts for Unto These Hills are available for groups and you can get a 20% discount of you purchase ticket packages to two or more events and attractions. Call (800)438-1601 for further discount information.