2014 Fall Color Observations for Tennessee areas of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

Clearly peak leaf season in the Great Smoky Mountains is right around the corner, but is sure did not feel that way in the lower elevations in Greenbrier, Tremont, Cades Cove, The Foothills Parkway West and the Abrams Falls area.

Traffic is seasonally heavy for mid week on Newfound Gap Road, Little River Road, Laurel Creek Road and the Cades Cove Loop Road. The Spur section of the Foothills Parkway that runs between Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge has not only seen heavy traffic and numerous accidents, 2 separate accidents this month each resulted in a single fatality, so drivers are asked to exercise extreme caution on park roads.

To get away from all the traffic, take the Foothills Parkway West and go south on 129 to the Abrams Creek part of the Great Smoky Mountains national park which is not only just starting to show some posts of color in the higher elevations, it is virtually deserted right now with about a dozen campsites in use and during a hearty 8 mile loop hike of Rabbit Creek, Hatcher Mountain and Little Bottoms Trail, I did not see a single other hiker.

Long range views along the trail were crystal clear with just random areas showing light green and tinges of yellow other than sourwood trees which have started to change toward the bright and deep reds we all love so much. At least a dozen different species of wildflowers are still blooming and wildlife including birds was plentiful.

The views from the Foothills Parkway West are still mostly summer-like with some lower bushes and some random trees turning and well as from Look Rock. By next weekend The Foothills Parkway West and the higher portions of Abrams Creek and Cades Cove will be a sight to behold as the riot of color will swing peak leave season into those areas.

Government Shutdown: Road + Facility Closures in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park

It's happened. The Government shutdown has closed the Great Smoky Mountains National Park to all public use today other than traveling along Newfound Gap Road/US441 from Cherokee North Carolina to Gatlinburg Tennessee.

All other the other Great Smoky Mountains National Parks roads are closed and so are all of the hiking trails, picnic areas, visitor centers, bathrooms, horse stables, streams, scenic overlooks, parking areas, historic buildings, campgrounds and backcountry primitive campsites.

All ongoing scientific studies, park interpretive programs, special events such as weddings, parks as classrooms education programs, have also all been cancelled. Trail rehabilitation and park maintenance has all been stopped and even the park web cam feeds is shut off.

Foothills Parkway East which is outside the park and connects I-40 and 32 in Cosby and the Foothills Parkway West are also both closed.

While the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and all other National Parks, National Monuments, National Seashores, National Historic sites and National Museums have all closed in the past due to Government Shutdowns, the timing of this closure is especially bad.

If the closure extends by more than a few weeks, it would be disastrous to the local economy which depends on the fall leaf season for a huge percentage of their revenue. Add in government workers being furloughed or not paid and you will see that everyone is feeling the pain.

So far the government shut down in Great Smoky Mountains National Park has cause 279 park employees, 60 concessions employees and 45 Great Smoky Mountains Association employees to be indefinitely put on furlough without pay. This does not count wedding photographers, fishing and private tour guides who pay for permits to work in the park.

Tourists coming into the Great Smoky Mountains to see the best of the Smokies fall leaf season book months in advance. Backcountry and front country campers in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park have to do the same and sadly can not stay here regardless of reservations.

The elk rut is also in full swing in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park which attracts thousands of photographers and nature lovers to Cataloochee and Balsam Mountain which are closed.

During October, the Great Smoky Mountains National Park normally sees at least 35,000 visitors on average each day and nationwide the National Park System hosts more than 715,000 visitors a day.

Campers in the national park campgrounds, LeConte Lodge as well as campers in the backcountry campsites have been asked to leave by 6pm Thursday. Some campgrounds are already empty and locked.

There appears to be campgrounds outside the park right now that have extra space, but in the next few weeks, many who thought they could camp here in the Smokies may be out of luck.

National park rangers and other park personnel were clearing out picnic areas, horse stables, locking bathrooms and putting up facility closed signs throughout the park. A very sad day indeed.

Non essential personnel whose numbers have been greatly reduced due to the Sequestration are now being furloughed without pay and they are not alone as about 800,000 federal employees throughout the country lost their income overnight as well.

The more than 3,000 volunteers who work within the park have been asked not to report to duty for as long as the closure takes place.

Law Enforcement Park Rangers will continue to work through the closure although it is not clear if and when they will be paid. I cannot stress enough that there will be no tolerance to those breaking the law such as trespassing on federal land when it is closed to all public use.

We will be providing updates to this story when they become available.

Last Updated 10/01/13 4:55 pm EST

Related Government GSMNP and BRP Closure Articles:

Great Smoky Mountains National Park to Reopen Tomorrow at 12 Noon. - Posted 10-15-13

Great Smoky Mountains National Park May Reopen Tomorrow – Maybe - Posted 10-15-13

Government Shutdown Affecting Great Smoky Mountains National Park Day 14 - Posted 10-14-13

How Government Shutdown is Affecting Great Smoky Mountains National Park - Posted 10-08-13

Update to Government Closure of Great Smoky Mountains National Park - Posted 10-05-13

Shutdown Info Great Smoky Mountains and Blue Ridge Parkway - Posted 10-03-13

Government Shutdown: Road + Facility Closures Great Smoky Mountains National Park - Posted 10-01-13

Great Smoky Mountains National Park Public Meeting on Road Construction Projects

It's not your imagination. For years the Great Smoky Mountains national park roadways have been in a constant state of much needed repair, increasing the comfort and improving the safety of everyone using these roads and parking areas stretching from the complete overhaul of the Cades Cove Loop Road and the Roaring Fork Motor Nature Trail, to the to the major rebuilding of Newfound Gap Road after this year's devastating landslide.

What you may not realize it the added bonus of the reduced costs to repair park and visitor vehicles that traverse these roads now that they are in far better condition as well as the reduced environmental impact of these improved parking areas and roadways. There is also a significant economic benefit to the area between the contractors and their employees.

The stimulus help pay for many of the larger projects including the incomplete section of the Foothill Parkway between Wears Valley and Walland which is still ongoing and closed to all vehicles, bikers and hikers, the Sinks Parking Area and the Roaring Fork Motor Nature Trail.

Further work such as drainage system improvements, roadway resurfacing, stone-wall masonry rehabilitation, and slope stabilization is still being done and in the planning stages for Newfound Gap Road US441 and the Gatlinburg Bypass.

Great Smoky Mountains National Park officials are inviting the public today and tomorrow to meetings n order to give an update on current construction and future planed work on these key roadways.

The first meeting will take place today Monday, August 5 from 5:30 pm to 6:30 pm at the Sugarlands Visitor Center Training Room, about 2 miles from the Gatlinburg, Tennessee park entrance.

The second meeting takes place tomorrow Tuesday, August 6 from 5:30 pm to 6:30 pm at the Oconaluftee Administrative Building which was the old visitor center near the Cherokee, North Carolina entrance.

Public questions and input is very helpful as demonstrated by how smoothly the Cades Cove Loop Road repaving job was accomplished with the least impact possible to park visitors and local business that depend on them.

Great Smoky Mountains National Park Road Conditions

Virtually Every Road in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park is Closed

First it was flooding that closed many key roads in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, now a winter storm dumped enough snow to create another headache, virtually every road is closed due to snow and ice including the Foothills Parkway West and East and the Gatlinburg Bypass connecting the Sugarlands to the Spur.

Crews are working on plowing and sanding roads right now. They will also be cleaning up any of the additional trees, branches and roads that may have fallen into the roadways. When the melting starts, even more debris could fall into the roadway making driving treacherous.

With so much water, there have been landslides, one of which washed out a 200 foot section of roadway, and rock slides and trees that may still be in danger of falling so when the park access opens up, use extreme caution when hiking as some of these dangers may not be immediately apparent.

Links: Great Smoky Mountain national park road conditions

Newfound Gap Road US 441 Closes as winter storm hit Great Smoky Mountains national park.

First, it was Old State Road 284 from Big Creek to Cataloochee that closed due to winter storm conditions and now it is Newfound Gap Road US 441 between Cherokee North Carolina and Gatlinburg Tennessee. Snow is falling hard and sticking to the road surface below the Chimneys already.

As much as a foot or more is expected to fall in the higher elevation tonight with a little more snow on the way tomorrow, so expect roadways in the Great Smoky Mountains national park for what could be days.

Heavy snow and previously weakened limbs from our last few storms have prompted power and phone companies in the area are expecting the worst with widespread scattered power and phone outages predicted all throughout the North Carolina and Tennessee Smokies.

The next major road in the GSMNP to close due to this storm will be Little River Road and hopes are that the Pigeon Forge - Gatlinburg Spur can be kept open.

Other roads expected to close shortly will be the Foothills parkway East, Foothills Parkway West and the Gatlinburg Bypass between Newfound Gap Road and The Spur section of the Foothills parkway.

Current Road conditions and closures in
the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

Rockslide Near Great Smoky Mountains National Park Keeps Part of Spur Closed a Month or More

This Monday a significant rockslide fell onto the southbound lanes of the Spur section of the Foothills Parkway (US 441) a few hundred yards south of traffic light 10 in Pigeon Forge on the way to Gatlinburg Tennessee and experts now predict that the cleanup and stabilization of the slope could potentially take at least a month.

The rockslide between Gatlinburg and Pigeon thankfully did not cause any injuries and occurred in the off-season so the traffic affected by the detour around the rockslide is minimal right now, but will affect the tourism peak that occurs on and around Valentines Day.

Yesterday morning the Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT) had geotechnical engineers inspect the rockslide and their determination is that the wall or rock, earth and vegetation is still very unstable and before the roadway can be reopened to traffic, significant stabilization effort is required.

Presently TDOT will need to obtain an emergency contract to stabilize this section of the mountainside along the Spur and once the work is started will be able to offer a more accurate time in which this project can be completed.

Since the rockslide cleanup and stabilization along the spur will take so long, representatives from the Great Smoky Mountains national park and TDOT are working together to improve the traffic flow on the 1 mile detour where northbound traffic is reduced to 1 lane and southbound traffic uses 1 lane flowing south.

According to Great Smoky Mountains National Park Facility Management Chief Alan Sumeriski stated, "We are working with TDOT to improve the configuration of temporary traffic barriers and the signage to help keep traffic flowing as smoothly as possible and to maximize public safety."

He went on to say "We will also be adding numerous signs in the detour area to guide residents and visitors to each of the side roads that are accessed off the Spur."

Though park rangers patrol the entire length of the Spur, the State of Tennessee owns the portion where the rockslide took place, so TDOT has sole responsibility for repairs of the slide itself.

While being restriped today there will be traffic delays along the Spur.

Rock Slide closes portion of the Foothills Parkway Spur between Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge.

A large rock slide has closed the southbound lanes of the Gatlinburg-Pigeon Forge Spur portion of the Foothills Parkway by the Great Smoky Mountains national park forcing southbound traffic coming from Pigeon Forge to be detoured to the northbound lane that is now become 2-way traffic.

The southbound traffic on the Spur will continue a short distance to the King Branch bridge and at that point will cross over to the south lanes of the Spur. Traffic headed north on the Spur will be funneled to 1 lane at the King Branch exchange.

Temporary electronic variable message signs warn drivers of the detour and even more traffic cones are being put in place right now by the state of Tennessee to help better separate the lanes and assist with the traffic flow.

It is unclear at this time how long this detour will stay in place before the debris from the landslide can be removed and the roadway is declares to be safe again for motorists. Since the rock slide is on the City of Pigeon Forge owned portion of the Spur the city of Pigeon Forge is responsible for the slide clean up.

Local motorists who know the back roads may do best to avoid the area altogether.

Huge Wind Event Blasts Through the Tennessee Smoky Mountains Leaving a Path of Destruction.

With virtually no warning a huge wind storm blasted through Sevier County, Blount County, Coche County, and the Great Smoky Mountains national park leaving a path of minor destruction in its wake. There are still 30 plus mph winds still blowing through sections of the GSM national park.

Numerous reports of downed trees blocking roadways, downed power and phone lines and property damage from fallen trees such as cars and roofs are keeping emergency personnel and utility workers busy directing traffic, clearing roadways and restoring services.

The national park service had recorded sustained wind speeds of 70 mile per hour with gusts exceeding 90 mph on Cove Mountain in the Gatlinburg - Wears Valley area.

The park is still cleaning roadways up in the Great Smoky Mountains national park and numerous hiking trails will have blow downs making passage difficult if not impossible for those on horseback.

Traffic is still heavily impacted on Little River Road just west of the Sinks where a large blow down will require heavy equipment for safe passage of both lanes.

The left hand lane North Bound Spur Road just before King Branch has a large limb blocking the roadway make drivers swerve and more weakened limbs may fall especially of the winds pick up as well.

The Gatlinburg Bypass between Newfound Gap Road and the Spur also has reports of tree limbs down by the Campbell Lead Bypass.

Several trees are also down on state road 32 in Blount County.

Limbs are also being reported down on the Foothills Parkway West / 129 area which will take longer for crews to get to and clean up.

Wind Storm Damage Updates:

• Limbs along the North Bound Spur near King Branch have been cleaned up.

Closed section of Foothills Parkway West will see some construction traffic for 6 weeks.

One of hidden secrets of the Great Smoky Mountains national park are the 2 incomplete sections of the Foothills Parkway off 321 which has some stunning vistas and hikers, bicyclists, horseback riders and even leased dogs are allowed.

Both of these long "trails" offer visitors a chance to explore nature for long distances with a gradual grade which is very accessible for those how may have problems with conventional hiking trails, want to avoid crowds or who are higher functioning persons with disabilities.

From November 12th through December 22nd on the far eastern side of the 9 mile section of the Foothills Parkway by Walland core drilling will be taking places so hiker and bikers need to be aware that this normally traffic free area will see some construction vehicles driving to and from the drilling sites.

I would suggest that anyone especially those who live in the area who has not hiked the incomplete sections of the Foothills Parkway does so before it is finished and open to vehicular traffic.

Related Smokies News Stories

• Foothills Parkway Construction begins in Wears Valley Closing Road to Hikers
• Unopened Section of Foothills Parkway Open to Motorists for Leaf Peeping

Where will the $64 million dollars given to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park go?

The $64,006,150 that the Great Smoky Mountains National Park will receive through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) will be a great help to the infrastructure of the park and is expected to create as many as 1,500 jobs mostly in the private sector as employees of a variety of contractors who will be hired to fix up the park.

So where is all this money going that must be either spent or obligated by September 30, 2010? Well the majority of this federal stimulus money about $59 million dollars is going to be used on park roadways and the balance will be spent on trail maintenance, building and facility improvements.

First of all not a cent will be used to repave the Cades Cove 11 mile loop road. That Money has been already allocated for the Cades Cove repaving work that will start early next year.

$34 million is to be spent to finish the 1,200 foot incomplete section known as the missing link of the Foothills Parkway west which will include an 800 foot-long bridge - the longest single structure to be constructed from Wears Valley Road US321 to Walland.

The next approximately $25 million will be spent to repave and rehabilitate 4 roads in the park:

• 9 miles of the Roaring Fork Motor Nature Trail and Cherokee Orchard Road near Gatlinburg.
• All 7 miles of Clingmans Dome Road from Newfound Gap Road US 441 to the Clingmans Dome parking area.
• The Cosby Campgrounds in Cocke County Tennessee
• The Sinks parking area on Little River Road between Wears Cove Road in Metcalf Bottoms picnic area and the Townsend Wye in Tennessee.

$4 million of the stimulus money given to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park will be spent on long overdue handicapped accessibility public restrooms in campgrounds and picnic areas.

$1.2 million will be used in the Great Smoky Mountains national park to hire trail workers to make improvements to:

• 22 miles of eroded horse trails in Tennessee
• 10.4 miles of trails in North Carolina
• 61 historic cemeteries in North Carolina

Lastly $259,000 will be spent to paint and reroof numerous buildings throughout the Great Smoky Mountains National park.

Major roads in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park closed due to ice and snow.

Yesterday's picturesque snow is wreaking havoc on all of the roads in the Great Smoky Mountains national park causing the national park service to close most major roads in and around the GSMNP.

The 3 major arteries running through the park: Newfound Gap Road US 441 connecting Cherokee North Carolina with Gatlinburg Tennessee, Laurel Creek Road connecting the Townsend Wye with Cades Cove and Little River Road connecting the Gatlinburg/Sugarlands area with the Townsend Wye are all closed due to dangerous ice and snow.

Entrance roads to some sections of the Great Smoky Mountains national park are also closed due to ice and snow: Wears Cove Road, Cherokee Orchard Road in Roaring Fork outside Gatlinburg, Greenbrier entrance road by Pittman center, the Cosby entrance road and the Cataloochee entrance road.

Road conditions around the Great Smoky Mountains national park are also treacherous so the following roads are also closed due to ice and snow: Old route 284 from Deep Creek to Cataloochee NC, the Foothills Parkway East from I-40 to 321 Cosby, and the Gatlinburg Bypass section of the Spur - Foothills Parkway.

Snow, ice and more closures in the GSMNP

Snow and more ice prompted the Great Smoky Mountains national park to close even more roadways deemed unsafe because of winter conditions:

• Gatlinburg bypass section of the Foothills Parkway
• GSMNP entrance road in Cosby Tennessee
• GSMNP entrance road in Greenbrier Tennessee

Besides some trails accessible and the visitor center in the Sugarlands and the trails in the lower part of Cherokee Orchard Road in Gatlinburg or the parking area at the Townsend Wye, there is now no access to any part of the Great Smoky Mountains national park in Tennessee.

Anyone venturing into the park be prepaid for brutally cold weather with high's below freezing and in upper elevations below zero or at most single digits.

Most roads closed in the Great Smoky Mountains national park due to ice and snow.

Snow, Ice and fog created treacherous driving conditions through most the Great Smoky Mountains national park prompting the closing of most of the through roads within the GSMNP.

The following roads are closed:

• Newfound Gap US 441 between Cherokee NC and Gatlinburg TN


• Foothills Parkway East


• Foothills Parkway West


• Old 284 between Big Creek and Cataloochee


• Cherokee Orchard Road after the Twin Creek Science Center in Gatlinburg


• Little River Road from the Sugarlands visitor center to the Townsend Wye


• Wears Cove Road

None of these roads are not expected to reopen today even though the snowfall has slowed down or stopped throughout much of the park.

Driving is expected to be far worse tomorrow as the freezing temperatures tonight will lock whatever has melted into sheets of ice and as much as another 4 inches of snow may fall on the Smoky Mountains.

More Road Closures in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park

Besides Newfound Gap Road US 441 and Foothills Parkway East being closed, Little River Road from the Sugarlands Visitor Center to the Townsend Wye, Wears Valley to Metcalf bottoms, Roaring Fork / Cherokee Orchard Road, the entrance to Greenbrier, the entrance to Catalooche and old 284 have all be closed by the Great Smoky Mountains national park.

Bottom line: stay of the park except for the edges!

Freezing rain and snow closes roads in the Great Smoky Mountains national park

While today's slightly warmer temperatures in the Smoky Mountains may be a welcome relief to some, the light freezing rain and snow is making local roads treacherous stranding motorists and closing US 441 - Newfound Gap Road in the Great Smoky Mountains national park and The Foothills Parkway East which connects I-40 and State Road 321 in Cosby Tennessee.

Road conditions were so bad today a stretches of I-40 and I-81 were closed and yesterday a section of I-75 was closed due to icy conditions which caused numerous vehicular accidents.

Drivers must remain cautious on roads that are open as dangerous icy conditions can appear suddenly on bridges and overpasses. Bridges and overpasses tend to be become slippery far sooner than surrounding sections of roadways as the cold air underneath the roadway can cause these areas to freeze rapidly.

Snow and freezing roan is predicted today as well as on Monday and Tuesday which could keep Newfound Gap Road and the Foothills Parkway closed for the next few days or subject to closing daily.

Unopened Section of Foothills Parkway Open House to Motorists this Weekend for Leaf Peeping

An incomplete section of the Foothills Parkway will be temporarily opened to drivers this weekend so that motorists can tour this road and leaf peep. Drivers can appreciate the fall colors thanks to the people in the park service based out of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, volunteers of the Blount County Experience Your Smokies and the Blount County Sheriff's Office.

The road will be open to motorist on October 18th and 19th only from 9 am to 3 pm. While this incomplete section of the Foothills Parkway is safe to drive on, it is not paved and only has a gravel surface, has no guardrails or traffic control stripes and signs.

This section of the Foothills Parkway is accessed via the Foothills Parkway interchange off US 321 about 11 miles south of Maryville and 12 miles from the Townsend National park entrance.

This section of the foothills parkway dead ends at the Missing Link and drivers that reach the end can not stop as they were able to on other open houses and they must turn around a drive back to the US 321 interchange.

Last time the national park service opened this section of the Foothills Parkway to motorists this spring more than 8,000 people showed up to enjoy the views.

Construction on Foothills Parkway Spur extended by the Great Smoky Mountains national park

The Foothills Parkway construction project in the Great Smoky Mountains national park on the section knows as the Spur which connects Gatlinburg with Pigeon Forge Tennessee will be extended 2 more days to Friday, October 10th due to equipment issues created by Hurricane Ike.

Originally the Great Smoky Mountains national park was going to be be able to greatly improve the safety of the Spur portion of the Foothills Parkway by resurfacing the road with a special high-performance paving material that requires specialized skills and equipment to apply it.

Since the crew and the equipment needed for this special paving operation was delayed due to Hurricane Ike, the park service has decided to not wait until leaf season is over to finish resurfacing the Spur and will instead use the local Pigeon Forge construction contractor Charles Blalock and Sons to come up with an alternative paving mixture that the park service announced "will provide good winter and wet weather traction".

Is "good" good enough based upon how much better then other special surface was going to be? How much are we going to save now that we are using a local contractor using basically normally material rather than a specialized contractor using special materials, labor and equipment. let's hope that it is plenty based upon the inferior product we will end up with.

It is our opinion that the long term driver safety on this heavily used section of roadway which can be a dangerous in bad weather is far more important that a rush to complete this portion of the project on a road which is already is in a condition good enough for the rush of visitors expected in the next month.

Other construction on the Spur section of the Foothills Parkway will begin again after the peak visitation for the leaf season is over on November 3.

Foothills Parkway Construction begins in Wears Valley Tennessee and Closes Road to Hikers

One of the Great Smoky Mountains national parks best kept secret - the abandoned part of the Foothills Parkway in Wears Valley will be closed to hikers, bikers and horseback riders starting this Monday September 22nd so that construction which started in the 1970s can commence.

Though not a conventional hiking trail, this was one of the best places to hike in land area under the management of the national park service in the Smokies. This 5 mile asphalt road was virtual unused and provided excellent access without the hassle of traffic for handicapped persons, personals walking their dogs, riding bikes, riding horses or just taking in some of the most stunning overlooks accessible by walking on pavement.

After the first 15 minutes of walking into the abandoned area of the Foothills Parkway, traffic noise from Wears Valley Road (321) disappears and the sound of birds and rustling leaves in the wind is all that you can hear as you walk the 5 miles up the gentle incline.

Both sides of this section of the Foothills Parkway are lined by tall trees except for when you cross the bridges offering hikers spectacular views looking out into Wears Valley below and out to the towering mountain range in the Great Smoky mountains national park in the distance.

Well all good things must come to an end. Presently this part of the Foothills Parkway was supposed to run from Wears Valley to Walland and construction which started in the 70s had to stop as funding ran out.

In the mid 1980s funding was available so the Foothills Parkway construction began again, this time there was one project from Wears Valley west toward Walland and the other from Walland east to Wears Valley.

Less than 10 years later both projects had to be put on hold leaving a 1.6 mile "Missing Link" section uncompleted because of erosion problems and numerous slides.

Construction on the Foothills Parkway began again 1998 and by 2008 3 bridges spanning a total of 1,675 feet were completed on the Walland end of the "Missing Link".

Over the next 8 months the Hinkle Construction Corporation Inc. of Lexington Kentucky has been awarded a $3,783,268 contract with the Federal Highway Administration to construct 1,200 feet of new roadway which will run westward from the end of the partly-finished Parkway segment off US 321 in Wears Valley.

The Foothills Parkway construction contract calls for repairing damage to an overpass that carries the partly-completed Parkway over Happy Valley Road and the construction of a reinforced earth section of fill across a shallow ravine.

Officials from the Federal Highway Administration and the Great Smoky Mountains national park are expecting to be able to award a contract to construct another 1,800 feet of Parkway to extend east from the 3 new bridges on the Walland end of the "Missing Link" sometime in the fall of 2009.

Even though this section of the Foothills parkway is closed to recreational use, the other 9 mile-long section of partly finished Foothills Parkway from US 321 in Walland to the "Missing Link" will remain open.

Drivers in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park: Slow Down!

Anyone planning on driving in the Great Smoky Mountains national park on Newfound Gap Road (US 441), Laurel Creek Road, Little River Road and the section of the Foothills Parkway known as the Spur need to watch their speed especially this weekend as with the increased traffic from the Rod Run being held in Pigeon Forge traffic will be heavier and more than likely so will enforcement.

Traffic fatalities by far are the top danger to visitors in the Great Smoky Mountains national park. There are many hazards when driving in the National park, steep winding roads with blind curves with little or no guard rails, fallen trees branches and leaves after a storm, rock slides and beautiful scenery and wild animals that can distract a driver.

While these factors that can present a danger to drivers in the Great Smoky Mountains national park are unavoidable, driving and an excessive speed, passing cars in no passing zone (only small limited areas in the park are passing zones) and stopping in the roadway to observe and photograph deer, bear, coyote, fox or wild turkey and driving under the influence are all causes of serious and fatal accidents that can be completely avoided.

Another insanely dangerous activity visitors in the park partake in is riding bicycles on GSMNP roads that and have no shoulder and numerous blind curves where a car traveling at a safe rate of speed can come up behind a biker and when turning on the curve either hit a bicyclist, get hit from behind and they are slowing down to avoid a rider or swerving into oncoming traffic also rounding a blind curve or driving of the edge of the road.

Bicyclist should not under any circumstance ride on Little River Road between Metcalf Bottoms and the Townsend Wye. Honestly based upon the width of the roads and other dangers to drivers and riders, cyclists should be banned from all major roads in the park other than the Cades Cove Loop, Greenbriers roads, Elkmont's roads, and campground areas until bike lanes are put in.

Winter driving conditions with snow and ice in the Great Smoky Mountains national park are also particularly dangerous especially in the afternoon as previously safe roads can freeze up rapidly before the park service has a chance to close the road. Fog is also a concern especially higher up in elevation above the Chimneys on the Tennessee side and the Kephart Prong Trailhead on the North Carolina side.

Last but not least. Please do not beep your horn in the tunnels along Laurel Creek Road, the Spur and Newfound Gap Road. The sound can carry for miles - just ask any hikers along the AT.

Beeping your horn in a tunnel serves no purpose but to disturb others, the parks wildlife and engineers have told me the noise from a horn which is vibrations actually weakens structures over time.

So please for your own safety and others visiting the Great Smoky Mountains national park, drive safely and slow down!

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.