Dolly Parton is the Great Smoky Mountains national parks 75th Anniversary Ambassador

The Great Smoky Mountains national park could not have picked a better ambassador for their 75th anniversary than local celebrity and philanthropist Sevierville Tennessee's own Dolly Parton.

Most anyone who thinks about the Smoky Mountains thinks about Dolly Parton as the face of the Smokies and as the official Park's 75th Anniversary Ambassador, Dolly's name and her image will be used at a variety of GSM National Park events, activities and on informational media.

According to Dolly Parton "The Smokies are part of my DNA...I have always been an Ambassador, but I am particularly honored to become "official" for this special 75th Anniversary."

Getting Dolly Parton to be the Ambassador was an obvious choice and the announcement of Dolly Parton being the ambassador for the Great Smoky Mountains national park was made by the superintendent Dale Ditmanson who stated "When we first sat down with our park partners and began brainstorming about how the Park's anniversary could best gain national stature we asked ourselves: ’If we could pick one person who is the most recognized and personifies the love of the Smokies, who would it be?’ The answer was a resounding ’Dolly Parton!’ But she's so much in demand; do you think she'll do it?"

In order to get Dolly Parton on board the Dollywood Foundation was contacted by Friends of the Smokies and the rest is history.

If Dolly's participation was not enough, Dolly Parton has graciously written an entire album entitled "Sha-Kon-O-Hey" and the rights of this album are being donated the Great Smoky Mountains National Park through the Friends of the Smokies during the 75th anniversary year. Bravo!

"Sha-Kon-O-Hey" is the phonetic spelling for the Cherokee word, "Shaconage" which is how the Cherokee described the Great Smoky Mountains translated as "Land of the Blue Smoke". Shaconage is also the name of the Friends of the Smokies publication.

Another great organization which Your Smokies supports which helps the park: The Great Smoky Mountains Association will be offering a 125 page souvenir 75th Anniversary edition of Smokies Life magazine will find a personal message from Dolly Parton that reads "The Smoky Mountains have inspired me and my music since I was a little girl. They touch my soul and lift my spirits. Let's celebrate America's most popular national park, but most especially, join me in making sure its magnificent beauty thrives for generations to come."

Bravo on the choice Dale, bravo on bringing it together Friends of the Smokies, and Dolly - no one will ever be more Sweetheart of the Smokies than you are!

Gas prices lower and availability improves in Pigeon Forge, Gatlinburg and Sevierville Tennessee.

Looks like we have seen the last of empty gas pumps and high gas prices in the Pigeon Forge, Gatlinburg and Sevierville Tennessee Smoky Mountains because the lines at gas stations are gone and the prices are now below the national average - all just in time for the 2008 peak leaf season which is just about to begin!

Now that gas prices are lower again and availability is good everyone is breathing a sigh of relief.

Hurricane Ike didn't hit the Smoky Mountains, but gas shortages and gas gouging did. The gas problems in the Smoky Mountains first turned up in North Carolina and then spread to Tennessee, but while North Carolina is still having problems with inflated gas prices, gas shortages and long lines, everything is just about back to normal in the Tennessee Smokies.

We suggest that people who have to drive into or through the North Carolina Smokies fill up before they get there as they can save quite a bit of time and as much as 50 cents or more a gallon.

Officials and energy experts say that everything will be back to normal in Tennessee by the peak leaf season which starts in less than 2 weeks and by the end of October in N Carolina.

Gas running low and stations price gouging running high in the Smokies due to hurricane Ike

Hurricane Ike may be almost 1,000 miles away but drivers in the Smokies are getting pounded by the storm as well with price gouging and gas shortages throughout Tennessee and North Carolina.

Reports started coming in yesterday of gas shortages and price increases in the Asheville area, but these reports of drivers finding it hard to find gas or complaining about increases of 50 cents or more a gallon within minutes.

The highest price we have heard of so far in Pigeon Forge was $4.69 a gallon - astonishing considering it as $3.42 gallon a week ago.

There will be a huge influx of drivers coming into Pigeon Forge, Sevierville and Gatlinburg to take park of the Rod Run. Lets' hope they are all gassed up before they get here.

1 fire contained on Sheilds Mountain and another on started

Fire fighters from Sevierville, Pigeon Forge, English Mountain, Sevier County, Kodiak, Walden's Creek, Pitman Center and Gatlinburg worked all night and were able to contain a brush fire on Shields Mountain in Sevierville.

Fire crews left the still smoldering brush to respond to another fire on Shields Mountain on Tower Road.

Flooding and downed trees in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park

The Great Smoky Mountains National Park was pounded by wind and rain last night leaving downed trees and branches on roads and trails, swollen rivers and streams and some flooding.

All major roads are still open in the park but some local roads in near the park in Tennessee still have downed power lines and trees making driving hazardous.

Hikers in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park need to be cautious of slippery trails, washouts, trees and branches blocking trails and stream crossings that may now be hazardous due to high swift moving water.

Numerous power outages been reported in the areas including our office in Sevierville - but thanks to Blazer Construction of Sevierville our electrical service was restored within hours.

The Smoky Mountains leaf season to run early and short for 2007

One of the busiest tourist seasons for the Smoky Mountains is leaf season when people come to see the fall colors as they sweep through the Smoky Mountains and the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

Since there are no less than 108 species of trees represented in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, you are sure to see wild pallets of colors as each species of tree will change into a different color at a different time. Add in elevation changes of more than almost 5,000 feet in the park alone and you have a leaf season that is more spectacular and varied and last longer than most other regions in the Unites States.

Unfortunately the weather in the Smoky Mountains has not been very cooperative for a long leaf season this year due to extremely light rainfall. Sure it was great that you could hike in the Smokies and drive with less rain and mud, but higher moisture content in the leaves means brighter colors and longer life expectancy for each individual leaf.

In the past 3 weeks I can clearly see the lightening of dark green foliage and random burst of red, yellow and orange in the trees already. At the present it feels as though the leaves are about a week or so ahead of schedule and the weather in the Smokies is fabulous.

Above you see a picture I took yesterday on my property in Sevierville Tennessee of the colors already changing and it looks to me that by mid October we will all be experiencing a riot of colors here.

The peak of the leaf season in the Smoky Mountains varies by attitude and moisture content of the leaves. Higher elevations in North Carolina will be the first to see the color changes and peak leaf season with lower elevations in North Carolina and Tennessee to follow.

For years I have told everyone who asked about the best time to come to be sure to catch the most color in the leaves and my answer is October to early November but if you are disappointed in the leaves colors right in front of you, you are only a short drive to another section of the Smokies where the leaves colors may be more to your liking.

If you are too early to catch the peak of the leaf season, enjoy the beautiful greens and light yellows and splashes of red. If you are to late for the peak of the leaf colors you end up missing the crowds and will usually get a cheaper rate on your hotel or cabin rental in the Smoky Mountains.

8k (5 miles) Run for the Great Smoky Mountains National Park

Help the Great Smoky Mountains National Park through Friends of Great Smoky Mountains National Park by participating in a 8K Run for the Park on Saturday May 5, 2007 which starts and ends at Tanger Five Oaks in Sevierville Tennessee.

Registration for this exciting event is only $12 before May 2, 2007 and $15 after May 2nd and all proceeds benefit Friends of the Smokies who help raise funds and provide volunteers for the Smoky Mountains national park.

Whether you come to help out the park, get some exercise and fresh air or have your eye on one of the Trophies, free tee shirts or door prizes you are sure to have a good time.

Trophies will be given for 1st, 2nd and 3rd place in:

• Overall male and female
• Sevier County male and female
• Grand Masters (50+) male and female
• All age categories male and female

The race will be run rain or shine on a level course - the Parkway to Tanger outlet mall in Pigeon Forge, and then ends back at Tanger Five Oaks. Traffic will be held back by both the Pigeon Forge and Sevierville police

Register early to make sure you get your size Tee Shirt and help the Fiends of the Smokies get a fairly accurate count of who is going to show. The registration for can be downloaded at www.yoursmokies.com/docs/raceform2007.pdf.

If you can’t or don’t want to run, come down and cheer us on!