Expanded Sevierville visitor center is celebrated

Officials took part in a ribbon cutting ceremony in Sevierville Tennessee to open the newly expanded Sevierville Visitor center which also includes a Great Smoky Mountains Association gift shop and new offices for the Friends of the Smokies.

Even though the Great Smoky Mountains Association gift shop which is located near I40 at 3099 Winfield Dunn Parkway has been already open for months, they have waited until now to officially open the joint venture which should benefit all that are involved.

In order to improve the visibility of the visitor center, the visitor center plans to increase its marketing via billboard ads and to remove a hill that block the center form view of motorists.

We encourage everyone to check out the center and help support these great organizations. Both the visitor center and the store are open from Monday through Friday form 8:30 to 5:30, Saturday from 9:00 to 6:00 and Sunday form 1:00 pm to 6:00 pm.

Smoky Mountain Park Rangers guided hike in North Carolina

Don't miss this limited opportunity to go hiking Sunday, November 5th with a national park ranger so you can enjoy the fall weather and learn about the history of the Hazel Creek area on the north shore of Fontana Lake in North Carolina.

Because of limited funding, guided hikes by rangers are not common and this hike is also limited 20 participants because of the limited seating on the pontoon boat that will take you from the Fontana Village Resort Marina to the trail.

The entire round trip hike on the hazel creek trail is 4 miles and hiking shoes or boots are suggested as the trail ranges from easy to moderate. Hikers will enjoy about 4 hours on the trail which will include visiting what was the former sawmill town of Procter which was built in the early 1900s and even be able to see historic maps and photos of the area.

After lunch which will be eaten on the trail, anyone who wishes to can visit the historic Proctor Family Cemetery.

Hikers should brink plenty of water and pack food as there are no facilities or food available on the hazel Creek trail. The Fontana Village Resort Marian does have restrooms and you will find snacks and drinks for sale. Jackets and rain gear are also strongly recommended.

Hikers under be at least 13 years old and reservations are required by calling the Great Smoky Mountains Association at (865) 436-7318, extension 22 next Monday October 30th from 10:00 am and 4:00 pm. A credit card is required at the time of the reservation to pay the $15 per person fee for this hike through the Smoky Mountains.

For those taking the hike, they should be promptly at the Ranger station by 9:00 am. The actual hike will take approximately 4 hours and the returning boat will get you back to the marina by 3:30 pm.

Directions to the Fontana Village Resort Marina: located near Fontana Dam just off Highway 28, 33 miles west of Bryson City, N.C. and 95 miles west of Asheville, N.C. Turn right off of Highway 28 at the sign for Fontana Dam then follow the signs for the boat dock.

Salvage Work to Begin in Elkmont

The Wonderland Hotel in the historic area of Elkmont in The Great Smoky Mountains National Park as about to undergo a $65,419 Salvage job on November 1st to preserve all of the historically treasures that remain in the ruins of the hotel.

The Wonderland Hotel collapsed in fall 2005 and many other buildings remain in a similar state of disrepair in the Elkmont area of the Smoky Mountain National Park. In order to salvage any building materials and fixtures that are historically significantly such as Doors, windows, bathtubs, hardware such as door handles, etc, the entire hotel much be carefully dismantled.

The company brought in do the salvage work is the Moran Construction of Abingdon Virginia who will separate the historical material for preservation have the non significant material removed for disposal outside of the national park. Material that is going to be preserved will be moved to at the Department of Energy's Office of Scientificant and Technical Information Storage facility in Oak whois is where the Park's archival storage area is located.

The work slated to start November 1st and to be finished by December 8th 2006 should have no impact on the campgrounds, hiking trails and any of the other public use areas in Elkmont. Since the work is to be performed mostly by hand, excessive noise should not be a significant issue but in the interest of public safety, the hotel are will be closed off to visitors while the work is in progress.

The Great Smoky Mountains National Park is conducting a Final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) in regard to the remains buildings which should be published by March of 2007.

The more than 70 remaining buildings left in the Elkmont district of the National Park have been a controversy for quite some time. While the park services job is to preserve the natural environment as well a preserve historical artifacts, many of the campers, hikers and local residents whom I have personally interviewed did not feel as though many of the buildings did not have any real historical significance.

Ogles hsitorical cabin in Roaring Fork TN

When compared to historical significance of the buildings located in Cades Cove, Roaring Fork, and Cataloochee, many of the buildings in Elkmont - especially those that are a crumbling or a pile of rubble - can't measure up the workmanship, historical significance or beauty. When as I felt tat the buildings in Elkmont held limited value, I do realize that the park is not just for the enjoyment and recreational use for the next 20, 50 or even hundreds of years but let's hope for hundreds of years. Even buildings that may not be as historically significant now will be in hundreds of years.

The real issue is money. The park service needs all the help it can get and even though great organizations such as Friends of the Smokies raise money and do volunteer work for the park, there is just not enough money and hands to do everything that needs to be done.

In my opinion if it is a question of persevering animal and plant habits or saving dilapidated poorly built cookie cutter summer cottages - the cottages go.

Cades Cove Riding Stable is open (again)

After a brief problem with insurance, you can now rent horses again from the Cades Cove riding stables in the Smoky Mountain National Park.

Without any warning or ceremony last week the stables were shut down and so were the hayrides which are run from the same concession in Cades Cove section of the national Park.

Plenty of people I spoke to in Cades Cove were upset some complaining that now they had to drive quite a distance to another section in the park that does have stables that would be open only to face longer than regular lines and why didn’t someone tell them and why were there not signs around the park?

My temp office for the next 2 weeks.

For at least the next 2 weeks my office is wherever in the Smoky Mountain National Park and sounding areas where my laptop is.

For the depth of summer the weather is outstanding. I don’t believe it has broken the upper 80s in the park – far lower in upper elevations. While it has rained here in the past few weeks, any showers were gone quite quickly.

My only disappointment this week so far is the typical Smokies haze is very pronounced so long shots of the landscapes will not be crisp and clear.

The park is far form crowded. Some of the Campgrounds in the Smoky Mountain National Park are as low as 10% occupancy so campers have plenty of room and privacy with other campers not being right on top of them.

Of special note is that the Cades Cove Riding Stablesis closed until further notice due to insurance issues and there is no idea when the Cades Cove riding stables will reopen.

Other Cades Cove News is that the Parsons Branch road still has no opening date according to the national park service. Repairs have yet to begin and a park volunteer told me that the project is still out for bid.

The Elijah Oliver Cabin and surrounding area is still closed waiting for the restoration to repair erosion damage to settle in and take hold. Expect and opening date of spring of 2007.

Elk in the Smoky Mountains National Park

One of the most thrilling times I had in the Great Smoky Mountain National Park this year was spent tracking North American Elk inside the park.

It as a warm afternoon in May and the Cataloochee section of the park was almost empty. A few campers were hanging around the campsite and some people on bikes were riding around the almost deserted section of park. This was a perfect time to observe North American Elk in the great Smoky Mountain National Park.

52 Elk over the past few years have been released back into the wilds of the national park in an experiment to reintroduce a species that has vanished from the park for more than a hundred years.

I first did my reconnaissance with maps and knowing the pattern of behavior Elk followed I planed where I was going to be able to observe them in the dense woods as well as when and where they should hopefully appear in the fields.

I was excited when unloading my vehicle of the camera equipment and changing into my hiking attire. This was going to be the first Elk I was to see east of the Mississippi. Sure I have seen plenty of elk in Wyoming, Montana and Canada but to see Elk back in the Smokies had me all excited.

Elk can be very dangerous creatures to come across in the wild and they have been known to attack humans without provocation. I knew I had to keep my distance as well as be quiet so as not to spook them. As with any animal in the national park system on must disturb or annoy the animals that inhabit the park or face stuff fines.

My plan was to go up the side of a small mountain where I would have a view of downhill of a wide are including a large creek. As the day would progress I would work my way down to the edge of a large field where the elk have been known to gather at dusk.

The footing on the trail was poor as rain from the previous day tuned the lower section of the trail to a sloppy mud pie. I was sure glad I had high watertight boots on.

I knew I was on the right track for 2 reasons, plenty of large hoof prints in the mud and finally some elk droppings.

While bending down to photograph the droppings there was a large movement 30 yard to my right. I froze. Slowly I turned my head to see 2 female deer (Doe) waking parallel to the trail and me. A crow called out and they both took up going up hill ahead of me. I shot a picture of the droppings and continued uphill on the trail.

In about 45 minutes I found what I felt would be a good spot and set up my tripod and sat down. Now it was time to wait and soak in the woods.

Its funny as one becomes more and more still in such a wonderful place how alive you feel and you can hear the sounds and songs of nature all around you. Just watching a tree you start to see squirrels, birds and insects you might not have first noticed. Blooms from the trees fluttered softly to the ground almost giving the illusion of snow on a warm spring afternoon.

I spotted the 2 elk cow first and then the bull. Walking and feeding on braches they moved slowly farther down hill and away from me in between tress and bushes refusing to let me take a nice clear picture of them.

Looking at my watch and seeing that it was already after 7 pm, I decided to pack up my gear and head down to the large field where I thought they would be heading.

I wanted to get a shot of them exiting the woods into the field but that would require that I moved quickly and get in fornt of them and beat them to the field. Even though this was the best shot, I felt as though moving too fast would spook or disturb them so I walked slowly and softly instead.

By now the valleys were getting darker and I was thankful for the long sleeves as a few gnats decided I would be nice for a late supper. Insects are generally not a big problem in the park and when I got away from the wet area by the edge of the field I was left alone.

I know took my camo tarp and made a blind and set up my tripod on the edge of the woods and scanned the tree line. No Elk to be found so it was time to wait again.

Did the elk beat me to the fields and already left? Did I make too much noise coming down the trail and scare them? What if they don’t come into the field, when can I come back to find them. As all these thoughts race through my mind deer in the filed looked up and slowly took off to the together side of the filed and I started the hear loud deliberate noise in the woods behind me.

The Elk walked less then 50 feet away from me allowing me to take some really nice shots where you can clearly see how they were shedding their winter coat and that their antlers had the spring velvet on them.

Slowly they keep moving giving me almost and hour to watch the bull elk with his harem.

Your Smokies has some interesting information and pictures I took of the Elk in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

Be careful if you wish to see Eklk because if humans and Elks in the national park do not get along, the experiment will fail and these mighty creatures will be removed so it is up to all of us to protect the Elk by eliminating any possible

Cades Cove driving tour in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park

Cades Cove has always touched me since the first time I visited this valley in my favorite national park more than 40 years ago

I had experienced the Cades Cove loop and the surrounding area countless times by car, by truck, on horseback, by bicycle, and on foot, from sunup to sundown and all throughout the night. I know every twist and turn on this road which is a wonderful ride through natural beauty and pioneer history.

Cades Cove was where I got to see my first black bear outside of a zoo, and where for the first time, I was able to observe a wild tom turkey strut his stuff to seduce his soon to be mate.

From frost filled mornings with deer jumping through freshly fallen snow, to lazy hot summer afternoons where the incessant chatter of bugs becomes almost deafening, the beauty and charm of Cades Cove constantly reminds me that the world is in fact filled with the beauty and wonder of nature - you just have to experience it.

Over the years I have taken dozens of my friends and family on excursions in this area of the national park. When I knew that I was going to write this page, rather than pull pictures from my personal archives of thousands of Cades Cove photographs and write from my memory about countless tours on the Cades Cove loop, I wanted to experience the driving tour again as it was my first time taking the tour.

Walking the entire 11 mile Cades Cove loop is not for everyone, especially when lugging heavy equipment as I did.

I have taken my experiences form this and past walks as well as my research about the Cades Cove area and posted them on the Cade Cove Driving tour by Your Smokies.

Enjoy!

Welcome to Your Smokies News and Blog

Welcome to the news and blog section of Your Smokies - the ultimate Tennessee and North Carolina Smoky Mountains Information web site.

This exciting web project has been in the works for quite some time and well worth the wait. For example the Your Smokies photo archive already has thousands of images of the great Smoky Mountain National Park and the surrounding areas.

After years of exploring the Smokies by car, horseback, bicycle, motorcycle and by foot have we have uncovered secrets well worth sharing.

We want to make the Your Smokies Smoky Mountain News and information site a place where you the reader can share your Smoky Mountain experiences, but will be requiring people who wish to post here to register for free to reduce Spam.

If you love the NC and TN Smokies as much as we do you will love Your Smokies!