Here's a stop that often gets ignored among the attractions in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. From Gatlinburg, head up toward Newfound Gap, and then on down towards Cherokee. You'll see the sign for Mingus Mill on the right, about a half-mile before you get...
Philosophical Friday here again. Always something to think about. For example, once upon a time the problem was finding a needle in a haystack. Now you can't find the haystack. When was the last time you saw one? Do you know what a haystack is? These haystack...
Dan Lawson's place along the Cades Cove loop road in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park dates from 1856. The house is one of the "transitional" structures, featuring hewn logs as well as sawn lumber. The brick chimney, from bricks made on the site, is also...
I can't seem to get enough of Cades Cove this summer. Maybe it's due to the renovated loop road. The photograph above was taken along Hyatt Lane, which bisects the loop road in the Cades Cove section of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. This picture was taken...
The Cades Cove Loop Road was recently repaved. It's a smooth ride now, a beautiful country road! Worth the weeks of waiting while to loop was closed. The loop is closed on Wednesday and Saturday mornings until 10:00 from early May until late September to allow...
The Great Smoky Mountains National Park began a program of releasing elk into the Park in 2001. Elk were once native to the eastern forests, but they disappeared in the early 1800s, victim of over-hunting and loss of habitat. The best place to view the elk herd is in...
I roamed around Cades Cove on a glorious spring morning last week. Here is a collection of panoramas that were created by stitching several images together. No words can add to the beauty that is Cades Cove in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Click on an image...
Here's a tip for those hot summer days touring around the Great Smoky Mountains National Park: the best lemonade is over in Mt. Sterling near the entrance to the Big Creek section of the Park. It's a bit of an effort to get to this lemonade stand, but it could be...
The weather around the Great Smoky Mountains National Park is characterized by humid days and cool nights -- perfect conditions for early morning fog. Morning mist is ephemeral, chased by the sun like dew on blades of grass, like smoke rising from burning incense....
I was headed down the Newfound Gap Road towards Gatlinburg yesterday after scoping out the wildflowers on the Cove Hardwoods Trail. Suddenly there's a commotion with cars stopped, people gawking. Usually this means one thing: bears. So I dutifully pulled over, and...
I came across these two male wild turkeys yesterday morning, just wandering along beside the road without a care in the world. Luckily my camera was in the seat beside me, so I rolled down the window and got their picture. Of all the wildlife in the Great Smoky...
The picture above is from Mortons Overlook near the top of Newfound Gap Road in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Looking down the valley towards Gatlinburg, you can see the Chimney Tops towards the upper left of the image. You can also see many dead fir...