Volunteer Robin Goddard helps bring park’s rich history to life

I never imagined a pumpkin might mean the difference between life and death. The only time I’ve ever paid the slightest attention to the large, lopsided orange fruit is during jack-o’-lantern and pumpkin pie season. Then I met Robin Goddard during my stint as the 2022 Steve Kemp Writer-in-Residence and was, as I have so […]

Hike offers reminder to explore at own pace

As much as I love seeing rainbows, I hadn’t intended to hike to Rainbow Falls, where, according to Waterfalls of the Smokies, the afternoon sun can create a wondrous rainbow effect. For some reason, I’d gotten it into my head that the trail would be more strenuous than this 2022 Steve Kemp Writer in Residence […]

Old wallet helps archivist breathe new life into Cades Cove history

When a wallet talks, Mike Aday listens. At least metaphorically speaking.

In fact, coaxing such a curious conversation is part of Aday’s job as the archivist for Great Smoky Mountains National Park…

Finding and embracing the magicalness within

Just say, “Yes.” As the 2022 Steve Kemp Writer in Residence, that’s been my philosophy whenever opportunities have been presented for a new experience in Great Smoky Mountains National Park…

Otters, goldenrod, monarchs, and a plein air painter heighten Cades Cove experience

As much as I love waterfalls, I’m not so keen on traffic. As the 2022 Steve Kemp writer in residence, one of my personal goals has been to explore as much of the park as possible…

When the student becomes the teacher

The more you know, the more you care, the better you can do. It’s a naïve thought, but it’s what I choose to believe, especially in my capacity as Great Smoky Mountains Association’s 2022 Steve Kemp Writer in Residence. I shared this thought with an Illinois family I met on a late summer hike to […]

Serendipity leads to learning about iNaturalist and the Smokies Most Wanted

Close friends tell me my middle name should be “Serendipity” given my often-impeccable timing for wondrous happenstance. While I tend to chuckle when they say it, I can’t disagree. As if on cue, of course, such happenstance struck yet again just before a recent late summer foray into the Smokies as part of my role […]

The only thing you’ll want to buy at the Purchase is more time

Sometimes I’m amazed by how little I know about so much. Luckily for me, however, I’m endlessly curious and open to the possibilities. In my brief time as GSMA’s Steve Kemp Writer-in-Residence, the doors have swung wide open to expand my knowledge and help me understand the national park in previously unexpected ways. Nothing could […]

Of big views and big bears

I’m a sucker for ‘big’ views. So when Steve Kemp, GSMA’s former creative services director and the namesake for my writing residency, suggested a hike to Andrews Bald, I was psyched—especially because it was yet another trail that would be new to me…

Smoky Mountain University makes me want to go back to college

Story and photos by Sue Wasserman Ashley Morris had a dream. The Great Smokies-loving biology professor from Greenville, South Carolina-based Furman University was intent on immersing her students in diverse park experiences. She and I met serendipitously, shortly after I began my stint as Great Smoky Mountains Association’s Kemp Writer-in-Residence and just before she was […]