Unsung heroes of the Smokies: Camp hosts Nancy and Bob Furlow
When they drove into Smokemont Campground earlier this year, Nancy and Bob Furlow had never been to Great Smoky Mountains National Park. As full-time RVers, the couple, married for over three decades, thought Smokemont would be just another stop on their long-running tour across the country. “We noticed that the whole time we were here, […]
Fall glamping eco-adventure supports biodiversity nonprofit
As the lush green hues of summer fade, yielding to the crisp crimson colors of autumn, the Great Smoky Mountains undergo a breathtaking transformation. Under the canopy, golden sunlight filters through a kaleidoscope of leaves, casting a warm, ethereal glow on the landscape. Small animals ‘shuffle-crunch-snap’ through the leaf litter, gathering fallen nuts and overripe […]
Coming soon: The broad-winged hawk migration
As we prepare for the arrival of fall, we can also be on the lookout for a breathtaking wildlife spectacle that is a part of life here in the Southern Appalachian Mountains: the migration of the broad-winged hawk. Small forest-dwelling birds of prey, broad-winged hawks migrate annually to South and Central America from their breeding […]
Blue Ridge artist Tray Wellington builds bridges with bluegrass
Late last month, I was lucky enough to catch a special musical performance in Great Smoky Mountains National Park. It was a fine morning in high summer, and on the back porch of the Oconaluftee Visitor Center near Cherokee, North Carolina, a four-piece string band launched into the first swirling notes of an original composition. […]
“The Green Tunnel” through the Smokies
The Appalachian Trail (AT) is an iconic American long-distance path. In Great Smoky Mountains National Park, it runs over 70 miles along the park’s high ridges and gaps, including Clingmans Dome, the highest point on the AT. For many hikers, it’s the premier trail in the park. And while the trail runs predominantly along the […]
Dykeman namesake among three new Smokies spiders
Although the word “spider” may elicit a “yuck” or an “ew” from many readers, the true nature of these oft-feared critters is not as icky as one might suppose. Arachnids provide essential services for humans and play key roles in balancing our ecosystems by keeping herbivorous insects in check. At the dawn of 2023, it […]
Yellow Jeep represents friendship for three Smokies lovers
The experience of being in nature on our public lands consistently inspires creativity, no matter the time of life. Over the past few years, I’ve become friends with GSMA member Carol Treiber, who is 88, and receiving the correspondence she sends from assisted living in Bryson City has been a constant source of joy. Carol […]
Horace Kephart, “a student, first, last, and always”
In early 2009, during the 75th anniversary of the establishment of Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Libby Kephart Hargrave, the great-granddaughter of noted Smoky Mountain writer Horace Kephart, offered a complete manuscript of an unpublished novel, written in the 1920s by her ancestor, to the director of Great Smoky Mountains Association for possible publication. The novel, […]
Henry Lix, founder of the park’s natural history association
Seventy years ago, a friendly and generous man with boundless curiosity founded the park partner organization that today is known as Great Smoky Mountains Association. As GSMA celebrates seven decades of educational service and now nearly $50 million in support to Great Smoky Mountains National Park, we reflect on this important pioneer and how he […]
Wondering where the weasels are
Most visitors to Great Smoky Mountains National Park will never encounter a weasel. Yet these small members of a diverse family of stealthy carnivores are here in Southern Appalachia—and are likely watching us even when we cannot see them. The name “weasel” conjures up images of slippery, deceitful characters who often play the distastefully memorable […]
