Cherokee / Great Smokies KOA

February 6, 2017
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Cherokee / Great Smokies KOA nestled in the foothills of Great Smoky Mountains National Park in Cherokee, North Carolina is a great destination for a weekend or a week! Open year round this campground has it all. Only one mile from the Blue Ridge Parkway this KOA has 360-degree views of the Smoky Mountains and is flanked on one side by the beautiful and wild Raven Fork River.

Campground amenities include 50 max amp, 136′ max length, free wifi, cable, pool open year round, hot tub, snack bar, propane, fishing, mini golf, firewood, pavilion, bike rentals, and tour shuttle.

Cherokee KOA makes a great and affordable basecamp to explore the surrounding mountains. The property offers multiple stocked trout ponds as well as miles of river fishing for native, brown and rainbow trout. Downtown Cherokee is a short drive with plenty of shopping and attractions, Harrah’s Cherokee Casino is always a popular destination and a short one hour drive north will bring you to the Tennessee side of the Smokies where you can explore Gatlinburg, Pigeon Forge and Sevierville. An hour drive to the east will bring to beautiful Asheville, North Carolina home of the famous Biltmore Estate and Gardens and some of the best food, micro-breweries, and wineries in the South!

Onsite there are plenty of special events and theme weekends to enjoy as well as activities specific to each season. The free daily shuttle allows you not to worry about driving and just sit back and enjoy the view. Also there is so much fun to be had horseback riding, zip lining through the canopy of the trees, river tubing, exploring the Museum of the Cherokee Indian and the Oconaluftee Indian Village as well as a reenactment of the Trail of Tears. For those who would like to learn more about the history of the Cherokee people catch a performance of Unto These Hills.

Cruise Through Motorcycle History at the Wheels Through Time Museum in Maggie Valley!

If you’re a motorcycle enthusiast, you’ll be amazed by Wheels Through Time Museum in Maggie Valley. If you’re also a history buff, you’ll want to spend a couple of hours in this amazing place, at the very least. We’re avid bikers, so we’d heard from friends that this place was a “must-see.”

Great Smoky Mountains Foothills Parkway

There are over 350 rare motorcycles and automobiles on display at Wheels Through Time (with the far larger number being motorcycles). Many are in the original used condition, untouched by restoration, meaning that they retain a very high dollar value.

You can almost smell the exhaust and feel the rush of the wind as the early bikers hit the streets on these machines, some quite primitive. One can trace the cultural evolution of the hobby of motorcycle collecting and riding as it snaked through the decades from the daredevils of the early years, steadily collecting steam. Today, a leather-wearing sub-culture of doctors and lawyers who gear up on weekends and retired cruiser-riding gentlefolks have whole-heartedly joined the ranks of hard-core bikers streaming through this unique museum. The passion has collected some of us all through the years.

Featured on the History Channel’s “American Restoration,” Wheels Through Time Museum and its founder, motorcycle collector and expert Dale Walksler, have enjoyed a recent uptick in notoriety. The popular TV show is dedicated to restoration projects of every kind.

Wheels Through Time is located in Maggie Valley, North Carolina, just five miles from the Blue Ridge Parkway near the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. We stopped in on a lovely autumn afternoon and were immediately taken by the large inventory. Forty-thousand square feet of rare and unique motorcycles and automobiles, and lots of associated memorabilia in attractive, historically-themed displays kept us gawking for over an hour. We were literally taken back in time! Mr. Walksler himself was on hand, chatting with visitors.

Dale Walksler started this epic collection of American motorcycles in 1969. Along the way he has amassed unique bikes from twenty-five makers in a world-renowned display. There are military exhibits featuring bikes used during both World Wars. The museum’s chopper collection brings back to life the drive to make traditional bikes lighter and faster while customizing them for an individualized “cool” factor a whole generation of bikers craved. There are exceptionally rare motorcycles in Mr. Walksler’s collection, like the bike believed to have been built and owned by Oscar Hedstrom, the inventor of the Indian motorcycle and the 1912 Thor motorcycle that is said to have been owned by William Ottaway, chief engineer and head of racing for Thor.

If you are into racing history, you’ll find the “hillclimb” competition-era machines pretty fascinating! This new genre of the sport pushed manufacturers to new heights of innovation as the era of board track racing waned. You’ll also enjoy checking out the bikes from the “Class-C” racing era which spanned 1934-1969, and many other interesting and very valuable machines throughout the museum.

Cruise through the gift shop on your way out and grab a hat (like I did) or a t-shirt to remember your visit! I give this location five stars out of five for interest and quality of displays. It truly is a highlight of the Maggie Valley experience!

For more information, visit Wheels Through Time Museum or call 828-926-6266. The museum is open seasonally from March 1st through November 28th each year on Thursdays through Mondays (closed Tuesdays and Wednesdays) Admission is $15 for adults, $12 for senior adults, and $7 for children.

Laurie Crater Battles – journalist, writer, hiker, biker, mom, wife, animal and coffee lover who makes her home in west Knoxville.

Fall Colors in the Great Smoky Mountains! 2016 Autumn Color Forecast and Guide

It’s beginning to look a lot like Autumn! We’re ready for the big show of fall colors in the Great Smoky Mountains and we’ve got your 2016 Autumn Color Forecast and Guide so you can get the most out of Leaf-Peeping Season in the Smokies!

Fall Color in Great Smoky Mountains | 2016 Autumn Color Forecast and Guide

The Oconaluftee River in Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

Most folks want to know when is the “peak” of the fall color in the Smokies? Well, the answer is that it depends on just where you are at a particular time. Luckily, there’s not singular “peak ” in the Great Smoky Mountains. You can experience “peak color” throughout the month of October and on into November because of the range of elevations in the Park. From 875 ft. (at the mouth of Abrams Creek) to 6,643 ft. (at Clingmans Dome) you have several opportunities to view the fall colors at their best.

On this first full day of Autumn 2016, it’s still mostly green in the Highlands with a few pops of color here and there. And great news! Park Rangers report that this could turn out to be a banner year for a big show of color with indications that areas above 5,000 ft. will be looking pretty good in a few weeks.

“Some of our most vibrant seasons have happened after there has been a drought and we get several days of good fall rains and we’ve had some explosions of color after that,” says Dana Soehn a National Park spokeswoman reporting yesterday to WVLT-TV’s Kyle Grainger, “For the first day of fall, we are about where we should be, especially at the lower elevations, but that change is around the corner.”

Former Park Ranger and author Rose Houk writes in her book Exploring the Smokies, “It isn’t frost so much as sunny, clear, warm days combined with a drop in temperature at night, that will produce the finest colors. And in a year when that combination occurs, there is no better place in the world to be than in Great Smoky Mountains National Park.” We couldn’t agree more! And current weather predictions expect a cool down and possible rain within the next week or so!

With 130 different species of trees living in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, you can plainly see why Autumn in the Smokies is so spectacular! As a general rule, the peak of colors can be at some certain elevation in the Smokies between October 15-30. Here’s your guide to a few of the highlights:

SPRUCE-FIR FOREST (above 4,000 ft.) and NORTHERN HARDWOOD FOREST (4,500 to 6,000 ft.)
@ Newfound Gap, Clingmans Dome and Blue Ridge Parkway

American Mountain-Ash – This northern species is found only above 5,000 ft. and you can’t miss the bright orange-red berries of this small tree. It can be found in the parking lot of Newfound Gap and in the Clingmans Dome area. It’s said that when the striking fruits appear that the fall colors will soon follow in the highlands.
Witch-Hobble or Hobblebush – One of the first shrubs to change colors to both yellow and red, even on the same bush. Has large, roundish, heart-shaped leaves and flat clusters of red berries.
Pin Cherry – This northern species turns a pinkish red and has bright red berries. Also called the Fire Cherry because it needs an area disturbed by fire, windstorm or some other event to become established.
American Beech – A common tree up to elevations of 5,800 ft. with yellow to orange brown leaves. It’s easy to recognize because of its smooth gray-colored bark. Many small beech’s dry, beige leaves persist throughout the winter.
Yellow Birch – One of the most dominant trees you’ll see from 3,500 to 5,000 ft., with yellow leaves of course! The bark of this tree is a shiny, yellow-silvery color and peels off in shaggy, papery curls.
Mountain Maple – This northern species fall color is from orange to red and is common from 3,000 ft. to the highest elevations in the Park. North of the Smokies, the Mountain Maple doesn’t grow as tall and is considered a shrub.

COVE HARDWOOD FOREST (below 4,500 feet) @ Cataloochee Valley, Foothills Parkway East, Greenbrier, and Oconaluftee.

Sugar Maple – Not only does this wonderful tree yield the sap to make everyone’s favorite maple syrup, its leaves in Autumn turn to vibrant oranges and yellows that wow the eyes. The Sugarlands Valley, between the Sugarlands Visitor Center and and Chimneys Picnic Area was named for the abundance of Sugar Maple trees in the area.
Red Maple – The Red Maple is probably the most common trees in the Park since it grows at the lowest elevations all the way up to 6,000 ft. Its fall color ranges from yellow to red. Red Maples have red twigs, buds and fruits. You’ll notice this tree’s bright red flowers that bloom from February to April each year.
Sweet Gum – This tree’s star-shaped leaves and round, spiny fruit make it easily recognizable. It prefers moist areas along streams below 2,000 ft. The Sweet Gum’s fall color can range from yellow to red to purple all on the same tree.
Yellow Poplar or Tuliptree – One of the most common trees in the Park below 4,000 ft. These trees grow big and straight up so they’re easy to spot. Spectacular stands of giants can be found along Little River Road and Laurel Creek Road. When the sun hits the tree’s leaves just right, they seem to glow a brilliant, golden yellow.
Black Cherry – The dark fruit of this tree is a favorite of bears. It’s quite common below 5,000 ft. and its bark resembles burnt potato chips. It fall foliage is yellow to red.

Synchronous Fireflies Great Smoky Mountains June 2018

Synchronous Fireflies Great Smoky Mountains June 2018. It’s never to early to start making plans to see the Synchronous Fireflies (and the Blue Ghost Fireflies) that will light up the night sky in late May and early June 2018 in the Great Smoky Mountains. Firefly viewing in the Smokies has become such a popular event that there are now several venues available to enjoy the spectacular shows

Synchronous Fireflies in Great Smoky Mountains June 2017

Blue Ghost Fireflies in North Carolina. (Photo Credit: Spencer Black | Blackvisual.com)

The Synchronous Firefly (Photinus carolinus) and the Blue Ghost Firefly (Phausis reticulata) are two species that are found only in the Southern Appalachian Mountains which include the Great Smokies. And during the short mating season in late May and early June, both firefly species put on quite a show to behold! The male Synchronous Fireflies flash their little green-yellow bioluminescent lanterns in unison for about 6-8 blinks and then they go dark for a few seconds creating a sublime wave of light throughout the forest. The male Blue Ghost Fireflies don’t flash their blue-white lanterns, instead they glow continuously just a few inches above the ground. The ethereal experience of either nighttime show should be on everyone’s bucket list! National Park scientists mostly use air and soil temperatures to predict the timing of each year’s mating season.

Synchronous Fireflies with Great Smoky Mountains National Park, TN
One of the most popular places to view the Synchronous Fireflies is in Elkmont in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. This event has become so popular that a free lottery system was instituted this year for the $1.50 parking passes for the eight-day shuttle period to Elkmont. During this time of peak viewing, Elkmont is closed at nighttime with the exception of shuttle users and campers in Elkmont Campground. Dates for the 2018 Lottery and Elkmont Shuttle will be announced sometime in April 2018. HeySmokies will keep you updated, so be sure to check back with us. We’ll provide you all the details of what you need to know to register for the lottery. For more information in the meantime, visit Recreation.gov.

Synchronous Fireflies with Discover Life in America in Gatlinburg, TN
For a few nights during peak firefly viewing time, Discover Life in America hosts a fundraising event featuring nightly presentations and field walks at the Norton Creek Sanctuary near the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Tickets for the event are $100 each and the event is geared toward persons ages 10 and older. For reservations for this exclusive event, call Discover Life in America at 865-430-4757 or email todd@dlia.org.

Feeling Great in Asheville!

January 21, 2016
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Feeling Great in Asheville, North Carolina near the southeastern border of Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Oconaluftee, Cataloochee, Big Creek and Balsam Mountain areas are all about an hour’s drive from downtown Asheville. If you’re staying on the Tennessee side of the Smokies, Asheville makes a great day-trip!

SkyBar in Downtown Asheville North Carolina

SkyBar in downtown Asheville offers beautiful rooftop views of the city and surrounding mountains from the historic Flatiron Building.

Reaching Asheville is convenient and easy. Interstate 40 enters the city from the east and west and Interstate 26 accesses the city from the south and north. The Asheville Regional Airport is nine miles south of downtown on Interstate 26.

Asheville is a vibrant, thriving city with a definately cool vibe. The Huffington Post ranked Asheville as one of the 9 Most Romantic Cities in South and the Hippie Capital of the South. Boasting over fifteen micro-breweries, it’s easy to see why the Conde Nast Traveler named Asheville one of Amercia’s Best Beer Cities.

Biltmore Estate Asheville North Carolina No trip to Asheville would be complete without a visit to the famous Biltmore Estate. Completed in 1896, Biltmore is the largest privately owned home in the United States. The estate encompasses over 8,000 acres and includes a winery, hotel, historic conservatory and expansive gardens designed by Frederick Law Olmsted. There are hiking trails, kayaking opportunities, biking, picnicking, Segway adventures, and tours of the mansion. Christmas at Biltmore is one of the most popular times to visit when the home is decorated for the holidays. Be sure to take the candlelight tour offered evenings during this special time.

Other fun options around the city include a visit to the famous Grove Park Inn, a tour of the beautiful North Carolina Arboretrum, and perusing the WNC Farmers Market. Dining options are endless from fine dining to mom and pops offering up everything from gourmet pizzas to good ol’ country cooking. You may even want to join in on a drum circle! For more information on restaurants in Asheville, visit Romantic Asheville.

Asheville is surrounded by the Southern Appalachian mountains and is bordered by the Pisgah National Forest. The Blue Ridge Parkway passes through the city limits a few miles south of downtown. A short ride north on the parkway takes hearty adventurers to the highest peak east of the Mississippi river, Mount Mitchell. At 6,684′ the views from Mt. Mitchell are amazing. Traveling south on the Blue Ridge Parkway is a lovely drive any time year and will deliver you to Great Smoky Mountains National Park.