The amazing fire pink (Silene virginica) wildflower can often be found in sunny, rocky outcrops alongside trails and roads.
Hike into spring in Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Spring in the Great Smoky Mountains of Tennessee and North Carolina is magical. A time of renewal and rebirth and it has never been more welcome than this year following on the heels of the recent devastating fires.
Spring is a season best experienced first hand. Poplar and Sourwood trees are showing their buds. Delicate pink and white Dogwoods can be found blooming throughout the landscape and soon will usher in a blazing display of color as wild azaleas strut their stuff, punctuating the mountains against the dense evergreen of Mountain Laurel, Rhododendron, and Hemlock. A warm, gentle breeze carries the hint of blossoms, moist earth, and that indefinable smell of spring. A favorite activity for us is to hike with spring over the coming months as warm temperatures climb the mountains heralding the seasons change at each elevation.
One of our favorite places to enjoy spring and view amazing wildflowers is the Porters Creek Trail in Greenbrier. This trail is easy to find and fairly easy to walk. In addition to an amazing wildflower display you can enjoy the impressive John Whaley cantilevered barn built in 1875 and the historic Smoky Mountain Hiking Club cabin.
Porters Creek Trail is a great hike for the entire family!
Beyond the the historic structures, a profusion of wildflowers carpet the forest floor. Keep an eye out for bloodroot, hepaticas, white fringed phacelia, trilliums of every color, bluets, and jack in the pulpit.
Approximately two miles above the trailhead is the spectacular Fern Falls which plunges sixty feet down to the trail and beyond to it’s confluence with Porters Creek. These falls are dramatic during times of high water, and the cool breeze flowing down from its rocky heights is always refreshing during warm summer months!
The trail continues another 1.7 miles past Fern Falls ending at Backcountry Campsite 31, a spacious site located conveniently next to Porters Creek and in the shadow of Mount LeConte and adjacent to the Appalachian Trail.
Great Smoky Mountains Scavenger Hunt will have you searching for the secrets of the Smokies! Photo credit – eventurous.co.uk
Great Smoky Mountains Scavenger Hunt at Tremont Institute on March 25, 2017 is your chance to test your Smokies knowledge! The hunt uses trails and roads to access areas all over the park where your team will answer about 75 questions. Some of the questions will require a little research but that is part of the fun. If you get stumped ask a ranger or a volunteer, they are an invaluable resource while scavenging.
Don’t forget your digital camera to document your success! Photo credit – Westminster Youth Ministry Scavenger Hunt
To document your findings bring along your digital camera and snap a few quick pictures. Be sure and take only pictures and leave only footsteps as it is illegal to remove items from the park. Each question is designated a point value based on the level of difficulty. At the end the team with the most points is the winner and may be awarded prizes but the fact is everyone is a winner!
“People go crazy for it, just wandering all over the Smokies looking for answers to questions. The have a good time with that,” says Caleb Carlton of the Great Smoky Mountains Institute at Tremont, which organizes the annual Great Smoky Mountains Scavenger Hunt.
“The Scavenger Hunt has become a perfect way to reconnect with family and friends,” according to Carlton. “We have a lot of different types of groups,” he says. “(We might have) a group of girlfriends that all get together and make a weekend of it,” says Carlton, adding that co-workers often form teams as do many families.
Tremont Institute places no limit on the size of teams but does ask that everyone is able to fit safely into one vehicle. The event will occur over a 25-hour period with teams being e-mailed their questions on Friday, March 24, 2017 and are required to submit their answers at Tremont by 4:30 p.m. on Saturday, March 25th. Dinner will be served as the correct answers are tallied. The event has only 200 slots available so you are asked to register early.
Cost per team:
$50 if registered by Thursday, March 23, 2017 at 4 p.m.
$60 Friday, March 24, 2017 and Saturday, March 25, 2017
All proceeds from the Great Smoky Mountains Scavenger Hunt benefit Tremont programs.
Be aware you will need to fill out a waiver. Waivers are not included in the online registration and will need to be sent separately.
Four fun St. Patricks Day things to do in the Smoky Mountains. You don’t have to kiss the Blarney Stone to have a great time this St. Patricks Day on Friday, March 17, 2017! Remember to wear green on St. Patricks Day or you may get pinched. But if you are in a pinch for ideas of what to do, look no further.
Smoky Mountain Brewery is always a great place to wet your whistle on this holiday. With locations in Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg it’s your lucky day. Try a flight of sample beers or dive into a pint and enjoy some of the most flavorful beers in Smokies!
Want to really get traditional on the day of the Irish? No problem. Fox and Parrot Tavern has been hosting a great St. Patricks Day party every year since 1998. All your favorite Irish beers will available at this family oriented pub.
Go green in Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The park is steeped in Scots-Irish heritage that you can discover! From music to culture these folks have left their mark on our land. Take a hike or visit the museum at Sugarlands Visitor Center and just enjoy the day.
Going green on the North Carolina side of the Smokies? This can be a delicious undertaking at Nantahala Brewing Company. Nestled in beautiful Bryson City, North Carolina this brewery never fails to satisfy. The selection of beers at this watering hole is the reason why folks come from far and wide. Enjoy!
Bonus fun – Green Man Brewery in Asheville, North Carolina has it going on. The legendary Green Man has existed for centuries but it’s no myth that he’s been brewing great beer in Asheville since 1997. As one of North Carolina’s original breweries, Green Man has been producing some of the beer scene’s most iconic ales.
View the August solar eclipse on the highest point of the Appalachian Trail. Photo credit Space.com.
Total lunar eclipse viewing at Clingmans Dome in Great Smoky Mountains National Park on Monday, August 21, 2017. Great Smoky Mountains is providing a unique ticketed event to view a total lunar eclipse at Clingmans Dome as well as informal viewing at Cades Cove and Oconlaluftee. The park has partnered with NASA, Southwestern Community College and the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians to provide a well rounded program of storytellers and speakers as visitors discover the scientific and cultural connections to this unique natural event.
Clingmans Dome is the highest point in the Smokies at 6,643 in elevation. This elevation will allow viewers to see the shadow of the moon approach across the mountains. The area will be closed to all but the lucky 1,300 ticket holders. The parking area will be converted into a special event site including a jumbotron for participating in a nation wide NASA TV broadcast, telescopes, educational exhibits, and a stage for the featured speakers.
March 1, 2017 tickets will be available for purchase on a first come first serve basis for $30.00 each at www.recreation.gov. No one will be admitted to Clingmans Dome without a valid ticket. Eclipse viewers will be shuttled to and from the site from Gatlinburg, TN and Cherokee, NC by a coach bus. The event will last approximately three hours in the afternoon when the sun will be briefly be obscured by the moon.
“We are thrilled that the park lies within the narrow viewing band of this spectacular, natural phenomena,” said Deputy Superintendent Clay Jordan. “I have great memories of the time I experienced a partial solar eclipse as a child and I am thrilled to view my first total eclipse from the top of the Smokies in the company of a passionate group of visitors.”
Newfound Gap Road, may close on the day of the event depending on traffic congestion. For more information about the solar eclipse events, please call the information line at 865-436-1585 or visit the park website at https://www.nps.gov/grsm/planyourvisit/2017-solar-eclipse.htm.
If you’re ready for some belly laughs, you’re ready for Cuzzin Eddie’s Toors of the Smokies! Cuzzin Eddie offers up novelty, tongue-in-cheek tours on the Gatlinburg-Pigeon Forge side of the Great Smoky Mountains that are sure to tickle your funny bone! Nurture your inner hillbilly and take in the sights and sounds of the Smokies on Cuzzin Eddie’s custom 14-passenger bus for a rollicking good time!
Cuzzin Eddie’s Toors “the tour company that doesn’t take themselves too seriously.”
Here are a few of Cuzzin Eddie’s Toors of the Smokies that are fun for grown-ups and kids.
Aunt Tweedy’s Hillbilly Roots Toor – This 90-minute tour cruises by the sewage treatment plant, the feed store and more novel sites in Sevier County TN. With music, arts and crafts, and a few surprises, Aunt Tweedy will help you get in touch with your inner hillbilly. Tour price $29 per person.
Mrs. Beanfahrt’s Field Trip – Kids will love their teacher, Mrs. Ima Beanfahrt, who leads an entertaining, two-hour outing to the local deer farm and petting zoo. This special tour includes sing-alongs, a kid-sized lunch, and a cup of animal food. Tour price is $26 adults, $19 children ages 3-12, $3 children under 3.
White Lightnin’ Express – Visit several local, craft distilleries on this 3-4 hour tour for adults only and learn all about the rich and colorful history of moonshine in the mountains and how it’s made today. Tour price $39 per person.
Eddie’s Cheap Thrills Ride – No frills, no prizes, no snacks. Just ride up and down the Parkway singing, yelling, and waving at people in Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg for about an hour. Your “celebrity” host will take you by some of the newest attractions and talk about the local culture and history. Then you get a package of Ramen noodles as a souvenir. Tour price is $19 per person.
Who are the entertainers behind Cuzzin Eddie’s Toors?
Jack Bullard and C.J. Morgan are professional celebrity impersonators who entertain audiences around the world but make their home in the beautiful Smoky Mountains. Jack Bullard is a leading Jack Nicholson impersonator. Together, the couple perform “Jack Loves Dolly” a fast-paced, motivational presentation for businesses and organizations.
C.J. Morgan’s family roots run deep in East Tennessee and her blood runs orange for the University of Tennessee from where she received her master’s degree. A lifelong songwriter and performer, Morgan is an award-winning Dolly Parton tribute artist. This year, Morgan is nominated for the “Country Heavy Hitter” Award at the annual Reel Awards Celebrity Tribute Artist Convention held in Las Vegas this month.
Morgan, who naturally resembles Parton, chose to perform “Sha-Kon-O-Hey” for this video without the costume, long fingernails, and other enhancements that add to the image because she wanted it to come from the heart. The nomination for Morgan comes on the heels of last year’s wildfire storm.
