If a place is in your blood, you leave it at your peril.
You will never
be happy anywhere else.
~ Caroline Llewellyn
They just keep drawing us back! Focus and perspective are renewed here among the Smokies' trees, breezes, mountains, wildlife, colors, smells, sounds and QUIET. Then, back to a city (arrrrgh)..... until next time.
The Great Smoky Mountain Nat'l Park, a 520,000 acre U.S. forest preserve since 1934 on the TN/NC border. The Park attracts the largest number of visitors annually of any U.S. national park. The Cherokee name for the area, Sha-co-na-qe, means "place of blue smoke."
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Designated by the United Nations in 1976 as an International Biosphere Reserve, the Smokies is home to more than --200-- species of birds, --50-- species of fish, and --60-- species of mammals.
Beginning Dec 2000 - Two Elk Herds Released into the Royal Blue Wildlife Management Area Campbell County, Tennessee
The tragic loss of Hemlock
What's your preference?... hiking, picnicking, arts & crafts,
biking, car tours, fishing, camping, horseback riding, whitewater, shopping? From the entrance to the Blue Ridge Parkway at Oconaluftee on the N.C side of the Smokies, to the TN side towards Gatlinburg, Townsend, Pigeon Forge and Sevierville, nature presents you with a diversity of sights, sounds, smells and nostalgia to experience and reminisce. No matter the season, this forest serves up beauty and wonder year 'round, flora and fauna alike. Your first visit there will call for a return; then another and another... back to the majestic mountains of deer, bear, warblers, columbine, oaks, laurel, evergreens, fall color, winter snow, spring blossoms and summer fun. When you first arrive, stop at one of the visitor centers and stock up on pamphlets, brochures and other publications. Find what ALL the park has to offer. Maybe this United States National Treasure will become your QUIET PLACE as well :)
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