| Free Shipping for Online Orders! |
Today we will begin offering FREE SHIPPING for online orders from the official park store.
Every purchase from us benefits the park.
Free shipping will last from November 24-December 22 via UPS or USPS regular.
For second day air shipping (not free), you must call Mail Order at (888) 898-9102 ext 226.
|
| Elk Quiz -- Win Prizes! |
Elk photo by Dee Murphy
Test your knowledge of elk in the Smokies by taking our Elk Quiz.
The first person to get all the answers correct will win an Elk Cap and our book Mammals of the Smokies. Click here to subscribe to this e-newsletter.
Join 119,000 friends and fans on Facebook
Follow us on Twitter
|
Holiday Recipe - Sweet Potato Pie
| 
Holidays in the Great Smoky Mountains were celebrated with weeklong festivities. Friends, family and neighbors gathered to share good cheer with storytelling, music, dancing and, of course, food!
Bring a little bit of the Smokies to your holiday table this year with this traditional recipe for Sweet Potato Pie. For more traditional Smokies recipes, pick up a copy of Food and Recipes of the Smokies online or at any GSMA bookstore location.
Sweet Potato Pie
Bruna Winchester
Bryson City, NC
4 c. mashed cooked sweet potato (can also use pumpkin)
4 Tbsp butter or margarine, softened
4 eggs
2 c. sugar
2 Tbsp flour
1 tsp. salt
1 c. buttermilk
½ tsp baking soda
2 tsp vanilla
2 unbaked 9-inch pie shells
Combine sweet potato, butter, and eggs and mix well. Combine sugar, flour and salt and stir into potato mixture. Combine buttermilk and baking soda, add to potato mixture and mix well. Stir in vanilla. Pour filling into pastry shells. Bake at 350 degrees one hour and 10 minutes, or until set.
For other local recipes, like for Sweet Potato Pie, visit our Food of the Smokies Blog.
To learn how to make a pie over a campfire, consult Horace Kephart's classic Camping and Woodcraft. Horace warns: "Don't give the thing a name until it is baked, then, if you have made the crust too thick for a pie, call it a cobbler, or a shortcake, and the boys, instead of laughing at you will ask for more."
|
| Our New Business Members | 
Cliff Dwellers Gallery
668 Glades Road
Gatlinburg TN 37738
tel: 865.436.6921 Louise Bales
email: info@cliffdwellersgallery.com
www.cliffdwellersgallery.com
Since 1933. Historic gallery featuring fine crafts and art. Contemporary and traditional work of handwoven items, pottery, glass, baskets, gourds, turned wood, marbling, wearabale art, paintings and more.
Classes, special events and demonstrations.
Open 7 days a week. 865/436-6921
A most interesting place!
Below you will find several new GSMA Business Members who support our park. Please visit them when you're in the area. They, as well as our individual members, support the Great Smoky Mountains National Park by being members of GSMA.
You can see all of GSMA's Business Members by clicking on Our Business Members. To see the discounts offered to GSMA members, go to our website and click on Discounts & Freebies. Then pick your favorite category and shop.
If you own a business and would like to be included in this newsletter and our website, contact Westy Fletcher at 423.487.3131 or Westy@GSMAssoc.org
Cabins For You
436 East Parkway
Gatlinburg TN 37738
tel: 800.684.7865 Mark Dewberry
email: info@cabinsforyou.com
www.cabinsforyou.com
Smoky Mountain Lake Rentals
1804 Gator Point Road
Sevierville TN 37876
tel: 800.839.5253 Lynda Maides
email: info@smokymountainlake.com
www.smokymountainlake.com
GSMA members in good standing will receive a 10% discount
Black River Architects
1640 Massachusetts Avenue
Cambridge MA 02138-2754
tel: 617.661.3007 Arch Horst
email: ahorst@blackriverarchitects.com
www.blackriverarchitects.com
|
Cades Cove Loop Road Closed Dec. 1
| Cades Cove Loop Road will be closed Wednesday, December 1st and part of Thursday, December 2, for spraying hemlock trees to treat them for hemlock wooly adelgid.
|
Night at Clingmans Dome
| 
Photo of stars by Isaac Cogdill
|
| Park Visitation WAY Up | October 2010 visitation to Great Smoky Mountains National Park jumped by 19% over October 2009.
- Gatlinburg was up 8.2%
- Townsend jumped 18.4%
- Cherokee increased by 13.4%
- The 13 outlying areas were up by 45.9%
|
Seasonal Road Closures
| By the end of November, several park roads are closed until spring: Balsam Mountain, Clingmans Dome, Heintooga Ridge, Parson Branch, Rich Mountain, Roaring Fork, Roundbottom/Straight Fork. At the end of December, Forge Creek and Little Greenbrier will also be closed.
|
|
|
Sunrise at Clingmans Dome by Scott Hotaling
Old-Time Holiday Fun
Sugarlands and Oconaluftee
Celebration of Christmas Past at Sugarlands Visitor Center, December 11, 10-4. Demonstrations of old-time holiday activities.
Holiday Homecoming at Oconaluftee Visitor Center, December 18, 10-2. Hot cider and cookies and demonstrations of old-time holiday activities.
|
1957 Photo by Roy A. Davenport -- My how we hope things have changed!
|
 Wild Turkey Video
Enjoy this new video by Valerie Polk about wild turkeys in the park.
|
Historic Sorghum Making Demonstration
Free Family Fun in Cades Cove
Visit Cades Cove and enjoy the demonstration of Sorghum making. Free fun for the whole family on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, November 26-28.
|
In November, park crews burned fields in Cades Cove to preserve the historic character and enhance wildlife viewing. GSMA's Joe Strickland captured this image.
|
Cataloochee Campground Reservations
Beginning in March 2011, advance reservations will be available to camp in Cataloochee. There will no longer be any first-come, first-served campsites available in the campground. The reservation system will begin accepting reservations on February 1, 2011. For additional information, click here.
|
Laurel Falls by Chuck Jamison
Favorite Winter Waterfall Hikes
Rainbow Falls - 5.4 mile roundtrip - From the parkway in Gatlinburg, turn at traffic light #8 and follow Historic Nature Trail into Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Continue past the Noah "Bud" Ogle homesite to the marked Rainbow Falls parking area. Moderate to difficult.
Abrams Falls - 5 miles roundtrip - The turnoff for the trailhead is marked and is located past stop #10 on the Cades Cove Loop Road. Moderate difficulty.
Waterfall Extravaganza: Three Waterfalls Loop. Starts from the Deep Creek trailhead at the end of Deep Creek Road (across the stream for Deep Creek Campground). 2.4 miles. Start on the trail to Juney Whank Falls, then continue to Indian Creek and Tom Branch falls. Moderate. Video of 3 Waterfall Loop Hike - Juney Whank, Indian Creek, and Tom Branch.
|
Sunset at Clingmans Dome by Ryan Montgomery
Well, it's that time of year again... a time when mailboxes are jammed full of holiday catalogs and letters urging you to buy their products or support their cause. Nothing wrong with it. After all, we are a free enterprise system.
But, let's face it... that fruit basket or box of chocolates isn't going to last forever. And there certainly are many worthwhile non-profits out there soliciting your support... and with just cause.
But let's give some consideration to another alternative... one in which Great Smoky Mountains National Park is the ultimate beneficiary, and at the same time a special person reaps many benefits for the coming year. These include a 15% discount on purchases made at our sales locations, subscriptions to the Smokies Guide park newspaper, Bearpaw newsletter, The Cub Report e-newsletter, and our acclaimed Smokies Life magazine.
A membership in Great Smoky Mountains Association will help us fulfill our mission in supporting the park. Since 1953 we have been dedicated to assisting the park with its educational, historical and scientific endeavors. Look at it as an investment in the future. You can swell with pride knowing a membership will help educate future generations through such programs as Parks as Classrooms. Historic sites will be preserved so future visitors can take a step back in time, and scientific research will continue in projects such as the All Taxa Biodiversity Inventory.
This pristine crown jewel in our national park system needs everyone's support. When you're weary of all the hustle and bustle, and you just want to grab your camera or fishing pole and get away from it all, Great Smoky Mountains National Park provides serenity and peace of mind. Who can put a price on that?
Please consider a gift membership in GSMA for that special person, or maybe an extra donation during this special time of year. Just call 865-436-7318 (or toll free: 888-898-9102), Ext. 222 or 254, and you'll be saying "Happy Holiday" in a very special way!
|
 Cherokee-Sugarlands-Gatlinburg-Pigeon Forge Shuttle
Cherokee Transit Protects Park Air QualityClick here to see the details.
|
 Photo by Donna EatonGive a Hoot
Owl Prowl in January
Due to all the goings on during the holiday season, like parties, frenzied shopping, family get-togethers, running here and there, we will not schedule a hike or indoor program for December.
Be sure to check next month's online newsletter for more information on an Owl Prowl to kick off the new year in January. Have a great holiday!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Grist Mill Quiz Winner!!
| Answers to last month's Grist Mill quiz:
- All of the following were grown in the Smokies, but what was the main crop? Corn
- Mingus Mill, near Oconaluftee, was the largest mill in the Smokies and served this number of families. 200
- A toll box was used to pay for grinding grain. Usually the fee was: 1/8 of grain brought in
- "Mill days" were usually on: Saturday
- Stones for grinding corn were made of: Granite
- Stones for grinding wheat were made of quartz buhrstones imported from: France
- In the 1850-1870s Cades Cove's population was 700 residents. How many mills served this population? 4 to 5
- Small family-owned mills were called: Tub mills
- In the early 1920s Cades Cove was home to a steam-powered mill called: Ledbetter Mill
- Unlike the Cable Mill with the wooden waterwheel we normally think of in connection with grist mills, Mingus Mill is powered by a: Metal turbine
- How many grist mills remain in GSMNP today? 4
- The function of a millrace is to direct water to the waterwheel or turbine. It was usually lined with rot-resistant: Hemlock
And the winner is: Marian Morris, Louisiana
|
Any Questions?
| For questions about online purchases, click here and Doug will help you.
For questions about membership, click here and Judy or Marti will help you.
For questions about business membership, click here and Westy will help you. |
|
|
