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Take our Raptor Quiz
 Take our Raptor Quiz: Though "raptor" is a generic term for birds of prey, all have the following in common: they are carnivorous, have strong beaks, large talons, good eyesight and hearing, and exceptional flight capabilities. Subtle distinctions between types of birds of prey make them unique. The first person to answer all 10 of our quiz questions correctly will win a Birds of the Smokies book and a cardinal pen. |
Professor Pierce answers your 'shine questions
 | 'Corn from a Jar: Moonshining in the Great Smoky Mountains,' a book by Dan Pierce,
a video by Valerie Polk |
Got a burning question for Dr. Pierce about his latest book, "Corn from a Jar?" Send it to us today, and your question could be printed in the next GSMA newsletter, The Bear Paw, due out this fall.
 Copies of "Corn from a Jar" are available in both soft and hard covers, as well as in digital format from iTunes.
Then, bring your copy to the annual Membership Appreciation Weekend in Townsend in September, and Professor Pierce will sign it.
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GSMA members invited to take
part in a 'Naturalist Ramble'
 | | Fern Branch Falls in Greenbrier |
"A Naturalist Ramble" with Carey Jones is next up for our August Membership Activity Saturday, Aug. 24. Members wishing to participate should meet at the Greenbrier Ranger Station no later than 10 a.m. From there you will carpool, with the destination being a surprise.
Jones is a former Park Ranger naturalist who for 15 years led outdoor programs for students and visitors in the Smokies. Always the seeker and discoverer, his experience and master of arts degree help him glean truths from nature to share with fellow learners. He has served as a naturalist for the University of Tennessee Smoky Mountain Field School and the annual Spring Wildflower Pilgrimage in Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
The usual recommendations apply: bring rain gear, hiking stick, snacks, camera, and a drink. The 3-hour hike is rated "easy."
Email in your reservation or call to reserve your spot on this ramble: 865.436.7318, Ext. 222 or 254.
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Steve's favorite August flowers
and recommended hike
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Kemp: Knows flowers and where to find them.
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From our own Steve Kemp: Spectacular late summer wildflowers reach a crescendo in August. Cardinal flower shows its brilliant red blooms beside mountain streams. Rattlesnake and crane-fly orchids bloom. And perhaps best of all, bee-balm, coneflower, and Turk's cap lily display their brightly-colored flowers at the higher elevations. This is a good time to drive Clingmans Dome Road and the Blue Ridge Parkway.
Escape the heat and torpor of August with a hike from Clingmans Dome parking area to Double Springs Gap. From the parking area you can take Forney Ridge Trail 0.2 mile downhill to Clingmans Dome Bypass Trail. Turn right onto the Bypass and follow it 0.5 mile to the Appalachian Trail. Make very sure you turn left (west) onto the AT, as the intersection can be confusing. From the intersection it's about 2.5 miles to Double Springs and its camping shelter.
Along the way you'll enjoy some nice views, open grassy areas, and deep spruce-fir forestland. As an alternate return route, go to Clingmans Dome tower, enjoy the view and marvel at the number of people.
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Black-capped Chickadee
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The range of elevations (from 800' to 6,643') in the Great Smoky Mountains is one of the primary reasons for the amazing variety of plants and animals that live here. This altitudinal effect was most recently illuminated in a study of chickadees conducted by researchers from the Smithsonian, University of Maryland and Liberty University.
Two species of chickadees live in the park: Black-capped and Carolina. The black-capped is a northern species that reaches the southern limit of its range in the higher elevations of the Smokies. The Carolina is a southern species that generally stays below 4,000' in the park.
The purpose of the study was to see if the two species ever hybridize in the Smokies, as they do in the northeast. The researchers' conclusion was that hybridization rarely if ever takes place because the two species stick to their separate elevational habitats during the breeding season.
Although the two species look very similar, they can be differentiated by their mating calls. Black-cappeds say "fee-bee;" Carolinas say "fee-bee, fee-bu."
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Official Park Store
Buy Here to Help the Park!
NEW: Our biggest black bear yet, 36 inches of kid-friendly fun. This is the only recommended safe way to interact with these wild creatures. Read more about bear safety here.
NEW and EXCLUSIVE: Antique-Style Park Map. They just don't make maps like this anymore, except here, of course. Textured and designed to appear antique, these new park maps - 24" x 36" - have been flying off our shelves and onto the walls of visitors from around the world. Get yours today!
Thank you! Gatlinburg artist Vern Hippensteal has agreed to mat and frame one of our new park maps for our annual Membership Appreciation Weekend auction Sept. 14th in Townsend, TN. Look often for our growing list of auction items, all donated by our generous business members, HERE.
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623 Glades Road, Suite 10
Gatlinburg TN 37738
tel: 865.430.7828
The most unique craft experience in the Smokies! Since coming to the Smoky Mountains more than 25 years ago, Robert Alewine has been creating beautiful, one-of-a-kind pottery that reflects his love of the area and his home. Alewine Pottery is alive with excitement all year long. Stop by anytime and you'll find potters at work, live music, and even fresh popcorn awaiting you. We look forward to seeing you.
GSMA members receive 10% off purchases
New Business Members
Firehouse Subs Sevierville
& Pigeon Forge
209 Middle Creek Road, Sevierville TN
2726 Parkway, Unit #5, Pigeon Forge TN
Tel: 865.365.1099
Citizens Bank of Blount County
P. O. Box 9730
Maryville TN 37802-9730
tel: 865.977.5900
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
GSMA Members Benefit...
GSMA members earn discounts at more than 50 North Carolina and Tennessee businesses. Think about it - 20% off here, $5 off there, and before you know it, your membership dues have paid for themselves. It's our way of saying "Thank You" for your membership! See our complete list of supporting business on our website.
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246,200+ Fans on Facebook!
Anyone want to venture a guess as to when we'll reach a quarter million fans? We get more "Likes" when you help. Share our posts and invite your friends to "Like" us on
If you'd like to receive online newsletters from us, as well as other periodic information, click HERE.
**We never share your address with anyone, and we never send spam.
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Annual Membership Weekend
Reserve your spot today!
Reserve your spot at this year's Membership Appreciation Weekend now. We've updated our website with all the registration and event details, including an extended live and silent auction listing, and a volunteer breakfast briefing on Sunday morning. You'll want to arrive in time for Friday night's activities:
- Registration, followed by a BBQ dinner and birthday cake
- New Membership T-shirt design contest voting begins (see logo contest information below)
- Cakewalk featuring the string sounds of Michael Searcy and Darrell Acuff
- Moonshine tasting by Ole' Smoky Distillery
- "Corn from a Jar" book signing by author Daniel Pierce
- Sam Venable will have us in stitches that night, as well
Then on Saturday, prepare for action in the form of hikes, talks, mountain crafts and geocaching in the Townsend area. Saturday night's activities move to Tremont:
- GSMA 60th Anniversary meeting
- Dinner by Tremont Chef Harrison
- Live and Silent Auctions (exciting list of items growing daily!)
- 1950s Sock Hop with DJ Hal Kinney
Those interested in volunteering for GSMA are invited to attend an informal breakfast presentation Sunday morning. Marketing and Membership Director Lisa Duff will outline the program and sign volunteers up in areas of interest.
Registration for the Annual Appreciation Weekend is now open. Use our e-registration form, send us an email, or call us at 865.436.7318, Ext. 222 or 254. Two of our generous GSMA business members in Townsend have set aside blocks of rooms at reduced rates for membership weekend attendees. The Townsend Gateway Inn and the Best Western Cades Cove Inn are ready to take your reservations today.
See you in September!
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Image is everything: Help us design ours
Great Smoky Mountains Association is looking to its members and supporters to help us create THE design to be featured on our Members' Only line of merchandise, starting with a new T-shirt.
Think of the possibilities - some creative combination of native animals, plants, waterfalls, locations, acronyms, abbreviations, slogans and mottos could become THE GSMA Membership icon for years to come.
We are looking for an image that represents our membership program, our organization's ideals and the National Park as a whole.
Download the entry form HERE and submit it with your design through Aug. 21, 2013. Submissions must be e-mailed to membership@gsmassoc.org.
GSMA staff members will choose up to 10 designs, which will then be open to full membership voting during the annual Members Appreciation Weekend. Can't make it to this year's meeting? No problem, we'll allow for virtual voting Sept. 12-15, 2013.
The top 3 designs after voting closes Sept. 15 will be narrowed to a single winning design, which will be featured on our first-ever Members' Only t-shirt, as well as on an entire line of products designed to make our members stand out in a crowd.
The winner will receive one of the new shirts, along with a GSMA Lifetime Membership opportunity.
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 | | Fungi of the Smokies |
Wildflowers aren't the only colorful additions to the forest floor in the Smokies. Watch Gary Wilson's latest video and learn how these organisms are essential to a healthy, vibrant forest ecosystem.
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Existing Members' Contest
Our New Member contest is returning for the summer, and this time it's existing members who are eligible to take home a sweet gift.
 Now through our Annual Membership Appreciation Weekend in mid-September, existing members are encouraged to "Refer a Friend" to Great Smoky Mountains Association. For every successful membership recruited, the existing member will earn a $5 coupon to use in our stores. Plus, the existing member who recruits the most new members by the Sept. 13-15 annual meeting will be recognized and honored during our event in Townsend.
To help us track referrals, please download the "Refer a Friend" form from our website.
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ABR to discuss threats to black bears
 From the Appalachian Bear Rescue website: The fall of 1989 was hard on the black bears of the Smokies. A severe hard mast (nut and seed) shortage had driven them into lower elevations to look for food. The resulting bear/human conflicts left an unusually large number of orphaned cubs.
A group of dedicated volunteers decided to form Appalachian Black Bear Rehabilitation & Release Center, Inc. to help the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency and the Great Smoky Mountains National Park care for the orphaned cubs of the Smokies. Appalachian Bear Rescue was "born" on July 31, 1990...
Staying true to their education mission, ABR will offer visitors to the Gatlinburg Welcome Center an opportunity to learn more about black bears and the regional threats to their existence on Saturday, Aug. 10. If you're in the neighborhood, be sure to stop by.
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Our "Going Green" effort is growing like a weed as we continue to add more digital selections to our website. Here's a list of some of the free "green" items you can easily download or view from our website:
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COMING SOON: Gary Wilson's view from
"On Top of Ol' Smoky"
GSMA's videographer Gary Wilson spent more than a year clamoring around the highest peak in the Smokies to capture the images for this stunning new Explorer Series documentary, "An Island in the Sky: Clingmans Dome and the Spruce-Fir Forest."
"Getting to spend a full season on Clingmans Dome filming a variety of its intricacies gave me a greater and more profound perspective on the uniqueness of these ice age relics found in the spruce-fir forests," Gary said. "In a sense I felt like I was filming the life of an old ecosystem that is taking a few more breaths before it fades away. It's unknown if these forests will survive a century from now, but after studying this ecosystem, my hope is that this film helps provide the audience with a greater appreciation for how rare and fragile these higher elevation forests are, and that they get out and explore this rare treasure in this beautiful section of the Southern Appalachians."
By rising long before dawn and shooting through sunset, Gary was able to obtain remarkable footage of natural events both great and small, from flowing oceans of clouds lapping at the mountain's summit to Ruby-throated Hummingbirds sipping nectar from bee-balm flowers.
When it arrives in mid-August, the 35-minute documentary will be sold in a two-disk package that contains both Blu-Ray and standard DVD versions of the film. GSMA was lucky enough to obtain the services of Bill Landry of the "Heartland Series" fame for narration. The work also includes interviews with park rangers, shots of Andrews Bald with all its blooming shrubs, and wildlife from bears to salamanders.
Stay tuned for more information about how you can purchase this film and our plans for its World Premier at a National Park Theater near you.
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Park's resident book lady retires
After 29 years serving as the keeper of most things written, bound and catalogued about Great Smoky Mountains National Park, librarian Annette Hartigan retired on June 21.
"I'll have to think about that" was her response when Glenn Caldwell offered her the job in 1984, but she didn't really. "I liked the idea of it," she told us on the day she clicked off the library lights for the last time.
During her talk with us on her final day, Annette remembered fondly her library training trips to Harpers Ferry, the Carl Sandburg Home and Seattle. She also happily thought back to the many wonderful people she encountered during her years working in the Sugarlands Visitor Center library space, including several park superintendents; Kitty Manscill, Sugarlands museum curator when she started; and curator Don Defoe.
"It's been a roller coaster ride of huge responsibility," she said of her job. The search for GSMNP's next librarian is under way now. The application deadline is Aug. 15.
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Answers
to Last
Month's
Heath
Quiz |
1. Members of the Heath family are found most often thriving in this type of soil? Acid & infertile
2. Since many of the Heath family are evergreen, it's hard to believe this specimen is related. Indian Pipe
3. This family member is a low arching shrub with drooping bell-shaped white flower clusters that bloom April-June. Dog Hobble
4. This is one of the park's most common shrubs from the lowest elevations to 5,000 ft., flowering progressively from June to July from low to mid elevations. Cherokees used the wood for carving and for muscle soreness. Rosebay Rhododendron
5. Also called Mayflower, this Heath family member is the earliest blooming wildflower in the park, and has a sweet, spicy scent. Trailing Arbutus
6. Common below 5,000 ft., the delicate whitish pink, cup-shaped blooms on this showy shrub look good enough to eat... but don't! Honey derived from its blooms is believed to be poisonous. Mountain Laurel
7. One of Mt. LeConte's sub-peaks was named for this Heath family member. Sand Myrtle
8. Botanical explorer William Bartram called the flame azalea "the most gay and brilliant flowering shrub yet known." Also known as wild honeysuckle to mountain people, its gorgeous range of color can best be seen here? Gregory Bald
9. Which of the following berries is in the Heath family? Blueberry
10. Andrews Bald is a great spot to see this gorgeous Heath family member that thrives in elevations above 3500 ft? Catawba Rhododendron
WINNER: GSMA Member Dianne Phillippe, Illinois
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Results of
Last Month's Poll | If I could bring back a missing species to the park..?
- Red Wolf: 48%
- Carolina Parakeet: 19%
- Fox Squirrel: 13.5%
- Williamson's Emerald Dragonfly: 11%
The combination of mountain lions and American Chestnut: 10%
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| Any Questions? | - For questions about online purchases, click HERE and the Mail Order department 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. |
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