Take our Garden Folklore Quiz

Try your knowledge of some Appalachian gardening folklore by taking our quiz HERE.

 

The first person to answer all of the following questions correctly will win a copy of Food & Recipes of the Smokies, a jar of mild chow chow and a jar of blackberry preserves.  Good luck!

A 'MacLeod' over the Smokies

Superintendent Swap - We bid "adieu" to Pedro Ramos, who returns to his Florida home this week after serving six months in the Smokies, and say "bonjour" to Cindy MacLeod, who has just arrived from Philly. MacLeod has been tapped to serve as acting superintendent of Great Smoky Mountains National Park while the selection process for a permanent park leader continues. Click HERE to read the details.

It's Rhodo time in the Smokies
rhododendron

June is often the peak season for rhododendron blooms in the Great Smoky Mountains. All told, ten varieties of the genus rhododendron live within park boundaries.

 

The biggest stars of the rhododendron constellation include Catawba (purple, above) rhododendron, which blooms at the higher elevations in June, rosebay (white) rhododendron, which blooms beside streams in June and July, and flame azalea, which blooms on Gregory Bald in late June and early July.

 

Good summer hikes to enjoy Catawba are the Chimney Tops Trail (open Friday-Sunday only) and Alum Cave Trail. Rosebay rhododendron can be seen about everywhere below 5,000 feet elevation, though Chimney Tops Trail is also a good spot for this one.

 

There are two trails to Gregory Bald. The longer (though very scenic) Gregory Ridge Trail, which starts from the end of Forge Creek Road in Cades Cove. It's 5.7 miles one-way hike from Forge Creek Road to the Bald. Gregory Bald Trail starts from Parson Branch Road (one-way) out of Cades Cove. It's 4.5 miles one-way via Gregory Bald Trail. Remember, because Parson Branch Road is one-way, you will need to exit the park onto Highway 129.

 

Day hiking in the Smokies is a good way to get the exercise you need while also discovering the beauty of this area. With more than 800 miles of scenic trails to choose from, the possibilities for day hikes are endless. 

June's GSMA activities
tackle the unexplained

Our June members activities will focus on the unexplained and seldom seen side of the national park.

 

Saturday, June 7Nightlife Exploration with Wanda DeWaard. Members are invited to explore the Smokies at night with local naturalist Wanda DeWaard. You'll be surprised at what the nighttime forest has to offer, from fireflies to glowing insects to nocturnal critters and birds. Participants will meet at Metcalf Bottoms bridge at 7:30 p.m. Bring a flashlight and plan to explore for about 3 hours. 20 member program limit.

 

Saturday, June 14 - Members are encouraged to bring your children and grandchildren to this one, because everyone 15 years of age and under can participate for FREE. "Misunderstood Wildlife" will be explained by North Carolina naturalist Steve O'Neil (pictured above), executive director of Earthshine Nature Programs. Meet the wildlife you love to hate - from snakes and salamanders to roaches and 'possums - you will learn the truth about some of the most misunderstood creatures that share our world.  Come meet the animals, hear Steve's wildlife respect and conservation message and then listen as Steve closes the show with a short didgeridoo concert. Participants will meet at the Collins Creek picnic shelter at 2 p.m. 50+ program limit.

 

FINAL CALL FOR HAZEL CREEK - Two spots remain open for our Aug. 18-19 Hazel Creek Adventure. If you've longed to experience the Fontana section of the park, here's your chance. Hurry, call Marti today! 865.436.7318, Ext. 254.

 

Make your reservations for our June events as well. For the comfort of our members, our monthly activities are limited in participant size. Don't delay and miss an opportunity to learn more about the Smokies. Call us at 865.436.7318, Ext. 222 or 254; or email us HERE.
 
And speaking of snakes, check out this short video GSMA's Gary Wilson captured recently while hiking:
Timber Rattlesnake in the Great Smoky Mountains
Timber Rattlesnake in the Great Smoky Mountains
To learn more on snakes in the Smokies, click HERE and check out our reptile books HERE.
Official Park Store

Shop here and support GSMNP!

NEW - Lifetime GSMA members are very special people. You've stepped up in a big way to proclaim your support for this national park. Now you can let the world know of your commitment by proudly proclaiming your Lifetime membership level:
Click HERE to see the Lifetime Patch
Click HERE to see the Lifetime Lapel Pin
Click HERE to see the Lifetime License Plate Frame

Click HERE to take our poll and help us determine what the next "Members Only" products could be.

Many of you have been patiently waiting for GSMA to bring back the 75th anniversary edition of Smokies Life Magazine. Your reward is in sight. This edition of our award-winning magazine went out of print quickly after its release due to high demand for its historic content, including in-depth articles and photographs. It's back now, but only while supplies last. Don't wait and miss the opportunity to add this special edition to your Smokies Life library.

 

NEW - Bear in the Back Seat II is Kim DeLozier's second installment of hilarious, heartwarming, and heartbreaking stories told from the point of view of the chief wildlife ranger in the most popular family destination in the USA. If you enjoyed Kim's first set of stories, this one is sure to provide an equal dose of enjoyment. The first in the series is also available HERE.

In recognition of June's firefly frenzy here in the Smokies, we're offering an assortment of lightning bug items sure to brighten your day (and night). To see our entire line of firefly items, including some sale items, click HERE.

Business Member of the Month 

Country Cobbler of Gatlinburg

170 Glades Road, Suite 15 
Gatlinburg TN 37738
tel: 423.231.6640     

For more than four decades, Doug McCrossin has worked with leather, making products that are both functional and artistic. His work is sold worldwide and used by celebrities and movie studios. He blends the past with the present to produce a unique style that has become his trademark. All leathers used in his creations are hand selected to ensure customers receive the highest quality products. All dyes are created in the studio, as are finishing techniques. The results are consistent products that provide customers with years of service. 

GSMA Members receive a 15% discount

 

New Business Members

Sugarlands Distilling Company

805 Parkway 
Gatlinburg TN 37738 
tel: 865.325.1355 

GSMA Members receive a 10% discount on apparel

 

Parkside Cabin Rentals

122 Parkway 
Gatlinburg TN 37738 
tel: 865.436.5053 
GSMA Members receive a 10% discount on lodging 
 

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.

Join our Fans on Facebook! 
 
We're up to nearly 304K FANS on Facebook! We get more "Likes" when you help. Share our posts and invite your FB friends to "Like" us on 
 
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HERE and give us some suggestions for pins

 Pigeon under glass

National park visitors Abish Paul, Lidhu Kurian and their son, Matthew, admire the park's mounted passenger pigeon, on display now for a limited time at Sugarlands Visitor Center. - GSMA photo by Gary Wilson

 

"From Six Billion to One: How a Passenger Pigeon Came to Roost in the Smokies" is the tragic tale recounted in the latest Smokies Life Magazine of a species' demise, from a time when "... the sheer number of birds engulfed the forest" and they could be found "...standing three and four deep on each other's backs since there was not room for all to perch" to the 1914 death of Martha, the last known passenger pigeon and a resident of the Cincinnati Zoo.

 

The story's author is Paul James, executive director of Ijams Nature Center in Knoxville, Tenn., who counts himself as one of two local caretakers of taxidermy passenger pigeons. Ijams is home to a female pigeon on display at the center named for H.P. Ijams, a renowned regional naturalist and early Smoky Mountain explorer.

 

In addition to Ijams, Great Smoky Mountains National Park's museum collection includes a male specimen (above) "possessing vibrant feathers and personality in its pose." In recognition of the 100th anniversary of the death of the last passenger pigeon, the park's mounted pigeon - not seen for some 27 years - is currently on display through October at Sugarlands Visitor Center.

Now Playing: 'Seasons in the Smokies'

Smoky Mountain Explorer Series: Part 02 - Seasons of the Smokies Trailer
Smoky Mountain Explorer Series, Part II - Seasons of the Smokies
 

The second in GSMA's Smoky Mountain Explorer DVD series is now available. Our very own Gary Wilson spent countless hours hiking, filming, editing and writing to produce this gorgeous film that takes viewers effortlessly through the calendar from a frigid winter high atop Mt. Le Conte to a balmy summer day in Cades Cove to the stunning fall landscape seen everywhere in the Smokies each October. Get your copy today HERE.

Membership Weekend

registration to start June 2

The Lambuth Inn at beautiful Lake Junaluska, N.C.
The wait is over - Registration for this year's GSMA Membership Weekend in North Carolina's Lake Junaluska community opens Monday, June 2.
 
We're trying something new with this year's registration process. The following step-by-step guide should make the process simple, but please don't hesitate to call us if you have questions or trouble navigating the system.
 
Step 1 - Click HERE to find the Weekend Registration page on our website. Steps 2 through 4 are located on our website.

We're excited to announce that this year's Membership Weekend will include a launch party for our new CD, "Carroll Best and the White Oak String Band: Old-Time Bluegrass from the Great Smoky Mountains, 1956 & 1959." As many of you know, our first "Old-Time Smoky Mountain Music" CD was recognized with a prestigious Grammy Award nomination. Click HERE for details about our followup album of music from the 1950s featuring mostly Haywood County, NC, musicians. The launch party is open to the public and is planned for 7 p.m. Friday, Sept. 19, in Stuart Auditorium at the Lake Junaluska Conference Center.
 
A host of individual activities offered by Lake Junaluska Assembly is available to Membership Weekend guests, including a 24/7 fitness center, putt-putt golf, tennis, 18-hole golf course, sand volleyball, fishing pier and nature trails. For those who may want to experience Haywood County on your own, both towns of Maggie Valley and Waynesville are located within minutes of the lake. The Blue Ridge Parkway is also easily accessible from several locations nearby. 
 
In addition to the many activities being planned, the Membership Weekend package will include three full meals, with a Saturday morning breakfast buffet being added to the schedule for the first time. Accommodations are being offered at both the historic Lambuth Inn and in the campground just across U.S. 19 from the entrance to Lake Junaluska. We recommend you bring your bicycle, fishing pole, lawn chair, walking shoes and kayak/canoe.

Smoky Mountain Recipe:

Southern-style BBQ Sauce 

Southern-style BBQ Sauce

 

Ingredients:

1 can (8 ounces) tomato sauce

1/3 C Foods of the Smokies sorghum

1/4 C vinegar

1 clove garlic, minced

1 tsp chili powder

1/2 tsp ground black pepper

dash salt

 

Combine all ingredients in saucepan. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer for 10 minutes. Makes about 1 cup of barbecue sauce, for ribs, pork chops, burgers, steaks, or hot dogs. For oven barbecued ribs, baste during last hours of baking.

 

Recipe by Southern Food Guide, Diana Rattray

 
If you have a Smoky Mountain Recipe you'd like to share with Karen, send her an email HERE. Be sure to include the recipe's source.

Smoky Mountain Mystery: Bryson Place 

Photo by Valerie Polk

Many hikers and backpackers on the Deep Creek Trail are puzzled by the placement of a heavy millstone and marker commemorating author Horace Kephart at Backcountry Campsite #57. The monument, placed there by the Horace Kephart Boy Scout troop of Bryson City, states this was Kephart's "last permanent camp."

 

This camp was a place where Kephart set up a tent during the summer and experimented with outdoor gear such as cookware, sleeping bags, packs, sleeping pads, tents, and firearms. He was a leading writer for the outdoor magazines of the day and one of his specialties was equipment. Outfitters such as Abercrombie & Fitch often sent him prototypes to try out and review.

 

In addition, Kephart was somewhat of a celebrity in Bryson City, so going camping was a way to get away from tourists and other fans. The scouts erected the monument shortly after the writer's death in 1931. How did they move the heavy millstone?

 

Troop organizer Simon Davis described it this way: "We found the old gristmill at least a mile from the Bryson Place and cut a pole that the boys put through the hole in the stone. Then we tied a rope to the pole on both sides and just rolled it through the woods. That's what happened." 

Women's Work Festival is June 21 

A woman's work is never done! Bring the kids and join us to learn about the vital role women played in creating and maintaining a mountain home. Demonstrations of open hearth cooking, spinning or sewing, corn shuck doll making and more will be offered throughout the day at Oconaluftee Visitor Center near Cherokee N.C.

Honor Dad with a GSMA membership

father son fishing fly fishing the smokies

 

Who introduced you to the Smokies for the very first time? For many, the answer is the same: "My dad."

 

Show your father (father-in-law) how much you appreciate him with a GSMA membership gift for Fathers Day (June 15). He'll enjoy a full year's subscription to Smokies Life Magazine, receive an invitation to the annual Membership Weekend and monthly activities, and be a part of our work to preserve this special place for all time.

 

Looking for a different way to say "congratulations" to the high school and college graduates in your life? What better way to show them a world apart from their computers, smartphones and tablets than to introduce them to the Great Smoky Mountains while they're young. A GSMA membership guarantees the opportunity to "never stop learning."

Members program changes on the way 

As GSMA's membership roles continue to grow, members should be on the lookout for improvements headed your way soon.

 

"We're continually looking for ways to make our members' experience more rewarding," said Lisa Duff, GSMA's marketing and membership director, "while at the same time making sure we're operating the program in keeping with our mission - the highest possible financial support of GSMNP."

 

Our recently introduced "Proud Member" tote bag has been a huge hit with long-time supporters and has served as a conversation-starter for those unfamiliar with this opportunity to support the national park. We're also happy to report that our new "Lifetime" label has been overwhelming appreciated. We're also launching a poll to allow you to help us determine what "Members Only" merchandise to produce next. Your input is greatly appreciated.

 

In an effort to streamline the process by which we distribute new and renewal membership cards, radical shifts are coming. You'll notice starting this month that the new cards are paper, not plastic, that they are labeled "Proud Member" instead of "Individual" or "Supporting," and that only one card will be distributed to those households that usually receive two. The reason for eliminating a card is simple - when we save money, the park gets more. But please don't worry, you need only identify yourself by name at any of our visitor center locations to receive your purchasing discount.

 

Our GSMA website is also getting a makeover. We're working to update our site, mostly in the areas of membership and our webstore. User-friendly enhancements are on the way, with a few exclusive-access portals being included in the new design. That means portions of the site currently available to all will soon be available only to GSMA members, automatically creating a new program benefit.

 

As always, your GSMA membership staff is interested in your ideas. Please feel free to email us HERE with any thoughts you'd like to share. 

GSMA Staff Spotlight: Kelli Green 

Kelli Green is GSMA's accounting and human resources assistant. - Photo by Gary Wilson

 

Q: Where do you hail from, Kelli?

A: I was born and raised in North Canton, Ohio.

 

Q: How long have you worked for GSMA?

A: 15 years

 

Q: Don't you have two teenage children who are very active in sports?

A: I have a daughter, Mason (18), who just graduated high school, and Curtis, (14), who will be a freshman. I bounce between golf, basketball, tennis and bowling.

 

Q: What are your hobbies?

A: I love taking pictures and scrapbooking. I also enjoy volunteering with the National Park Service, Girl Scouts, the Gatlinburg Boys & Girls Club, and Keep Sevier Beautiful.

 

Q: What do you find most rewarding about your job? 

A: The fact that through the Association we are able to touch so many lives. I've had people (locals and visitors) ask what I do, and when I tell them I work for the Association, more times than I can count I've gotten stories about how a certain employee has been a huge help, or told them a great story about working in the park. We have such great people working in the park; being part of it is terrific!

 

Q: Your fellow employees say you are very patient and fair. How do you come by these traits?

A: I'd have to attribute this to my parents. They were both teachers, and I grew up watching the way they treated their students. My dad was a chemistry/physics teacher, so I spent many days in the chem lab with him from a young age. I loved all the experiments he would do. Some worked and some went wrong. You have to have patience; you can't rush science or life.

 

Q: If you were planning a day in the park for some visiting relatives, what would you suggest they see and do?

A: I love the Greenbrier area. I married a local whose grandparent had a farm in Greenbrier. If they wanted a place to relax, I'd send them to the river to dip their toes in and listen to the water, or hit one of the trails to see what the area was like back in the day. Greenbrier's off the beaten past, so it's a little more quiet.

Answers
to Last
Month's
Humming- bird
Quiz

  1. The wintering grounds for most Ruby-throated hummingbirds is: Central America

  2. Ruby-throats beat their wings about: 70 times a second

  3. What is thought to be the determining factor in choosing a migration route: Food availability

  4. Fewer than two dozen species of hummingbirds are known to venture as far north as the U.S. and Canada, but only the Ruby-throat is known to do this east of the Mississippi: Breed

  5. Ruby-throats forage for food by: All of the above

  6. The inside diameter of a newly constructed hummingbird nest is usually the size of a:

    Quarter
  7. The material of choice for camouflaging a completed nest is: Lichen

  8. The ability to do this sets hummers apart from all other birds: Hover for extensive periods

  9. Hummers have a host of predators, including: All of the above

  10. Baby hummers do not:

    Hatch on the same day
The winner is Chandra Helton of Mobile, AlabamaCongratulations!
Have 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.
- Want to volunteer with GSMA? Click HERE and Lisa will help you.
EXTRA!
Read all about it!
The following are all instantly available, digital, GREEN publications...
+ The all-new Spring 2014 Smokies Guide (the official GSMNP newspaper) is available for viewing, reading and printing. Click HERE.
+ The all-new Spring 2014 Bear Paw, the GSMA membership bi-annual newsletter, is ready to read, share and print by clicking HERE. This edition includes the 2013 Annual Report.
+ Be sure to check our Calendar of Events page often for upcoming park activities.
+ Read back issues. Archive editions of the Cub Report can be found HERE.