 |
In This Issue
(Click on title to go directly to story)
|
| |
A few spots remain available for GSMA's butterfly tagging event this Saturday in Cades Cove. Click on the photo above for details. Reservations are required.
|
|
|
Every Kid in a Park
"Great Smoky Mountains National Park offers incredible opportunities for all to learn and explore the beauty and wonder of the Smokies. We hope this program will lead more teachers and families to take advantage of these opportunities and use their free passes for fourth graders to explore more of our national treasures, places where they can run and play, explore and learn." - Park Superintendent Cassius Cash
The goal of the Every Kid in a Park program is to connect 4th graders with the great outdoors and inspire them to become future environmental stewards, ready to preserve and protect national parks and other public lands for years to come.
|
Senior Skip Day comes to Cades Cove
|
| |
Senior Skip Day in the Smokies
|
One Day Only! Thursday, Oct. 8, seniors 62+ can get access to over 400 National Park Service sites for free. Yes, we here at the Cub Report know that access to the Smokies is free, but not so at many other national parks. With this one-day-only program, seniors have an opportunity to obtain a voucher for a free lifetime pass to participating National Park Service sites.
Senior Skip Day activities in the Smokies will be focused primarily in Cades Cove...
9-9:30 a.m. - Tai Chi led by Backcountry Specialist Christine Hoyer in the Amphitheater
9:30 a.m. - Hit the trail with Missy Kane (Abrams Falls), Mike Maslona (Wet Bottoms/Elijah Oliver Cabin), or Jim Burbank (Crib Gap/John Oliver Cabin) or bike around the loop or drive to health engagement tent at Cable Mill.
1 p.m. - Join the fun at Cable Mill
Monarch butterfly tagging | Art Workshop | Cable Mill history walk
Listen to music by Boogertown Gap
|
|
Fall Foliage Quiz
|
| | Love trees? Take our quiz for a chance to win a fabulous prize! |
Everyone loves the fall foliage show in the Great Smoky Mountains. It is, after all, one of the most beautiful on earth. But how many know which trees produce which colors? Take our fall color quiz to test your knowledge. The first person to answer all 10 questions correctly will win a copy of "Seasons of the Smokies," a Smoky Mountain Explorer Film by GSMA's Gary Wilson.
|
|
Smoky Mountain Mystery:
How to avoid trouble with ghosts in the Smokies
|
| |
Joseph S. Hall and two non-ghost companions.
|
One of our favorite historians, Joseph S. Hall, not only recorded bits of mountain speech and music, he also documented a fair number of Smoky Mountain ghost stories. His 1970 article in the "Tennessee Folklore Bulletin" offers the following tips on what to do when encountering specters in the Smokies.
For one, avoid the following places and circumstances, as these are common lurking places for ghosts, boogers, and other varieties of "ha'nts": haunted churches, haunted houses, haunted schoolhouses, graveyards, and dark stretches of road (especially while transporting moonshine).
If you do have the misfortune of encountering a ghost, Hall's informants recommend the following...
|
|
Membership Weekend was a winner!
The 2015 GSMA Membership Weekend has been officially declared a "huge success."
Volunteer seed collecting on Thursday was followed by our Twin Creeks welcome event with science center tours and fish fry. More than 175 members and guests stayed plenty busy Saturday with Elkmont history, Kephart discussions, a tour of Greenbrier and lots more. At dinner that night our members said "good-bye" to retiring Executive Director Terry Maddox by signing a Gary Wilson original photograph and playing a challenging game of "Terry Trivia"
The weekend finished up on Sunday with photo hikes in Greenbrier and a Salamander Saunter.
If you're thinking to yourself: "How do I get in on this action next year?" the answer is easy. Mark off Sept. 15-18 on your Smoky Mountain Wall Calendar and be sure your membership is up to date.
Back to Top
|
It's HERE... GSMA's newest Smoky Mountain Explorer Film focuses on Mt. Le Conte
|
| |
Mt. Le Conte: Sacred Mountain of the Smokies
|
Countless miles hiked in all types of weather; hours and hours of film captured, all resulting in "Mt. Le Conte: Sacred Mountain of the Smokies." In this, the third GSMA Smoky Mountain Explorer Film Series, Gary Wilson captures this majestic peak, from spring's biologically diverse rebirth to its single late-season inhabitant - Mt. Le Conte Lodge's winter caretaker. A "must see" for anyone who has climbed this mountain or ever wanted to.
Collect all our Smoky Mountain Explorer Films:
|
|
Shop the Smokies
All purchases support this national park
Nothing spooky about this guy - Here's what we know about bats: They are mammals that can fly (without airplanes). They can "see" in absolute darkness well enough to flit full speed through the trees. Their wings are actually modified hands (check out an x-ray). And they work for us right through the night, reducing the numbers of mosquitos and other bugs from our campsites and backyards. This fellow has a lot to teach us, especially when combined with "Frequently Asked Questions About Bats."
|
| |
Smoky Mountain fleece is as warm as it is huggable.
|
Cold enough for ya? - Maybe not just yet, but why wait for winter's chill to find you. Start staying warm now, while showing your love for Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Our fleece comes in navy and white, in both full jacket and vest styles. All are embroidered with the Great Smoky Mountains National Park logo.
|
|
Brook trout spawning season
|
| |
A Fish's Life in the Smokies
|
If you're in need of a moment of watery zen, here it is. Southern Appalachian brook trout spawning season has begun. GSMA filmmaker Gary Wilson is actively filming trout in Smoky Mountain streams, capturing the process from beginning to end for the next Smoky Mountain Explorer Film to be called "Land of Falling Water."
|
|
Today's musicians are bringing
new life to historic recordings
|
| | Project organizers discuss latest track in ETSU's recording studio. |
A team of Appalachian music professors at East Tennessee State University in Johnson City, TN, together with a long list of traditional musicians of today, are nearing the end of months of work, all geared toward breathing new life into mountain music.
Fans of GSMA's " Old-Time Smoky Mountain Music" and " Carroll Best and the White Oak String Band" will be interested to learn that several bluegrass and traditional musicians from today have contributed their time and talents to this project, which seeks to produce brand new recordings of many favorites from these two albums. In the recording studio just this week, in fact, (pictured above) were Travis and Trevor Stuart of Canton, N.C., laying down tracks for "Tennessee Wagoner."
Please check back for new project updates throughout the coming months. And for more about the origins of the "Carroll Best" recordings, click below.
|
Hike to
Hen Wallows Falls
By Marti Smith
GSMA's Membership Associate
& Smoky Mountain 900 Miler
The trail to Hen Wallow Falls meanders around the north-eastern slopes of Gabes Mountain. You will hike through a forest of moist woodlands with giant trees of many species. You'll cross creeks with names such as "Rock Creek" and "Crying Creek." To find out why "Crying Creek" is so named, read the " Waterfalls of the Smokies" narrative of this hike.
|
Smoky Mountain Recipe:
Pumpkin Oat Bread
This delightful recipe not only provides your October pumpkin fix, but it includes two additional Foods of the Smokies, all of which adds up to one delicious fall treat.
Ingredients:
- 1/2 C butter, softened
- 1 1/2 C light brown sugar
- 3 large eggs
- 2 C canned pumpkin
- 1/4 tsp. salt
- 1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
- sprinkle of cinnamon
- 1 1/2 C uncooked quick oats
- 2 1/2 tsp. baking soda
- 1/4 C walnuts for topping (optional)
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees and coat loaf pans with spray. In large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy with mixer. Add eggs and pumpkin and beat well. Add salt, pie spice, cinnamon, honey, pumpkin butter, flour, oats, and baking soda and mix. Pour batter into dishes and place walnuts over top. Bake for 40 minutes. Slather each slice with even more pumpkin butter straight from the jar! Yields about 2-3 loafs.
|
|
NEW Cataloochee Day Hike & Auto Tour
This handy map & guide features detailed information on all the popular Cataloochee area day hikes, as well as in-depth descriptions of driving to and through the beautiful valley. History, historic photos and, of course, lots of tips on viewing elk in Cataloochee.
|
Business of the Month Sugarland Cellars
Gatlinburg, TN
Sugarland Cellars is a fully operating winery offering tours and complimentary tastings of all wines available. The gift shop is a great experience filled with plenty of wine related gifts as well as other area related items.
NEW Business Members
Wilderness at the Smokies
|
|
Our Fall Foliage Forecast is going strong.
Members: Please sign into your online account to access the "Smokies Insider" section of our website for this report.
|
|
The Smokies are just a click away...
|
|
Got questions? We have answers.
|
|
|
Connecting Today to Yesterday; Preserving Today for Tomorrow
|
|
|
|
|
