A local shares his biggest mistakes when visiting the National Park It’s easy to take it for granted when the Great Smoky Mountains National Park is in your backyard. I wake up every morning with immense natural beauty as the backdrop. I run up to the mountains on the weekends or summer afternoons and it becomes old hat. It’s easy
Social media revives rumors of feral humans in the Smoky Mountains linked to old cold case Dennis Martin was 6 years old in June of 1969. It was Father’s Day weekend and they hiked near the Tennessee-North Carolina border, a Martin family tradition. William Martin (his father) and Clyde (his grandfather) and the two boys started at Cades Cove and
Seven signs that indicate you grew up visiting the Smokies Almost everyone takes pride in the state where they were born and raised, or at least, where they now live. This is probably truer with people who call Tennessee and the Smoky Mountains home. One of a Tennessean’s first childhood memories is a trip to the Great Smoky Mountains. You
A local talks about his favorite area restaurants to visit around Thanksgiving and Christmas in Pigeon Forge, Gatlinburg and Sevierville The holidays have arrived in the mountains – and, technically, everywhere. But the holidays in the mountains come with more than a few traditions. Yes, Sevier County has been a premier holiday shopping location for generations. And, the local governments
A rumored casino may be on its way to Sevierville after Cherokee land purchase Is a casino on its way to the Smoky Mountains of East Tennessee? I wouldn’t bet against it. The Tennessee Smokies are leaving Sevier County and returning to East Knoxville. Thus, a rather prominent piece of real estate is sitting empty in Kodak, on the West
How the TVA brought progress – and controversy – to the South When Tropical Storm Helene brought historic flooding to the region, an agency that has chiefly been a simple fact of life for many of us in the mountains came a little more sharply into focus. With overwhelmed dams threatened to fail, the Tennessee Valley Authority suddenly found itself
A local offers his advice on the best and worst dishes at Paula Deen’s Family Kitchen in Pigeon Forge, TN Over the years, I have at times been hard on Paula Deen’s Family Kitchen. But in fairness, the eatery is battling expectations vs reality. While having the Deen name atop the restaurant is certainly a draw, it also leads to
A local offers words of wisdom on what not to do while riding the Tail of the Dragon There’s a road through the mountains of Tennessee into their North Carolina counterparts. Over its 11-mile stretch, it features 318 curves. It’s known as the Tail of the Dragon – or U.S. 129 to those less poetically inclined – and it is
An honest review of a fan-favorite, family-style restaurant in Pigeon Forge: Mama’s Farmhouse I sometimes struggle to review family or farmhouse-style restaurants. Why? My grandmother, who we called Nanny. A tiny Hoosier from Southern Indiana, she was an excellent cook who made down-home classics like chicken and dumplings and meatloaf that you could have served to any food critic in
Local takes a look at current conditions of NC, TN one month after a devastating hurricane As we approach the one-month “anniversary” of the biblical flooding in East Tennessee and Western North Carolina, thanks to the remnants of Hurricane Helene, the mountains and their people are in various stages of recovery. Things are back to business in some places like Gatlinburg