TVA has indicated that Hammerhead worms have been spotted around Norris, Tennessee, just north of Knoxville and may thrive in rainy summer weather As someone who has been digging in the East Tennessee earth for more than 30 years, I thought I had a handle on most of the creepy crawlies one might encounter. I’ve turned over rocks and scared
What you need to know about Newfound Gap Road in the Smokies When my family visits the Smokies, we prefer taking the scenic route through Western North Carolina. My husband prefers driving on winding mountain roads. When the weather is warm, my kids love to stop in Cherokee and visit Oconaluftee Islands Park to play in the river. From there,
Couple gets huge surprise when they wake up to find a black bear in their Jeep on their honeymoon Millions of people visit the Great Smoky Mountains each year hoping to see black bears in the wild. But these two honeymooners from the Atlanta area got a unique encounter they could bear-ly believe was possible. After they married back in
Local offers advice for heavy rainfall in the Smokies It’s not uncommon to see heavy amounts of rainfall and flooding in the Sevier County area. And of course, since the Great Smoky Mountains area is a major travel hub, knowing how floods may affect your vacation can be handy. With that in mind, as a local, here’s what I think
Gatlinburg resident shares his story of how roads turned into rivers during the January 2024 flash flood event I expected January 9, 2024, to be just another uneventful day in Gatlinburg. Sure, it had been raining since late the night prior. But the rising waters would soon provide much more drama than we could’ve ever anticipated. Our day began with my
“I’m so happy that it’s Popcorn’s and he would be very happy because this is what he wanted,” said Pam The press conference was underway. Joe Baker – founder of Ole Smoky Moonshine – and Pam Sutton – widow of legendary outlaw moonshiner Popcorn Sutton were officially introducing Ole Smoky’s Popcorn moonshine style “Likker” and straight bourbon whiskey. As they
What you should know about snakes in the Smoky Mountains There is something primal about our fear of snakes. I suppose it’s the lack of legs or the possibility of a painful bite that reaches the core of our DNA. Once when I was young, my friends and I approached some overgrown grass. We were met by a hooded snake
The Great Smoky Mountains National Park launched its Park it Forward program on March 1, 2023. The new program is meant to help generate revenue to improve visitor services and address maintenance needs. While the Great Smoky Mountains National Park has been historically free to enter, visitation has put a strain on management and upkeep. For example, the park experienced its
The future of this abandoned theme park looks bleak as the project continues to hit roadblocks Ghost Town in the Sky, aka Ghost Town Village, is a long-shuttered Wild West-themed amusement park that sat atop a mountain in Maggie Valley, NC. It opened in the early 60s. However, it began stumbling in the 90s as revenue couldn’t support maintenance needs
If we’re going to talk about the “rash” of bear attacks and bear encounters in and around the Great Smoky Mountain National Park, then we may as well start with this: The remains of a friend of mine from high school were found down a ravine in Blount County earlier in the year. He’d been partially consumed by animals, presumably