Smoky Mountains News

Researchers at Great Smoky Mountains National Park are inviting people to volunteer as Citizen Scientists from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday to map locations of ash trees in the park.

The hills will be alive with the sound of road graders and asphalt trucks next spring and summer in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The country's most-visited national park is planning more than $44 million in major improvements to 56 miles of park roads, a campground and a popular trailhead parking area. The repaving projects include the road to the Smokies' highest peak at 6,643-foot Clingmans Dome and the meandering 11-mile loop around scenic Cades Cove.

Nineteen elk calves were born this year in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, and 16 survived. Park officials said it's been one of the best years yet for increasing the herd. There are now about 110 elk in the park, divided about evenly among males and females. Additionally, officials said the bulls this year have impressive antlers, which may mean that there is good forage available for the elk.

Author George Ellison been researching and writing about Horace Kephart’s life and work for just under 40 years. He wrote the biographical introduction for the book “Smoky Mountain Magic,” published exactly 80 years after the author’s final typescript had apparently been completed.

The 11-mile Cades Cove Loop Road will be closed nearly three months next year for reconstruction, the Great Smoky Mountains National Park announced today. The popular scenic route will be closed to all traffic from March 1-May 21. The project is weather sensitive so the work could be affected by the amount of rainfall during that time, according to the park. The pavement will be basically roto-tilled, mixed with underlying materials to a depth of 6 inches, then mixed with water and cement, according to the park.

They didn't move far, these children of the mountains.The government took their families' land to make the Great Smoky Mountains National Park 75 years ago. But their love for the place kept them close, even if their new homes had no mountain views.Those who slid barefoot down Sugarlands' hills, climbed apple trees and jumped across river rocks are elderly now.

Haywood County was never home to either Horace Kephart or George Masa. Their names are not written in the annals of our county, but both men left large footprints as they journeyed through our past.Horace Kephart was a writer and George Masa a photographer. Each had come to the Western North Carolina mountains seeking a different kind of life. Their goals and needs were apparently satisfied as each chose to remain in this environment, Kephart in Bryson City and Masa in Asheville.

ature’s annual kaleidoscope of color is visiting the Smokies this year with great vigor. To help travelers determine where the best latitude is for leaf viewing at any given time, Gatlinburg provides updated leaf reports at www.gatlinburg.com and a fall foliage page at www.eventsgatlinburg.com.

Great Smoky Mountains National Park will offer a 2-hour stargazing program in Cades Cove starting at 7:30 p.m. Oct, 10 in cooperation with the Smoky Mountains Astronomical Society.Experienced astronomers and several telescopes will be on hand to provide a discovery of the autumn sky’s position of stars, galaxies, and constellations, including the Milky Way.

Flat Creek Publishing announced recently the release of J. Greg Johnson’s new book, Sanctuary: Meditations from the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

A unique route linking historic homesteads yields an exciting Smokies adventure for hikers and history buffs alike.

The annual Mountain Life Festival at the Mountain Farm Museum in Great Smoky Mountains National Park is scheduled Saturday, September 19, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. During this 75th anniversary year of the park, the event will showcase Appalachian folkways and pay tribute to the many families who lived on lands that would later become the national park.

Even before it became a national park in 1934, folks from around the region would visit the Smoky Mountains, making it their summer playground.

WAYNESVILLE — The Waynesville Gallery Association will present Art After Dark from 6-9 p.m. Sept. 4.

A 70-year-old hiker who spent more than