Spring is Here and So are Our Guests! The days are longer and warmer, the nights are milder, the trees are blooming, and East Tennessee is awash in color as everything is blooming. Allergy sufferers take note, the next month or so is a high pollen period and even folks who don't think they have allergies may find themselves sneezing. Something not to sneeze at however is the number of visitors already here right now. The restaurant parking lots are full and there is a wait tonight at most of the better dining spots. Another sign that spring is here is the traffic has started to pick up although it isn't yet an issue - that comes in July and October when those of us who live here generally want to take our vacations elsewhere and let the tourists have Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge. Sevierville, formerly not greatly affected by tourism now finds itself in the middle of the mix due to all of the new commercial development in the city so it is no longer exempt from the crowds either...
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Spring is Here and So are Our Guests! The days are longer and warmer, the nights are milder, the trees are blooming, and East Tennessee is awash in color as everything is blooming. Allergy sufferers take note, the next month or so is a high pollen period and even folks who don't think they have allergies may find themselves sneezing. Something not to sneeze at however is the number of visitors already here right now. The restaurant parking lots are full and there is a wait tonight at most of the better dining spots. Another sign that spring is here is the traffic has started to pick up although it isn't yet an issue - that comes in July and October when those of us who live here generally want to take our vacations elsewhere and let the tourists have Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge. Sevierville, formerly not greatly affected by tourism now finds itself in the middle of the mix due to all of the new commercial development in the city so it is no longer exempt from the crowds either...
Top 10 Lessons the Appalachian Trail Taught Me During the first three days of this week I backpacked approximately 25 miles and realized just how challenging mountaintop weather can still be even as we approach Spring. While the trees and bushes are blooming down in the valleys of Gatlinburg, Pigeon Forge, and Sevierville atop the mountains of the National Park things are entirely different. As a result of this trip I learned (or confirmed my knowledge of) the following: 10: The splendor of what God created in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park is truly spectacular. 9: There are many reasons MOST folks hike during late spring, Summer, or early fall. 8: Night hiking with a headlamp isn't nearly as fun as it might sound. 7: Wet leaves, mud, & melting snow are pretty much identically slippery. 6: Self heating meals are a great invention but need the full ten minutes (or more) to heat in very cold weather. 5: There is no wind louder or stronger than that coming over a mountain...
Top 10 Lessons the Appalachian Trail Taught Me During the first three days of this week I backpacked approximately 25 miles and realized just how challenging mountaintop weather can still be even as we approach Spring. While the trees and bushes are blooming down in the valleys of Gatlinburg, Pigeon Forge, and Sevierville atop the mountains of the National Park things are entirely different. As a result of this trip I learned (or confirmed my knowledge of) the following: 10: The splendor of what God created in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park is truly spectacular. 9: There are many reasons MOST folks hike during late spring, Summer, or early fall. 8: Night hiking with a headlamp isn't nearly as fun as it might sound. 7: Wet leaves, mud, & melting snow are pretty much identically slippery. 6: Self heating meals are a great invention but need the full ten minutes (or more) to heat in very cold weather. 5: There is no wind louder or stronger than that coming over a mountain...