Tag: Photography
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Haunting Views
“Nah, there’s nothing to be scared of in there,” she told them. Her crooked, bone-thin finger pointed toward Daisy Town, the group’s ultimate destination.
It was easy to see that her reflection in glass had once undoubtedly inspired poets. Flowing in grey waves down her ever-so-slightly twisted back, her hair evoked memories of raven’s wings. Her cheekbones stood as high as the Alps atop two identically sunken valleys cascading toward her strong jawline. The years had left marks; unflinchingly, she displayed them all.
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Presidents' Day is Monday, February 20
It was a warm day in early September, just two years after GSMNP was officially established (not officially dedicated), and Newfound Gap Road was closed.
Oh, you could get as far as Conner’s Store, across the road from the soon-to-be Smokemont Campground, before the N.C. Highway Patrol and park fireguards diverted you, but that was about it. Unless you were a governor, congressman, federal judge, high sheriff of Swain or Sevier counties, accredited member of the press, an official of either the North Carolina or Tennessee conservation association, a park official, or president of the United States, you were flat out of luck.
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Why are the American Mountain-ash Berries So Spectacular this year?
Anyone who has been in the vicinity of Clingmans Dome recently can tell you that the bright red American mountain-ash berries are out of this world right now. There are so many clumps of berries that the trees’ branches can barely support them.
Such an abundance of berries is a great opportunity for photographers, as well as an important food source for bear, ruffed grouse, squirrels, deer, cedar waxwing, and other types of native wildlife.
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Why The Tunnel?
Those of you who have walked to the far eastern edge of Newfound Gap parking area have probably noticed the old roadbed that traces the former route of Newfound Gap Road (U.S. 441) into North Carolina. Several miles of the old road were rerouted in the early 1960s as part of the Mission ’66 initiative to improve infrastructure across the entire national park system.
One result of the reroute (which added a giant hairpin turn into the roadway) was to create a road with fewer shady and icy areas and more breathtaking scenic views. The other outcome was the stranding of a substantial, ornate archway tunnel under Clingmans Dome Road less than a mile west of the junction with Newfound Gap Road.
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Where People Loved and Cared
Life in the Great Smoky Mountains of Southern Appalachia was never easy. Before the establishment of the park, many families lived a hard scrabble existence, working close to the land to make a life. In times of plenty and in times of want the specter of death was ever present. Disease and accident claimed the lives of mountaineers regularly. Limited medical knowledge and access to doctors resulted in stillborn babies or mother and child perishing during childbirth. While these losses were devastating for the families, the communities where these families lived suffered as well. In communal suffering, families, friends, and neighbors came together in order to help and heal.
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