The Passing of the Torch: Blue Ridge Parkway 75th Anniversary

Next weekend the Blue Ridge Parkway will kick off its 75th anniversary celebrations with several historical and symbolic events. The official anniversary, however, is actually next year.

The highlight of the weekend will be the Ceremonial Torch Passing on Friday, Nov. 13, on the Blue Ridge Parkway outside Cherokee. A torch will be passed from the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, which celebrated its 75th anniversary this year, to the Parkway. Both park superintendents and Eastern Band of the Cherokees’ tribal leaders will deliver remarks. The ceremony will be held at 10 a.m.

Other events this weekend include:

* A program called “Natural Resource Stewardship – An American Indian Legacy and Model for Our Future” will be held at 6 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 12, at the Cherokee High School. Talks will be given by Gerard Baker, superintendent of Mount Rushmore National Memorial who was featured in Ken Burns recent national parks documentary, along with former and present superintendents of the Parkway, Dan Brown and Phil Francis.

* Guided history tours in partnership with the Museum of the Cherokee Indian will be given by Cherokee storytellers at noon on Friday, Nov. 13, with several stops along the southern portion of the Parkway. Cost is $20 per person and includes a boxed lunch. 828.497.3481.

* Parkway History Day will be held on Saturday, Nov. 14, at the Folk Art Center on the Parkway outside Asheville.

* A benefit concert featuring Nanci Griffith will be held on Saturday, Nov. 14, at 7 p.m. in Asheville. There will be a performance of the one-time-only collaboration of The Blue Ridge Bluegrass All-Stars showing their support for the Parkway, including renowned musicians: Doyle Lawson, Sammy Shelor, Bryan Sutton, Tim Surrett, and Jim Van Cleve. The Cherokee Warriors of AniKituhwa will also perform, and the entire evening will be hosted by Asheville’s own Grammy award-winning musician David Holt.

You can find more information on each of these event at the Blue Ridge Parkway 75th Anniversary website.


Jeff
HikingintheSmokys.com

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Why are there handprints on the ceiling of the Primitive Baptist Church in Cades Cove?

Why are there handprints on the ceiling of the Primitive Baptist Church in Cades Cove within the Great Smoky Mountains National Park?

The Great Smoky Mountains Association answers this question, along with others in their latest video that highlights the three remaining churches in Cades Cove:




Jeff
HikingintheSmokys.com Detailed information on trails in the Smoky Mountains; includes trail descriptions, key features, pictures, video, maps, elevation profiles, news, and more.

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Entrance Fees Waived On Veterans Day

To honor America’s service men and women, Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar has announced that areas managed by the department will not charge entrance fees on Wednesday, November 11th.

Visitors to public recreation lands managed by the National Park Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Bureau of Land Management and Bureau of Reclamation are invited to take a day to honor and reflect on what our service men and women have done to maintain our freedom and keep peace around the world, Salazar said.

"The Department of the Interior is honored to offer this fee free day to thank our nation’s service men and women,” said Salazar said “The sacrifices and achievements of the brave men and women of our armed forces can never be understated. We invite all of our visitors to enjoy this fee free day and take time out on this national holiday to remember our service men and women who are currently serving overseas in harm's way."

The Department of Agriculture also is waiving entrance fees at its national forests.

Many of the 392 national parks have planned special events on Veterans Day including:

* World War II Memorial, Washington, DC – 8 a.m. color guard from the Military District of Washington, special speakers, wreath-laying, and taps. Contact: Friends of the National World War II Memorial, (202) 747-4258.

* Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington, DC – 1 p.m. annual Veterans Day Observance at the Wall. Contact: Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund at (202) 393-0090.

* Valley Forge National Historical Park, Pennsylvania – 10:30 a.m. wreath laying at the National Memorial Arch with the Friends of Valley Forge Park and the Korea DMZ Veterans Association. Contact: Ann Marie Maher at (610) 783-1006 or maher@valleyforge.org.

* General Grant National Memorial, New York – 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. living history displays and demonstrations of the evolution of the American Army during the 19th century. Contact: Mindi Rambo at (212) 668-2208 or mindi_rambo@nps.gov.

Click here for a full list of National Parks that preserve and commemorate battlefields or related themes.


Jeff
HikingintheSmokys.com Detailed information on trails in the Smoky Mountains; includes trail descriptions, key features, pictures, video, maps, elevation profiles, news, hiking gear store, and more.

Seasonal Road Closings in Cades Cove

Over the next several days there will be a couple of seasonal road closings in the Smoky Mountains that will impact a handful of trails.

On Tuesday, November 10, the Roundbottom/Straight Fork Road will be closed for the season. The gravel road is accessed from the paved Big Cove Road, located near Oconaluftee in North Carolina. Trails impacted by this closing include the Hyatt Ridge, Enloe Creek and Beech Gap Trails.

The following Monday, November 16, Rich Mountain Road and Parson Branch Road will also close for the season. Both roads are one-way gravel roads, and are both accessed via the Cades Cove Loop Road.

Trails impacted by these closings include Indian Graves Gap on Rich Mountain Road, and the Gregory Bald and Hannah Mountain Trails on Parson Branch Road.

Of course all of these trails will continue to be open, but you may have problems reaching these particular trailheads.

You should also be aware that the Cades Cove Campground Store will be closed on November 5 as well. However, vending machines will remain in service throughout the winter.


Jeff
HikingintheSmokys.com

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Smokies area receives bad rating from National Geographic Traveler

The Knoxville News Sentinel is reporting that the National Geographic Traveler magazine has rated Great Smoky Mountains National Park as one of the "Places with Troubles."

The publication's sixth annual rating of 133 worldwide travel destinations characterized the Smokies as "a national treasure surrounded by a bathtub ring of ugly, unplanned development," especially in and around Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. Air pollution is a growing issue. "Between the crowds and the pollution, a mess."

One judge said "the worst excesses of mass tourist development are apparent just outside the national park, in Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg," though another said Gatlinburg has done a better job sprucing itself up over the past decade.

Western North Carolina, including Asheville, received much more favorable ratings from the judges, "Western NC is a wonderful place to visit, from the artists and craftspeople in the Asheville area to the adventure tourism of Nantahala Outdoor Center and the many white-water rivers and mountain-biking trails".

The magazine emphasizes that the list isn’t a popularity contest, but rather an assessment of authenticity and stewardship, evaluating the qualities that make a destination unique and measuring its "integrity of place."

The survey of 437 well-traveled experts in a variety of fields, including; historic preservation, site management, geography, sustainable tourism, ecology, indigenous cultures, travel writing and photography, and archaeology, placed the Smokies in the next-to-worst category: "Places with Troubles."

The panel used six criteria in judging the destinations, and weighted them according to importance - environmental and ecological quality; social and cultural integrity; condition of historic buildings and archaeological sites; aesthetic appeal; quality of tourism management; and outlook for the future.

Although there is certainly an element of truth in the magazine's assessment of the region, you can't really put a lot of stock in the rankings. There are 437 experts rating 133 travel destinations. The problem is that experts were only allowed to rank destinations they were familiar with. Therefore, I would argue, individual destinations were not judged on the same scales due to the number and mix of experts that ranked a given destination.

You can read the full National Geographic Traveler article by clicking here.


Jeff
HikingintheSmokys.com

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