Gatlinburg celebrates wildflowers with 58th Annual Wildflower Pilgrimage

As spring begins to sparkle throughout the Great Smoky Mountains, Gatlinburg blossoms into the center of all things botanical during the National Park’s Great Smoky Mountains annual Wildflower Pilgrimage and National Park Experience.

From April 23-27, everyone from the serious botanist to the weekend gardener will have access to some of the nation’s leading botanical experts as well as Appalachian wildlife authorities. Registration, required, is now open.

The Wildflower Pilgrimage offers more than 150 programs including an array of instructional walks and guided hiking tours tailored to meet individual walking ability, along with demonstrations and guest lecturers. Tours showcase the abundant varieties of wildflowers, plants, ferns, mosses, trees and shrubs, as well as birds, bears, boars, bats, salamanders and insects, all native to the Great Smoky Mountains.

Seminar classes include photography workshops and sessions by leading experts such as Carol Liguori Wolfe, a renowned ecologist, science writer and photographer, and Will Blozan, president of the Eastern Native Tree Society. Other classes include a study of herb lore of the Appalachian Mountains and an armchair tour of Cades Cove. Most educational sessions take place in the W.L. Mills Conference Center in downtown Gatlinburg.

In addition to art and craft exhibits, the 2008 Spring Wildflower Pilgrimage juried art competition highlights the beauty of the botanicals of the Smokies and the talent of the artists who focus on the flowering plants.

Educational programs and entertainment in the evenings will round out the week’s events in Gatlinburg. For more and to download a registration brochure and program schedule, visit www.springwildflowerpilgrimage.org. Registration is required.

Article Source: http://www.citizen-times.com/ Author: Paul Clark at 828-232-5854, via e-mail at mailto:pclark@ashevill.gannett.com?subject=Reader%20Feedback

Visitors learn history of Park as Wildflower Pilgrimage winds down

Wildflowers are a part of every Wildflower Pilgrimage hike, even when the focus of the hike is the rich history of Great Smoky Mountains National Park according to The Mountain Press story by Candice Grimm - click here

But on a hike to the Walker Sisters' cabin and Little Greenbrier School, not even Pink Lady Slippers could steal the spotlight from the history of these hardy mountain women.

All during the moderate hike from the Metcalf Bottoms Picnic Area, leader Raymond Palmer pointed out places where buildings had stood and events had taken place.

Although some participants struggled a bit with the heat and the climb, all seemed refreshed by a short lesson learned while seated at a desk inside the cool, dimly lit Little Greenbrier School.

Through pictures of past classes, and long-told stories from students who had attended the school, hike participants learned what it was like to have attended the little log school, as well as some history on how the Park acquired the property.

The lesson was enough to lure the hikers on up the trail to the Walker Sisters' cabin, where Palmer described the lives of the five women who became famous for the way they lived - no running water, electricity or central heat, and by growing what they needed on the 122-acre farm.

Their fame was sealed after a writer mentioned in a 1936 National Geographic article about the new national park that he had come upon two women sitting on their porch paring apples, and they told him they made all their own clothing. The story did not include the women's names, but it had to have been the Walkers, and from then on thousands traveled the narrow road to their cabin to see them, visit, and buy their handmade items.

Walker Sisters of Little Greenbriar - Smokies Store - click here

Little River Road - Sugarlands Welcome Center to Townsend and Cades Cove - Click here

Wildflower Pilgimage - Salamander Foray Fun For ALL Ages

Great Smoky Mountain National Park - The Mountain Press - Getting wet and muddy almost always appeals to children, but it apparently can also bring out the kid in adults of any age.

The Great Smoky Mountains are known as the "Salamander Capital of the World!" Salamanders are an especially abundant and diverse group in the Great Smokies. In fact, the great majority of vertebrate (backboned) animals, including human visitors, in the park on any given day are salamanders.


This week, "Adults comprised about half of the 25 participants in a Salamander Foray led Tuesday by Carey Jones as part of the Wildflower Pilgrimage, but not one of them shied away from splashing through streams or scrambling around the woods flipping rocks and rolling logs in search of salamanders."

Early in the search, an uncommon Spotted Dusky Salamander was captured by an older woman, who turned out to have a knack for locating the slippery little critters with big eyes and long tails.The little kids also caught their share of the 30 species of salamanders living in the Smokies, including a Southern Red-backed Salamander, a Seal Salamander, and many others.

Many guests at the Bear's Den cabin have reported seeing small salamanders up on the deck near the hot tub or on the front porch "sunning" themselves. They are rather elusive but be patient. They'll often come back day after day, so you'll want to keep your camera ready.

The article Photographing Salamanders by Richard D. Bartlett has some great photography tips and images. Click here for the article.

Click here for the complete Mountain Press story.

April 28th - Wildflower Pilgrimage - Special Rachel Carson 100th Anniversary Show!!

Where else could you get $10 tickets to see a Broadway Star! Order now before they're all gone!
In a special 100th Anniversary performance, Broadway star Kaiulani Lee will appear as Rachel Carson in "A Sense of Wonder."

The best show you'll ever get to see for only $10 and the highlight of this year's Spring Wildflower Pilgrimage.

April 28, 7:30-9:00 p.m., Mills Auditorium, Gatlinburg, TN.

Now you can enjoy the same show she's performed for the Smithsonian, United Nations, Sierra Club's Centennial, and Department of Interior's 150th Anniversary Celebration.

Click here to see all the details.

Great Smoky Mountains Photography - Taking My Camera On The Road

It's Saturday morning and we're FINALLY packing up for our trip to the Bear's Den in Gatlinburg, TN.

For me, that means that I've got to gather up all of my photographic gear, because one of the main reasons we're heading south this time of year is to participate in the 56th Annual Spring Wildflower Pilgrimage.

The Spring Wildflower Pilgrimage is a seven-day event consisting of a variety of wildflower, wildlife, and human history walks, motorcades, photographic tours, art classes, and indoor seminars.

Most programs are outdoors in Great Smoky Mountains National Park, but the indoor programs we're attending will be held in the newly-renovated W. L. Mills Auditorium in Gatlinburg, TN.

We're signed up for the Tuesday Photography Workshop and the Wildflower Walk: Ash Hopper Branch hike, not to mention several of the other W.L. Mills programs.

It's been a while since I've done much flower and scenic photography so it took a while to gather up all the equipment: Small tripods, reflectors, macro lenses, etc. I'm going to have to make sure that all that stuff makes it into the car FIRST! What the heck . . .we can always buy clothes once we're there, right?

Since Spring and Summer are probably when most people take to the outdoors with their cameras, I thought I'd post a few photography tips for East Tennessee. The following tips are from an article titled Great Smoky Mountains Photography - click here for the full article.

The rolling mountains receding into the mist, a Tennessee warbler singing on a tree branch, Catawba rhododendrons blooming in June: Great Smoky Mountains National Park offers photographers myriad opportunities to take stunning photographs.

Here are some suggestions for getting great shots.

Composing Your Picture One secret to good photography is learning to see as your camera does. While your mind may embrace the whole scene before you, from the ground to the clouds above your head, your camera is more restricted. To compose a strong image, choose your subject carefully and move in on it, eliminating unneeded detail.

Pay attention to framing and perspective. Off-center compositions are usually more interesting than neatly symmetrical ones, so try framing your subject - one of the park's many waterfalls, for example - off to one side. Photographed from below, the waterfall will appear larger and more imposing. A subject shot from above will seem smaller.

Great Smoky's sights - its hazy, rolling mountains, meadows, and many historic buildings - are perfect for picture-taking. But a prominent object in the foreground - a tree, a boulder, a brightly dressed family member or friend - helps anchor the view and provides a sense of scale. Frame your horizon so that it is above or below the center of your photograph. To increase a sense of depth, use vertical framing.

Range of Light Early morning and late afternoon generally produce the best lighting conditions for photographs because the slant of the sun creates more texture and depth. Early morning sunlight has a bluer tone, which makes colors in photos appear cooler. Dusk, by contrast, lends a warm, rosy tone to photos. Photos shot at midday may appear flat and the colors dull. To cut down on glare, use your free hand to shade the camera from direct sunlight.

Mountain Landscapes A wide-angle lens works best for panoramic photos of the Smokies. Many photographers keep a UV haze filter on their lenses as much to protect the lens as to cut through haze. Consider removing the haze filter or using a polarizing lens to accentuate the Smokies' famous haze and the silhouette quality of the mountains.

Photography Ethics No shot is worth harassing wildlife or damaging vegetation. Unless your camera is equipped with a telephoto lens (at least 200 mm), don't do close-up photography. A general rule of thumb is that if the animal notices you taking its picture, you're too close. Don't walk into protected meadows or leave backcountry hiking trails because you may trample sensitive vegetation or cause erosion.

Film Processing and Supplies When traveling, make sure your batteries are fresh and pack plenty of film. Should you run out, the park's three visitor centers all stock film for cameras and camcorders. Many film processors and retailers are located in the nearby gateway communities.


What About Video? Anything you can photograph you can, of course, videotape. Camcorders also have the added benefit of audio, so you capture not only the movement of a rushing stream or waterfall but also its sound.

Your video camera can double as a notebook, to "jot down" information about the scenery you are filming. Record ranger-led programs, filming the scene while the ranger narrates. (It's a good idea to ask permission before you begin filming.) Film the text of wayside exhibits and then slowly scan the scene they describe. Better yet, have someone read the text aloud while you take in the view.

When zooming, walk closer to your subject, using the widest focal length. Zooming in too tightly risks ruining your image. Panning is most effective when done atop a tripod; this steadies your camera and eliminates distracting movement.

The most important video tips? Don't just "point and shoot." Also, don't let the video camera roll on endlessly; try to edit the videotape as you go. With a little planning, you can bring the best of the Smokies back home with you.

Follow these helpful tips from Emmy-Award-winning filmmaker Sterling Johnson. To jog your memory, think "TEMPO":

T is for TIME: Take a little time to think about what you are going to film and how you are going to film it. Set up a tripod and use it as often as possible.

E is for EXPOSURE: Be aware of how the automatic exposure system can affect your scene. You can balance the amount of light and dark areas in the frame for an even exposure.

M is for MOVEMENT: Look for movement in the scene you're about to film (rushing water, trees blowing in the wind, moving animals, etc.). Use camera movement that has a beginning and an end.

P is for PACE: Plan how your segments will fit together as a story. One well-planned shot is better than ten that are unplanned.

O is for OBJECTIVE: What is the objective of your video? Who is your audience? A too-short video is better than a too-long one.