Tara McCoy’s artistic journey began at the age of 12. After enrolling in arts and crafts classes at her school, the seventh grader learned how to do beadwork, pottery, and other traditional Cherokee crafts, continuing these studies through high school on the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians’ Qualla Boundary. As she gained confidence, McCoy, an enrolled member of the tribe, entered contests and art shows,
Birds, bees, bears, dragonflies, salamanders, hemlocks, fungi. Scientific research in Great Smoky Mountains National Park addresses a wide swath of subjects. From Tennessee, North Carolina, South Carolina, and states much farther away, scientists from several disciplines have found the park fertile ground for inquiry. No wonder, since the park is the most biodiverse in the National Park System. Discover Life in America (DLiA), a nonprofit
The Great Smokies Welcome Center is located on U.S. 321 in Townsend, TN, 2 miles from the west entrance to Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Visitors can get information about things to see and do in and around the national park and shop from a wide selection of books, gifts, and other Smokies merchandise. Daily, weekly, and annual parking tags for the national park are also available.
