On a piece of rocky ground at the base of a steep bank along the mist-shrouded Little River, oil painter Olena Babak sets up her easel. It’s late in the day to be starting a new piece—less than three hours of sunlight remain—and Babak is fresh from an hours-long painting session in the Elkmont area of Great Smoky Mountains National Park. But something about the
“Nature . . . invites us to lay our eye level with her smallest leaf, and take an insect view of its plain.” ~Henry David Thoreau Early fall in the Smokies is a season to savor. It’s that in-between time, past summer and not fully fall, when most trees and shrubs, especially at lower elevations, are still mainly green but showing plenty of signs of
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.
