John Gullion

3 weeks ago | citizentribune.com | John Gullion

The water was up on Abrams Creek last weekend on a warm spring day in Cades Cove. It roared past the picnickers, forming deeper than usual eddies and foaming white cascades as it made its long journey from the mountains to the valley eventually to the river and finally out to the sea. I’ve always thought of Cades Cove as my home base in the Smokies.

1 month ago | thesmokies.com | John Gullion

While I appreciate the value of a good walk through the woods or a scenic drive through Cades Cove or along the Roaring Fork Motor Nature Trail, my favorite thing to do in the mountains is a good family picnic. When I was kid, my stepfather’s family would come down from Indiana and we’d plan small family get-togethers or larger family reunions in the mountains, preferably next to a picnic spot with a nice mountain stream suitable for wading or even tubing.

1 month ago | thesmokies.com | John Gullion

If you think about it, it’s a bit strange to grow up with the most visited national park in the country in your backyard. Last year, 12.2 million people visited the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. I could be there in 45 minutes, 30 if I get good traffic. As a kid, I went to high school with the granddaughter of the last person to live in Cades Cove – maybe even the park itself, Kermit Caughron, aka the Bee Man.

1 month ago | thesmokies.com | John Gullion

I was an adult man, young but fully adult, before I found out there were parts of the United States without lightning bugs. I suppose I’d just never really thought about it. Lightning bugs were just a part of summer. I remember being a youngster with a mason jar with air holes poked in the lid, running around at dusk and catching as many as possible. I also remember kids smushing them. They used the phosphorescence to make a briefly glowing ring around their fingers.

1 month ago | thesmokies.com | John Gullion

In the Smoky Mountains, history sells. Countless attractions try to grab visitors’ attention by overplaying their connections to history. They may borrow the history of someone or something local or create a theme around a historic figure or place that has nothing to do with the modern-day attraction. But the Old Mill in Pigeon Forge has an ironclad historical link dating back to 1830. Its roots go back to the founding of Pigeon Forge.