Three-year-old Jewlz White samples one of the juicy ripe strawberries she had just picked at Darnell Farms yesterday. She and her grandparents came from the Stecoah Community to pick berries at the Darnell’s Strawberry Jam festival, held annually at the peak of the berry season.

Yesterday, at the Swain County Chamber of Commerce’s annual Easter egg hunt, local children had the opportunity to meet the famed Easter Bunny up close and in person. As he’s done in years past, the legendary great white rabbit again included Bryson City on his world tour of holiday egg hunts.

Chamber Executive Director Karen Wilmot was thrilled with the Big Bunny’s arrival saying “Bryson City is indeed fortunate to have such a celebrity at our egg hunt. The kids were awe-struck. And the Bunny almost seemed dazed by their admiration. We’re already working to book him again for 2012. Keep your fingers crossed.”

The National Park’s new 6,300-square-foot Oconaluftee facility is much more than a mere Visitor Center. Its centerpiece is an impressive museum dedicated to the Smokies’ cultural heritage, beginning with the Early People — the Cherokees. It follows the influx of European settlers in the late 1700s and documents many facets of their often hardscrabble life in the mountains — including ‘moonshining’.

The museum complements the Park’s other museum at Sugarlands Visitor Center, just outside of Gatlinburg, Tennessee, which highlights the natural resources and biodiversity of the park.

Located two miles north of Cherokee, NC at the park entrance, the new facility includes a much larger and more convenient comfort station. The spacious bookstore is run by the Great Smoky Mountains Association. The old Visitor Center, built in 1941, will now house office space for park staff and meeting space for park functions.

No tax dollars were used for this Visitor Center. The Great Smoky Mountains Association provided over three million dollars to finance the construction of the buildings. Friends of the Smokies spent more than $500,000 for the information and cultural resource exhibits.

The Visitor Center opens at 8:00 am every day except Christmas. Closing times vary with the season — from 4:30 pm in mid-winter to 7:00 pm in mid-summer. For more visitor information, visit the GSMNP website.

Preserving the rich heritage of traditional Appalachian arts and crafts is a passion for artisans throughout the Smokies. Their creativity and craftsmanship is on display at more than a dozen Bryson City area shops and galleries.

For some of these artisans, preserving that heritage includes sharing their knowledge through classes in pottery, weaving, basketmaking and quilting. Elise Pincu Delfield offers classes to locals and vacationers of all ages at her Bryson City studio-gallery, Pincu Pottery. Above, she introduces students (l-r) Katharine Beckwith, Haylee Gerard and Gillian Gerard to the potter’s wheel.

For other vacation learning opportunities in the Bryson City area, visit the “Learn Something New” page of the Bryson City online travel guide.

Dreams of a white Christmas came true in the Smokies this year, with a thick blanket of snow that’s still falling on the 26th. About seven inches was measured at the Whittier home above where a lighted holly tree illuminates the snowy scene.

Before boarding the Polar Express train, Chloe and Owen LaVigne of Midlothian, Virginia paid a visit to the Appalachian Toymaker’s shop, located across the street from the train depot. Tim Hall has transformed his Bryson City Storytelling Center into an old-fashioned toymaker’s shop for the holidays, making hand crafted Appalachian wooden toys and spinning yarns. Above, Tim uses his Barlow knife to put the finishing touches on a ‘ball and cup’ toss toy.

Last Friday afternoon, Bryson City was invaded by hordes of costumed creatures, when the town turned Everett Street over to the annual Trick-or-Treat Day. Merchants and civic groups handed out treats to the largest parade of ‘trick-or-treaters’ in the history of the event. If candy wasn’t enough, The Grove Church added free hotdogs and popcorn.

Above, even the scariest of creatures were taken aback by the ugly baby in the bassinet …who in real life is the lovely Caitlyn Carter — one of the winners of the best costume contest.

Left, the mischievous Robin Hood (Robert Waldroup) sneaks up on the demure Maid Marion (Brandi Sutton).

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Every October, people come to the Smoky Mountains to view the brilliant colors of autumn. And many of them take a little of that color back home with them — in the form of a bright, golden pumpkin from a local farm. Above, Allene Jenkins of Bryson City checks out the fall display of pumpkins and squash for sale at Darnell Farms, a family run business just east of Bryson City on Highway 19 at the Tuckaseigee River bridge.

Besides fall favorites — pumpkins, potatoes and apples — the farm has delicious strawberries every May and fresh produce throughout the summer. You’ll also find locally made jams, preserves, honey, salsas and boiled peanuts. There’s a river walk along side the Tuckaseigee and in the Fall hayrides for the kids. You might even catch some musicians jamming on the weekends. Darnell Farms is open every day. Call 828-488-2376.

When you return home with your pumpkins, try this recipe from the Hemlock Inn, a Bryson City Country Inn —

Myrtle’s Pumpkin Bread
2-1/2 cups flour
2 cups sugar
2 cups cooked pumpkin
1/2 cup peanut oil
1/2 teaspoon cloves
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup chopped pecans

Mix all ingredients together. Grease and flour two one-pound coffee cans. Pour batter into cans and bake in a preheated 350-degree oven for one hour. Turn off oven and leave in oven for 15 minutes. Turn out of coffee cans on cloth when cool. Serves 16.

In the popular film, “Night At The Museum”, all the animals and characters in the exhibits come to life. In the Smokies next week, another museum will come to life when the Mountain Farm Museum hosts the annual Mountain Life Festival.

The Mountain Farm Museum is a collection of 19th Century farm buildings moved from different sites throughout the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and assembled in a grassy field alongside the Oconalufee River near Cherokee. Throughout the summer, the museum is a sleepy 19th century farm, with crops such as squash, corn and tomatoes cultivated in the garden and live farm animals grazing in the fields.

And on September 18, the farm will come to life with live demonstrations of soap making, hearth cooking, hominy, apple butter and cider, plus a working cane mill and wood-fired cooker used for the making of sorghum syrup — activities that typified rural life in the Smokies during harvest time.

Mountain Life Festival (free)
Saturday, September 18
10 am – 4 pm
Mountain Farm Museum
Great Smoky Mountains National Park Oconaluftee Visitors Center
Cherokee, NC

Virginia Hill came all the way from New York to celebrate her birthday in the Smoky Mountains of Western North Carolina. Her father, Garius, snapped the above photo and provided the following caption —

“This was a wonderful moment for Virginia and our family. Bryson City and the Nantahala area provided an amazing 12th birthday for Virginia. In one day, we camped in the Smokies, rode on a scenic train through the mountains, whitewater rafted, zip lined through the canopy of giant trees, ate a fabulous dinner in a mountain resort and slept that night in a yurt.”

The Great Smoky Mountains are known for beautiful lakes, rivers and mountain streams …but not necessarily for beaches. That’s because the banks are often rocky and steep, and the waters too swift for casual wading. But in downtown Cherokee at Island Park, the Oconaluftee River widens and becomes shallow enough for children to enjoy playing and splashing in the water. It’s the Smokies’ solution for a day at the beach.

Nowhere else in the Smokies will you find as many different ways to enjoy water as the Bryson City area offers. To learn everything you can do in ‘Mother Nature’s Water Park’ go here.

The legendary masked man returned to Bryson City last week …on a mission to protect Great Smoky Mountains Railroad passengers from marauding train robbers. The railroad was so grateful that they threw a parade for our hero and his faithful sidekick Tonto.

The Lone Ranger will continue protecting the Special Tuckasegee Excursion for the next few weeks…

Thru July 22, Tuesday through Sunday departs 1:00 pm
July 28, Wednesday departs 1:00 pm
August 3 – 14, Tuesday through Sunday departs 1:00 pm

There’s more information here.

The Summer vacation season got off to a great start this Memorial weekend. Bryson City’s motels and campgrounds were filled, there were great crowds at the Heritage Festival, and Deep Creek had a steady parade of holiday vacationers floating and bouncing along on brightly-colored “tubes” (the old-fashioned black truck-tire inner tubes have all but disappeared).

Since the Park Service does not rent tubes, the Hannah family of Hope Mills, NC rented their tubes at the Deep Creek Tube Center and Campground, where they were camping. The Tube Center is just one of several tubing vendors along West Deep Creek Road near the entrance to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, and on the Oconaluftee River in Cherokee.

Unlike whitewater kayaking, which appeals to more adventurous individuals, lake kayaking is a more relaxed experience available to everyone. Along Fontana Lake’s north shore, kayaking provides a unique view of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park where sightings of bear, river otter, deer or bald eagles are not uncommon. Interested? Visit the Bryson City website for information about kayaking in the Smokies, including outfitters.

Innkeeper Scot Warf (Charleston Inn) took this photo as he glided into the cove below the Goldmine Loop trail near the eastern end of the lake.

Jennifer Wilson snapped this early morning scene on Fontana Lake as a boat passed under railroad trestle on its way to a day of fun on the 11,700-acre lake.

Several marinas rent boats for full-day or half-day outings which can include fishing, swimming and sightseeing. With the entire north shore of the 35-mile-long lake protected by the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, wildlife sightings are common, including black bears and bald eagles.

The 791-foot long bridge, which crosses the lake 100 feet above the water, is one of the highlights of the Great Smoky Mountains Railroad’s 44-mile Nantahala Gorge excursion which departs from Bryson City, March thru December.

Whitewater rafting is great fun. But it’s even more fun with a group of friends. That’s especially true on the Nantahala where a few short stretches of smooth water provide breaks from the rapids and a chance for friendly banter between rafters.

Each year, more than 200,000 paddlers ride the eight mile course that snakes through the scenic Gorge. With its Class II and III rapids, the “Nanty” is a family river, suitable for just about every generation (children must be at least seven years old or at least 60 pounds). Yet it’s challenging enough to have been chosen as the site for the upcoming 2013 World Kayaking Freestyle Championships.

National Geographic Adventure and ABC’s Good Morning America’s “Vacationland” series named the Nantahala River the number one place to spend a wet and wild vacation in the US.

Trips can be scheduled with a number of Nantahala outfitters. A variety of trips are offered and each company seems to add its own personal touch. All outfitters provide approved life jackets and most provide a wet suit and/or paddling jackets during the cooler months.

Photo courtesy of Adventurous Fast Rivers Rafting

“To the top of the porch! to the top of the wall!
Now dash away! dash away! dash away all!”

Judged the overall best float in this year’s Bryson City Christmas Parade, the Marianna Black Library’s entry featured Youth Services Librarian Ellen Whitehead reading Clement Moore’s classic “The Night Before Christmas” to a group of children. It’s a role that Ellen performs regularly at the library’s “Story Time”, a reading program for pre-school children.

Known as “the biggest, little Christmas Parade in the Smokies”, the 35th annual Bryson City parade featured clowns, rock and country bands, floats, homecoming queens, marching bands, and of course, Santa.

Photo contributed by the Marianna Black Library

Each day at dusk, the streets of Cherokee, NC come alive with holiday lights. The Tribe’s annual “Festival of the Lights” features lighted, animated scenes and holiday characters throughout town. And the centerpiece of the display is Island Park, where the foot bridges are festooned with lighted garlands and the lights are reflected off the Oconaluftee River. The Festival of the Lights can be seen nightly through January 11.

Christmas music is a big part of the Polar Express Train Ride experience with everyone joining in. And while one might assume that the conductor would direct the singing, it’s actually the singing chefs that lead the passengers in singing familiar Christmas carols.

Departing from the Bryson City train depot, the Polar Express train ride continues through Wednesday, December 23. A great holiday tradition with caroling, hot cocoa, a treat and chance to talk to Santa.  More info and schedules.

Nothing says “October” quite like the pumpkin. And yes, it is technically a fruit because it has seeds. And even if you carve your pumpkin into a jack-o-lantern, you can still enjoy those seeds as a tasty and nutritious snack. The shells are edible and a good source of fiber. Recipe below.

Locally-grown pumpkins are available at markets and fruit stands throughout the Smokies. But for children, there’s an exciting way to get a pumpkin in the Smokies. They can ride a train, visit a pumpkin patch, meet Charlie Brown, Lucy and Snoopy and bring home their own pumpkin on the Great Smoky Mountains Railroad’s annual Halloween-themed excursion. “Peanuts — The Great Pumpkin Patch Express” continues weekends through October 25. Trains depart the Bryson City depot.

Oven-Toasted Pumpkin Seeds

INGREDIENTS
Pumpkin seeds
Cooking spray, olive oil, or butter
Optional: Salt, garlic powder, onion powder, seasoned salt, or other seasoning of choice

PREPARATION
Rinse pumpkin seeds. Use your fingers to remove all the pulp. Drain pumpkin seeds and discard pulp. Spread out on a cookie sheet to dry overnight.

Preheat oven to 250 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with non-stick foil.

Toss pumpkin seeds in olive oil, butter, or spray with cooking spray. Sprinkle with salt, garlic powder, onion powder, seasoned salt, cayenne pepper, or your choice of seasonings. Toss to coat.

Bake about 1 hour, tossing every 15 to 20 minutes, until golden brown.

Cool pumpkin seeds before eating. Store in an airtight container at room temperature up to three months or refrigerate up to a year.

If you like your toasted pumpkin seeds extra-salty, soak overnight in a solution of 1/4 cup salt to 2 cups of water. Dry an additional day, then proceed as above.