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.

In her blog “Hiking in Stilettos”, Ashley Hamby recently chronicled an October weekend in Bryson City …making us appreciate the fact that she also hikes with camera. Her post included several nice images shot around Bryson City, including the one above.

Ashley says Bryson City is one of her favorite weekend getaways “especially since there is so much to do there.” About the photo, she said “We started on the Deep Creek Trail and hiked to Martin’s Gap trail, then down Sunkota Ridge back to Deep Creek for a total of 14 miles. This is where the waterfall and leaf pictures are from.”

If you’d like to hike this trail, you can download a PDF map of the Deep Creek Trails and Waterfalls from the Bryson City online travel guide.

This morning, the North Carolina Smokies awoke to a thick blanket of snow. While the peaks of the Smokies have already had several snowfalls, this is the first of the year in the lower elevations. And what better time to adorn a postcard with Scott Hotaling’s “Winter Gold”. Scott is an area photographer who routinely captures the Park’s beauty. For more of Scott’s photography and print information, visit his website at LightOfTheWild.com.

You may associate southern Appalachia with square dancing and clogging, but another dance form is alive and well — bellydancing.

Recently, the newly-formed ‘Bryson City Bellydance‘ organization invited the community to a dance party, or “Hafla”, where dancers from Waynesville, Morganton and Bryson City performed different styles of bellydance.

The group’s mission is to “share the ancient art of bellydance with the Bryson City community through education, instruction and performance and to use this empowering dance form to create a sense of self and community for the women of Bryson City.”

The Bryson City Bellydancers above are (l-r) Raquel Moore, Kim Holt, Diane Cutler, Tayla Holt, Sarah Miller, Paige Christie. The group is currently offering beginner, intermediate, and cardio-bellydance classes and welcomes anyone interested in joining the performance troupe.