Hey everyone! Justin here, thank you so much for joining me today!
I've uh, been a little bit of a couch potato lately so I think I'm gonna go to the park today.
There's this really nice one down the street from where I live. It's got this really cool
skateboard setup, and like a big pond, and lots of trails for walking. It's really cool! It's also
a pretty popular place for people to fly kites so I think I'm going to try my new kite today.
You know, smaller neighborhood parks are wonderful green areas. But today,
I want to talk to you about a HUGE park filled not only with rolling hills, trees, waterfalls,
wildlife, and trails but also filled with history and some incredible stories. This park spans two
states and it receives the most visitors out of any national park in the United States! So,
tune in as I tell you a little bit about the Great Smoky Mountains National Park! Let's get started.
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The Great Smoky Mountains National Park is located in the southeastern part of the United States.
It straddles the border of Tennessee and North Carolina. Like its name says, it's part of a
mountain range known as the Great Smoky Mountains. Scientists believe that these mountains are
millions of years old, making them some of the oldest mountains on the Earth! The Smoky
Mountains are part of a larger mountain chain in the eastern U.S. called the Blue Ridge Mountains;
and the Blue Ridge Mountains are part of an even bigger chain, the Appalachian Mountains.
The Cherokee people that originally lived in this area named these mountains Shaconage,
meaning "place of blue smoke." Hmm, I wonder how it got that name? Oh, it's because of the
millions of plants that live there! They create a certain kind of vapor. It's actually a pretty
fascinating phenomenon and I would highly recommend looking into it on your own.
I'd love to go into more detail about it here, but we still have a whole park to explore!
Okay, this park is big! Over 500,000 acres big! And it's so special
that it's a United States National Park. An area becomes a National Park when the U.S.
government decides that they want to preserve it so that people from all over the country,
in the world, can still enjoy its natural beauty, or maybe its historical or cultural importance.
This area of the Smoky Mountains became a national park in the year 1940
under President Franklin Roosevelt. This was made in an effort to protect the land and the
forest before it could get cleared and cut down to make room for more houses and towns.
The idea to make this a park first came about in the 1800s, but the real effort started in 1923.
A lot of people wanted to make this a park, and I totally understand that,
I love my neighborhood park. But some people were opposed to it too. For instance, the people that
wanted to make money by logging the forests here or the many people who had their homes here.
This is where they lived with their families. So, it was a long hard effort.
And as always, money was needed in order to buy up the private parcels of land and turn it into
public parkland. Both Tennessee and North Carolina gave money, as well as some families
and businesses. Also, a good amount of the money fundraised came from concerned citizens and local
grassroots organizations. Some school kids even donated their pennies to help the cause! Also,
some funds came from government programs too! Eventually, after a lot of time, a lot of effort,
and a lot of money, the Great Smoky Mountains National Park became official.
So get this, the Great Smoky Mountains National Park receives more visitors than any other
national park in the U.S., averaging at over 10 million a year! Let's take a look at why it's so
popular. What makes it so special? Well to start, there's no entry fee to getting into the park!
You can explore anywhere you want and it won't cost you a thing, but there's so many more reasons
than that though. It's beautiful all year round! We have colorful spring flowers, brilliant fall
foliage, and quiet winter trails and scenery. And the wildlife that lives here, the animals,
oh there's so many different kinds. This park has a very diverse animal and plant population.
Diverse means that there's a lot of different kinds living in the same place.
So, why is it so diverse? Well, it's because this park has a lot of environments in it;
low valleys, towering elevations, grassy meadows, thick forests, flowing rivers,
and waterfalls! So the animals that live here seek out the places or habitats that are best for them.
In the forested areas? Black bears. There are plenty of black bears in the Smoky Mountains.
Some people even refer to the park as "black bear country." And besides the bears, we have plenty
of other mammals too. Like otters, beavers, deer, elks, skunks, foxes, there's too many to mention!
It's home to more than 200 species of birds; some visit the park as a stopover on their migration
route. It's filled with over 40 different kinds of amphibians such as frogs and salamanders. In fact,
this area is known as the salamander capital of the world. More than 60 kinds of fish swim in
the waterways in the park. And they've got plenty of places to swim...there are over
2,000 miles of rivers and streams! And don't forget reptiles like turtles, snakes, and lizards.
And fireflies! Okay, let me tell you about the fireflies, or some people call them
lightning bugs. Every year tens of thousands of fireflies gather at the park and nature puts on
a spectacular light show as these little beetles flash their lights. People gather in the park to
watch what's called "synchronous fireflies." This spectacular occurrence happens naturally
of course, it's not like the fireflies have talent agents who book shows for them. And get this, the
fireflies in this park are the only species in the United States that flash in sync with each other!
So picture this, all at once they flash, flash, flash. And then they all stop for a few seconds
and it's pitch black. And then they all flash again and they light up the night!
If you enjoy hiking then there's plenty of trails in the park too. I can't even
begin to describe them all because well, there's over 800 miles of trails in the park;
including 72 miles of the famous Appalachian Trail. That's enough to keep you busy! Hey,
have you ever heard that old folk song "On Top of Old Smokey?" You know it's the
one that kind of goes like...[Singing] On Top of Old Smokey...all covered in snow...
Well, you get the idea! Anyways, that famous song is about the tallest peak on
the Appalachian Trail within the park. The real "Old Smokey" that they're singing about is called
Clingmans's Dome. A 45-foot tall tower was built on top of the peak so that people could get a
fantastic view from miles and miles out. That tower actually serves an important role in the
National Park Services' history, and it's listed on the national register for historical places.
Tired of walking? You can always tube down one of the park's many rivers that flow through it;
or you could just drive through its scenic roadways. This park is so big that it has over 400
miles of roadways meandering through the mountains. When big parks were first
established in the west, people usually took the train there and then explored the park on foot.
But this park was purposefully designed for people to not only walk through but drive through. It
was made at a time where the automobile was no longer a far-off fantasy, but quickly becoming
a reality and an important part of family life. People were discovering the joy of hopping in
the car and going on an adventure out on the open road. Beautiful views! Beautiful scenery!
Wow, talk about an amazing view! Well, maybe not if you're afraid of heights, then this
might not be for you. But, the Gatlinburg Bridge is the longest cable bridge for people to walk on
in all of North America. It's more than two football fields long! Look how long that is!
You know, we've been talking a lot about the natural features of this south region landmark,
so let's start talking about some of the historical things that could be found here.
There are plenty of log cabins in the park from some of the earlier residents in the area,
but there's more than just historic houses. We also have bridges, churches, mills,
and even fences that tell the stories of way back when. You can even get to see the inside of
these buildings. This is the inside of a historic church. Oh, look at this old shed! You could see
this at the farm museum in the park. And this is an old plow that you can see at that same museum.
Just imagine going back in time and living here, you know? Going to church, going to school,
living off the land. You know when this area was being turned into a park, the people living
here had to leave and move to a different area. Most of them did, but not the Walker sisters!
Zoom back to the late 1800s; John and Margaret Walker lived in a little house,
seen here, in an area called Greenbriar Cove. They raised farm animals and planted
more than 20 different kinds of apple trees. They helped build a school that doubled as a church.
This is a corn crib on their property that still stands in the park today. Well, John and Margaret
Walker had 11 kids! Wow! Now, these kids grew up and some of them married and moved to other areas
but six sisters stayed behind and inherited the entire 122-acre estate after John Walker died.
Now keep in mind, this was during the time when people were trying to turn this into a park and
were buying all the private parcels of land and turning it into parkland, and forcing the people
living there to move somewhere else. But the walker sisters refused to leave! As a matter
of fact, once the area became a national park in 1940, the Walker sisters were still there!
They just didn't go. So they were allowed to live at the park for the rest of their lives.
Now, they couldn't farm or chop down trees anymore, after all it's not private land it's
parkland now. So, they had to figure out another way to make a living! I guess you could say that
they became tourist attractions because they started making homemade goods and selling it
to the park visitors. Eventually, they got older and they didn't have as much energy to come out
and greet visitors, but they still remained on the estates for the rest of their lives.
Today, you can visit the Walker Estate and get a glimpse at what life was like in the 1900s.
You can even go up and see the little greenbrier schoolhouse,
which was built by John Walker and his son. It doubled as both a church and a schoolhouse.
The story of the Walker family is just one of many from the Great Smoky Mountains National Park,
the stories of its people and its past. Perhaps you'll visit the park someday. Hey, maybe you
already have! Either way, I hope you enjoyed these highlights of the mountains, the wildlife,
the history...but the park is rich with so much more! It's definitely worth your time to try to
research and find out new things about the park on your own. Who knows what you'll discover!
As Roosevelt said during his dedication, this is not a local park, or a county park,
or even a state park; it's a national park, and it's meant for all the people of the country,
and the world, to enjoy! So until next time remember to always be clever!
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