I now understand why Theodore Roosevelt wanted National Parks for the benefit and enjoyment of all people The staff of the Oconaluftee Visitors Center This summer just wouldn't be the same without the amazing staff at our Visitors Center. They were all truly, important assets to...
I used to see the elk from my housing window, from the visitors center, from the car, from my morning walk to work, and then back home. The elk were a daily part of my life, and a part that I really enjoyed. Elk were probably...
Imagine going through this valley on your bicycle, talk about exercising with a view This was a miraculous day, I had just arrived the day before from Orlando after spending three days with my girlfriend. I had spoken with Michaela Arndt, a park ranger from...
Bears are such wonderful and interesting animals. Puerto Rico doesn't have big mammals other than cows and farm animals. Seeing 25 black bears has been one of the best parts in working at the Great Smoky Mountains National Park Black bears were without a doubt the...
It is on this trail, where I would discover salamanders, fungus, birds, plants, and lichens surviving in a high-elevation forest and remote habitat of the Great Smoky Mountains. It also turned out to be one of my favorite trails in the park. This is without...
To call this summer the best summer in my life would be an understatement, in reality, these three months have come to be the best continuous memories of my life. When I first applied to my Fish and Feathers Internship, we were given the opportunity to...
It is in Clingmans Dome, standing at 6,643 feet, the highest peak of the Great Smoky Mountains, where I would set up a birding station. This was also the first time I led a program, the Peregrine Falcon Program. The goal of this program was...
What would be of the Great Smoky Mountains without its salamanders?They definitely don't call this place the Salamander Capital of the World for nothing. The reasons I applied for the Great Smoky Mountains National Park were black bears, its history, and salamanders. My introduction to...