Magazine keeps up with the old and new

Magazine keeps us informed about the mountains

With spring already here, its time to think about some trips.

And as usual, there’s always our plans to head to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

We’ve already have two different dates, in July and September, locked in. And it is likely we will be passing through that area following a wedding in Virginia in early June.

Just can’t keep away from the mountains.

My first experience was as a pre-teen. My family drove from the Mississippi Gulf Coast to Chicago where my father was born and grew up.

We took US 49 north and went up through the middle of Mississippi, hitting the west end of Tennessee and Kentucky and then the final leg to Chicago.

The return trip seemed to always be down through Pigeon Forge, Gatlinburg and then across the mountains into Cherokee before heading home.

I guess from that first trip, I have loved the mountains. And every three months, I can now add to my knowledge of the area by reading the Smokies Life Magazine.

The publication is sponsored by the Great Smoky Mountains Association and is part of the membership package. Others may purchase the magazine at park visitors centers or subscribe and have it mailed.

The more we visit the mountains, the less we seem to know about its history. And the magazine helps fill us in on all sorts of items including hikes, fishing, old railroad towns, hotels and the effort it took to make the area a park.

I look forward to the quarterly publication and scouting out some new adventures for my next trip.

Pushing 70 years of age this month, I hope to still be taking advantage of my lifetime membership for at least another 20 or 30 years.

Next post: April 8, 2014