Your guides will board your bus for a short bus tour to the trailhead. On the trail, we will take a 2-½ hour walk along the beautiful and pristine Middle Prong of the Pigeon River. Our walk begins on a trail through an old farm field that is now a healthy second growth forest. We'll learn how to tell what was grown there as we discover the lush world of this former mountain community. On this walk we'll study what the settlers and Cherokee used for foods and medicines and even try a few things. Along the way, our walk includes a visit to an old homestead site, a small family cemetery and ends with a visit to a restored cabin before turning around.

Bring: walking shoes, snacks and water.

Take a guided trip to the highest point in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Clingman's Dome. Our trip begins at the Sugarlands Visitor Center when Erik and Vesna Plakanis join your bus and give you a guided tour up the Mountain. The guided tour includes several beautiful photographic opportunities of the sea of mountains, plus stories of the natural and human history of the Park. We'll travel up the highest paved road east of the Rockies to our trail. We'll guide your group up the paved trail to the top of the sacred Mountain of the White Bear, otherwise known as Clingman's Dome. On our way up to the top, we'll discover a forest found normally in Canada. Many people visit Clingman's Dome every year, very few have their own guide. The day ends with a stop in the Sugarlands Visitor Center to see the museum and movie of the Smokies.

Bring: walking shoes, ponchos, water, and snacks

Our trip begins at the Sugarlands Visitor Center where Erik and Vesna Plakanis we'll give you a bus tour of the Smokies as we ride to an historic area of the Park. Our walk begins past the now abandoned summer homes of the wealthy folks who helped make the Smokies and National Park. As we leave these homes, we will pass through some second growth forests that have returned to cover up what was a thriving logging community in the early 1900's. These old farm fields are now a rich forest filled with life. On our stroll, we'll learn about some of the wild plants that sustained the Cherokee and later the settlers. We'll show you how to identify some of these wild edibles and medicinal plants for your use in your own yards. Our walk follows the misnamed Little River. This large and dramatic body of water gives us many chances to soak our feet on a hot summer's day. We'll lunch next to a small cascade as we bask in the sun, before turning around. The day ends with a stop at the Sugarlands Visitor Center with a short trip through the museum and gift shop before we finish our day with the new movie of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

Bring: lunch, walking shoes, ponchos, water, and snacks.