A Volunteer’s True Story

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When I headed home from my walk, this scene reminded me of a story my friend Becky told.

Becky was a volunteer at a visitor’s center for the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. This is the most visited of all the national parks in the US, so visitor centers are very busy there. A couple with children came to her and asked with all seriousness, “When do they turn on the smoke?”

Becky can TALK, but I think she was struck dumb for a moment or so. I have told that story many times, and it cracks me up every time.

There is a chemical reason for the haze we see in the Smokies. The plants not only give off oxygen, but also chemicals that form the haze. My photo shows just mist that would likely be gone before I got home.

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Published by Anne Mehrling

I'm a retiree who loves to write about life in the mountains of North Carolina.

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24 thoughts on “A Volunteer’s True Story”

  3. I had never heard the There is a chemical reason for the haze we see in the Smokies. The plants not only give off oxygen, but also chemicals that form the haze.
    Nice you sharing.

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  4. That is so funny. I’m sure folks who work in visitor’s centres have many funny stories to share. I know of one person who worked at the tourist centre in Waterton National Park (part of the Rocky Mountains) who told me a tourist asked her how much one of the mountains weighed.
    It was good to learn why they are called the Smokey Mountains, thanks.

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  13. I love the story. Here we are once again experiencing haze, but this is from the fires in Canada. I guess we can’t get tourists to come to see it. LOL

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