Smokies' "ugly ring" keeps tourists, businesses busy
November 10, 2009 20:16 PM
Friday morning, a steady stream of tourists flock to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, taking in the final fall colors of the year as the colors spill onto the forest floor.
At the same time, another group works on replacement colors for that sky. It's winter wonderland in the Smoky Mountains.
"We come here every year. It's a tradition that we come here the first week of November," Diane Gifford and Lisa Montgomery, visitors from Florence, Alabama said. "We've seen it, we've done it. There is still so much to see, so many different things to see. It's just the peacefulness, the mountains."
Originally, the quiet Smoky Mountainside drew them to East Tennessee. But now, they also enjoy parts of what the National Geographic Society refers to as Sevier County's "ugly ring" around the park.
"Shopping for the ladies, car racing for the men," Gifford said.
National Geographic recently gave the Smokies a score of 49 as part of its listing of top tourist spots around the world. Many of their panelists ripped the park for what surrounds it.
"Between the crowds and the pollution, a mess," the report said.
For perspective, the magazine lists the Fjords of Norway as the top spot, scoring an 85. With a 78, "Vermont" is the top spot in the United States.
But it's not clear if the rating will have any bearing on the future of the Smokies or Sevier County. This year is seeing record visitors to the park, and revenues in the surrounding counties are doing well.
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