Spring Picnic

I think I've heard it called the Beginning of Season Picnic too.  This one was held at the Twin Creeks picnic pavilion in Gatlinburg. I was determined to get there early this year so we would not be last in line (yet again) and not get much food. We made it.  The speeches had not even started yet.

There was a big crowd, as usual. This is only a partial crowd shot.

Linda and Deborah were standing just inside the pavilion and called to me.

It was really cold!  I wore a jacket, my Marathon winter coat, but it didn't do the job.  My hands and feet were cold.  Linda had on a heavy park uniform jacket and she was still cold.  It was colder inside the open-air pavilion than it was outside.

When he gave a talk, we learned that Ranger Heath is now the president of the park employee (recreation?) association.  He announced the upcoming events for the year, thanked the people who worked to get the picnic organized, and praised his predecessor. He is wearing that bright t-shirt because he was teaching a search and rescue (SAR) course.

Clay Jordan is the park's Deputy Superintendent.  He was previously the Chief Ranger. He pointed out that the picnic is to welcome the seasonal employees.  A large number of the park employees are seasonal.  We campground hosts are included even though we are unpaid.

Then I realized that Linda had been strategically standing at the beginning of the food table.  When they announced that it was time to eat, we had but to turn around to pick up our plates and start filling them.  This year, for the first time we have attended, there was food in all those dishes!

After we ate, Clyde and Deborah showed us an interesting spot in the woods.  I didn't get a close-up picture because it was too wet and muddy to get there without walking over wet logs.  Deborah said that last year's fires have exposed all kinds of things in the forest.  This was an old spring house.

The walk to it was also interesting.  Because people lived in the area before the park was created, there was vegetation you don't normally find in the forest.  We saw a plum tree loaded with fruit, but there was too much brush to get to it easily.  We walked by a healthy patch of garlic. The tiny stream that ran from the spring had a lot of watercress in it.  I would have harvested a handful if it had not been so muddy.

We were parked next to this barn.