What are the odds of meeting someone from my birthplace on top of Clingmans Dome? Actually, pretty good, since you can meet people from all over the world on "top of old Smoky"?

After two hours behind the desk at Oconaluftee Visitor Center, I drove up to Clingmans Dome. It was a long ride on a crowded road, so crowded that I had to wait for a while in the left turn lane on Newfound Gap Rd. Traffic had backed up on the Dome Rd. It was also busy on top, but that's what you want. Lots of shoppers in the Clingmans Dome Information Center.

At the end of the parking lot, kids and adults were climbing the rocks, right on top of the "Climbing Prohibited" sign. What part of the sign didn't they understand? I asked visitors to get down off the rocks and that they were welcome to walk to the tower as many times as they wanted.

If you've been a regular reader, you know that I think that people in parks look for artificial thrills, like climbing rocks in full view of the parking lot or climbing slippery waterfalls because they don't really want to go into the woods. I encouraged a family with very energetic children to hike down to Andrews Bald. It's a rocky trail and the kids will get their thrills.

Most questions centered around the dying balsams; spruce and firs, together, are referred to as balsams.

"Are they doing anything about the trees?" The trees on top of Clingmans Dome (see the top photo) have been attacked by the balsam woolly adelgid since the 1950s. The park has moved some firs to Purchase Knob near Cataloochee to save the genetic pool. Also, they are studying balsams on top of Mt. LeConte, which have not been affected as much from the adelgid.

Dogs are not allowed on Clingmans Dome Trail even though it's paved. Ranger Julie warned me about confronting visitors because in 1999, a ranger was killed in a National Park in Hawaii over dogs. Julie found the original posting on the case - a man with three dogs who grabbed the ranger's gun and shot him multiple times. Who says that being a Volunteer in the Parks (VIP, they call us) is not exciting.

I don't expect to see a bear on my walks, especially not on Clingmans Dome because there are too many people. The Cherokee Statue Bears are the only thing I saw.

The most "exciting" thing that happened was that a child threw his show over the railing. It landed on a tree top and "No, I was not going to retrieve it for him."  

Wind and rain will bring the shoe down soon enough and someone will pick it up as garbage. Speaking of garbage, I pick up a lot of that, as well, on the trail.  

I talked to 72 visitors today. And, ultimately, visitor contacts is what's it's all about.