After retiring in 2018, Lynda found a place in the wonderful group of Experts-in-Residence at The Swag and we are so glad to have her. Esther Blakely was kind enough to make the connection for us, and we are pleased that Lynda will be sharing her immense knowledge and leading hikes (including night hikes!) at The Swag.

Originally from New England, Lynda enjoyed a 30-year long career with the National Park Service — working across the country — including Cape Cod National Seashore, the John F. Kennedy National Historic Site, Lake Mead National Recreation Area, Yosemite National Park, and Point Reyes National Seashore.

Lynda spent the last 16 years of her career as the Supervisory Park Ranger at the Oconaluftee Visitor Center in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. As an interpretive ranger, Lynda focused on education and events that would help visitors appreciate all the Great Smoky Mountains National Park has to offer.

As Lynda shared in a published interview, “I love sharing the park with visitors. Even when I have to go to the headquarters building, just outside of Gatlinburg, I get to drive through the park. And I think, ‘They’re paying me to do this.’ I want to make sure that the park is here for future generations.”

We completely agree, and we hope you will join Lynda at The Swag! We are fortunate that she is willing to share her deep knowledge of these mountains, creatures and it’s history with our guests. Call us at 828-926-0430 or book your room online here.

-David Colquitt

We are honored to have Steven Reinhold serve as an Expert-in-Residence at The Swag. Steven will lead hikes and enthusiastically share stories about the history of these hills and hollers while exploring the geography of the Great Smoky Mountains. Come join Steven to hike, hear the tales of local lore, and much, much more!

We are blessed at The Swag with a wonderful group of Experts-in-Residence, and we are proud to have Steven in this wonderful line up and hope you will consider coming to visit him at The Swag.

-David Colquitt

Did you know that there are 65 mammal species in The Great Smoky Mountains National Park?  The most famous, of course, is the black bear, but we also have elk, red and grey foxes, raccoons, river otters, raccoons, and more. We are extremely blessed to have the experts on southern Appalachian mammals, Dr. Michael Pelton and Dr. Tamra Willis, back at The Swag this season to serve as Experts-in-Residence.

Michael Pelton, Emeritus Professor of Wildlife Science in the School of Natural Resources at the University of Tennessee, is the foremost expert on the black bear in the world. His research on black bears in the Smokies, among “the most ambitious ever undertaken in the eastern U.S., lasted 41 years to become the longest continuous study of any bear species conducted anywhere in the world.”  Due to his research contributions, Mike was named by Smokies Life Magazine as one of 100 most influential people in the history of Great Smoky Mountains National Park. In addition to the Smokies study, Michael and his graduate students researched black bears in 12 other areas in the Southeast as well as brown bears in Spain and Asiatic black bears in Japan. He also consulted on numerous brown bear studies in Norway, Russia, France and Italy.

Michael has numerous academic achievements, including winning the Caesar Kleberg Award from The Wildlife Society. The award “is bestowed for a body of work in applied wildlife that responds to or has potential application to high-priority needs in wildlife management and conservation.” The Wildlife Society declared, “[T]he sustained record of productivity on basic and applied research of Dr. Mike Pelton on common as well as high-profile species was carried out during his 40+year career. His widely published findings along with his relentless efforts to educate not only professionals but the public by forming collaborative partnerships and organizations, led to recovery and improved management of imperiled species, those in need of management, as well as more common species.”

Tamra Willis, Michael’s wife, is Emeritus Professor  of Education in Environment-Based Learning, a program designed for K-12 teachers and outdoor educators who use the natural environment to teach all subjects. Over her career, Tamra served as professor, elementary classroom teacher, science coordinator, and environmental educator.  Tamra’s area of interest is nature-based learning with a particular love for ‘unhuggables’ such as snakes, bats, and insects. Michael and Tamra now live on a farm in Virginia.

Each morning, Michael and Tamra lead interested guests on one of the many beautiful hikes in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park or The Swag’s 250-acre property. Each evening, Michael and Tamra lead discussions in The Swag House on the black bear and other mammals in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.  Our son, Will, loves getting to sit in on these discussions.  Will recently asked, “So what does a grey fox actually do?”

We were lucky to have Michael and Tamra with us for our Halloween celebration.  Although their status as Experts-in-Residence disqualified them from taking home one of the prizes in the costume contest, Willie Nelson and Emmylou Harris would have been tough to beat otherwise!

If you love hiking or learning about the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, you will want to come spend time at The Swag with Michael and Tamra. Book your room now!

-David Colquitt

We are pleased to announce that Steve Yocom has agreed to serve as an Expert-in-Residence where he will lead guided hikes and offer photography lessons at The Swag, an award-winning mountain hideaway in the Smoky Mountains.  Whether you take photos on your iPhone or with a professional camera, Steve will share lessons that will help you capture some of The Swag’s best moments:  views of the Smoky Mountains, wildflowers, autumn leaves, sunrises and sunsets, black bears, and more.  And even if you have no interest in photography whatsoever, hiking with Steve will prove to be a joy as he shares his knowledge about the area and the floral and fauna of the Smoky Mountains.

Steve will be leading guided hikes and photography lessons.  He has also led photography workshops across the country, including in the Grand Tetons, the Grand Canyon, and the Outer Banks.

Steve is a noted outdoor adventure photographer based in western North Carolina.  His work has been featured in many publications, including BACKPACKER Magazine, Visit North Carolina, and Blue Ridge Outdoors.  A selection of some of his photographs can be found on Steve’s online portfolio here.

We are blessed at The Swag with a wonderful group of Experts-in-Residence, many of whom have been delighting Swag Guests for years. We are proud to welcome Steve to this group of wonderful Experts-in-Residence and we hope you will come spend time with Steve by reserving a room now.

-David Colquitt

Did you know what mammal was most recently reintroduced in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park?  If you said, “elk,” you are right.   Elk were once widespread in Southern Appalachia but were losing ground to loss of habitat and overhunting.  According to the National Park Service, the last elk in North Carolina was killed in the late 1700s!  Reintroduction began in the park in 2001, and it has been an incredible success.  Occasionally an elk will wander up to The Swag, the Best Hotel Resort in the Smoky Mountains according to Travel + Leisure and Conde Nast.

We are extremely lucky at The Swag to have Esther Blakely, a true elk expert and founder/owner of Cataloochee Valley Tours, serve as an Expert-in-Residence.  (And even when she is not staying onsite, we frequently arrange for private tours with Esther.  More information about those tour opportunities can also be found on her website).

She founded her company in 2010 and her tours are literally world famous.  Forbes named her Sunset Elk Excursions as one of the “5 Great American Wildlife Adventures.”  Fodors Travel named her tours as one of the Top “10 Best Safaris in the U.S.”  She also served as the Landscaping Filming Guide for the production of Serena, starring Academy Award-winner Jennifer Lawrence and Academy Award-nominee Bradley Cooper!

The bottom line is that we are incredibly blessed to have Esther take some time away from her “day job” (at which she has been incredibly successful) and time away from her husband, Timothy, to come stay with us at The Swag.  Each morning, Esther leads interested guests on one of the many beautiful hikes in The Great Smoky Mountains National Park or on The Swag’s 250-acre property.  She is a fount of knowledge on everything from wildflowers, to mushrooms, to bears, to elk, and everything else in between.  Annie and I had the pleasure to hike with Esther one morning and it was absolutely wonderful.  Her knowledge is matched only by her kindness and care for others!

Each day Esther leads hikes that she likes to call her “naturalist ambles” along with discussions in The Swag House on various Park-related topics, most notably elk and fireflies.  Our son, Will, loved getting to see the elk skull that Esther brought for the discussions.  Everything from the Esther-led hike to her discussions are part of the all-inclusive room rate.

If you love hiking and/or learning about the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, you want to come spend time at The Swag with Esther Blakely.  She will be returning to The Swag throughout the year.  (And if you want to take a hike with Esther outside of those dates, let us know, and we can help arrange a tour during your stay!)  Book your room now!

-David Colquitt

We are always excited when Gay Bryant and Rita Rothmeier join us at The Swag for a wonderful week of watercolor classes, printmaking classes, and hiking. Gay is a painter and printmaker from Knoxville, Tennessee, and a great friend of The Swag.  (You can visit her website to see her own wonderful work!) Rita is a fiber artist and naturalist from Rabun Gap, Georgia.

Each morning, Gay and Rita will lead a short hike, and each afternoon, they’ll teach watercolor painting or relief printmaking classes to guests of all experience levels.  Often, some of our guests are experienced artists, but most have not made art since elementary school.  Nevertheless, Gay and Rita bring the best out of each student with their kindness, encouragement, and knowledge of their media.  I was able to spend several rainy afternoons around the table with Gay, Rita, and the guests as we painted, visited, and relaxed.

Gay has worked as a studio artist for the last 30 years and has a “deep appreciation of nature, architecture, and events of everyday life.”  In addition to teaching at The Swag, Gay and Rita teach at the John C Campbell Folk School in Brasstown, NC.  Gay’s art has been featured in various exhibitions in North Carolina, Tennessee, and Georgia. Rita is a well respected artist and teacher in bobbin lace and an accomplished spinner and knitter.

Every guest leaves the class with a matted painting–worthy of framing–and most of us were quite impressed by what we were able to accomplish with Gay’s and Rita’s guidance. We hope you will join us!  Click here to book a room now or call us at 828-926-0430.

–Annie Colquitt

Next time you come relax on the dogtrot, be sure to take a look inside the cooler, as we are proud to be offering new, complimentary drinks from the locally-owned Waynesville Soda Jerks.  As you take in the amazing mountain views at the “Most Romantic” Hideaway (per Andrew Harper), feel free to grab one, or two, or ten of these bottles and see why these handcraft artisan beverages are called “Southern Appalachia in a Bottle.”

Founded in 2013 with a Farmer’s Market Tent, the Waynesville Soda Jerks are a local, small business that does everything by hand:  processing the fruit, making the syrups, bottling the drinks, and labeling the bottles.   As detailed more fully on their website, “By utilizing local produce and an all-natural approach, we aim to have our product seen as a devilified treat.”  And what a treat it is!

Waynesville Soda Jerks feature various seasonal offerings including Rasberry Cream, Classic Peach, Concord Grape, and–my personal favorite– Blueberry Basil Soda. Check out this YouTube video featuring the Waynesville Soda Jerks and their process:

“For us, the need that was not being met was the transparency within the carbonated soft drink industry.  So many people don’t know what they’re drinking or how it’s made or where it came from.  And so for us, that need was going back to the connection.  Connection to the source:  Where did it actually come from?  Who made it?  How was it made?” -Waynesville Soda Jerks

As we strive to add new treats for our guest and as we look at where we source our food and beverages, we will continue to seek ways to highlight local farmers, local businesses, and — yes — local soda jerks!

For those of you looking for your favorite drinks from that now-not-so-small Atlanta soft drink company or a bottle of IBC Root Beer, fear not.  We still have you covered.  But for those looking to try a little taste of Southern Appalachia,  book your room or call us to make a meal reservation, and come pop open a complimentary bottle (or seven) on the dogtrot while you enjoy our incomparable mountain views!

-David Colquitt

We are honored to have Donald Davis, a master story teller, continue to take the helm as the Expert-in-Residence at The Swag, a luxurious mountaintop hideaway bordering the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.  Donald is a “local boy” having grown up just down the road from The Swag in Waynesville, North Carolina.  In fact, he frequently hiked what is now The Swag’s property before it was “the potato farm that became an inn.”

When Annie and I honeymooned at The Swag in 2011, Donald Davis was also there.  Growing up in the hills of Haywood County, Donald has said, “storytelling was just a part of life.”   After 25 years spent as a Methodist Minister, Donald became a full-time, professional storyteller and has been on the storytelling circuit for over four decades.

In addition to making guests laugh, reflect, and occasionally tear up after dinner, Donald led wonderful hikes throughout the week.  He knows the history of our forests inside and out, and can easily recount the tales of the locals and the various groups that used the mountains of Western North Carolina to take refuge: the Cherokees, the Scots-Irish, Civil War soldiers, and more.  Donald led hikes to the top of Hemphill Bald; to the Appalachian Highlands Science Center at Purchase Knob; to the Ferguson Cabin; and along other trails, pointing out interesting sights and telling wonderful stories along the way.

In a 2006 interview, Donald stated: “Story is really about identity; it’s about identity maintenance; it’s about who I am. A community of people and their relationship to one another is not about where you work. It’s who you are, where you live, and from whom you have come. So, if you go to a cocktail party and all the conversation is about work, you’re not in a community. If you go to a cocktail party and the conversation is about family, about how’s your mama, where are your children, and how are they doing, you then have a community. Community connects people with these things: where you live and to whom you’re related and from whom you came. Community doesn’t connect people in terms of where you work. Community creates a sense of kinship, and we’re akin to people with whom we share common experiences. As soon as you hear somebody’s story, it reminds you of something you did like that, of somebody you know who’s like that, of a place you’ve been that’s like that. You’re then in a community together.”

We believe The Swag is so special, in large part, because of the community that it fosters among the guests, the staff, and experts-in-residence.  We are so glad that Donald Davis has been a part of that story (and our story) for so many years.  So book your room now and come hear Donald…you will not be disappointed!

To see Donald’s wonderful TED Talk on storytelling, please click here.

A sampling of additional coverage of Donald Davis can be found in the Raleigh News & Observer; Salt Lake City Desert News; and Smoky Mountain Living.

-David Colquitt

Swag Experts since 2013, the husband and wife team of Joel and Kathy Zachry share their
vast knowledge and experiences of our Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

You may come to The Swag unaware that our Smokies has more than 100 species of trees, where most other parks can boast of only ten or twelve kinds, or that black bears don’t really hibernate, growl, or fish, much. Taking inquisitive day hikes with the Zachrys you will learn many interesting things about the diversity of nature that abounds here.

Back at the Swag House before hors d’oeuvres you can join the Zachrys for informal presentations with fascinating “show and tell” items to learn of the park’s cultural and historical attributes, the Smokies’ plethora of interesting plants and amazing animals, or how to prepare and what to take for a safe hike. If the weather cooperates, one evening after dinner the Zachrys will likely travel down to the fire pit under a starry sky and hear your stories of adventures and share some of theirs. Everyone always seems to have a bear story of some sort and the Zachrys can certainly share their earlier blunders with encounters. It’s always fun and the Swag can accommodate that special beverage desire for a relaxing time in front of the fire over s’mores!

Joel is a retired higher education administrator and field biologist while Kathy is a retired medical products executive and biomedical engineer. They have hiked and backpacked the Smokies for over 40 years together and completed the 2,175 miles of the Appalachian Trail in 2005. They managed the National Park Service and University of Tennessee award-winning Smoky Mountain Field School for six years and have continued to be instructors for over 40 of its years of existence. Joel wrote his first article for the Tennessee Conservationist Magazine in 1967, and continues to contribute, often using Kathy’s skillful photography. Additionally, they led small
groups trips to remote regions of Alaska for over 25 years, wrote the book Bear’s We’ve Met – Short Stories of Close Encounters, and are the owners and guides for Great Outdoors! Adventure Travel since 1999.

If you enjoy exploring new trails and making new friends or just learning about the uniqueness of our Smokies Park, join the Zachrys during their time here and the many amenities that The Swag has to offer. Book your room now!

At The Swag, we are very fortunate to have Kathy and Doug Peters serve as Experts-in-Residence, where they lead beautiful hikes and share wonderful music.

Every morning after breakfast, Doug and Kathy lead hikes with interested guests on one of the beautiful trails on The Swag’s 250-acre property or in the Great Smoky Mountain National Park, which is 10 yards from the door of The Swag House.

Twenty guests joined the Peters on the first day of the season to hike to Taylor’s Turnaround and the Ferguson Cabin.  Sunday included a sunrise hike where nearly a dozen guests made the pre-dawn trek to Gooseberry Knob for one of the most beautiful sunrises you can imagine… and they were all back in time for The Swag’s Sunday Brunch.

Each evening, after everyone enjoyed their dinner and dessert from our award-winning restaurant, we would gather around the fireplace in the Swag House to hear Doug share songs that he has written over the years, many of which were inspired by his frequent visits to The Swag.

We are grateful to the Experts-in-Residence, like Doug and Kathy, who are willing to “pause” normal life and come help lead beautiful hikes, share wonderful music, and lead other activities for our guests!  Come visit The Swag with the Peters.  Book today!

For a sampling of travel articles and blogs highlighting The Swag and Doug and Kathy Peters, please visit: Travelroads.com and Everyday Living

-David Colquitt