A Trip to the Smokies and a NEW Coffee Table Book Now Available!
One of the core missions of Anderson Design Group is to create inspiring, wanderlust-inducing original poster art. Whenever we can, we travel to the places we make art of, seeking inspiration and reference photos. On this latest journey, ADG founder Joel Anderson and collaborating illustrator Kenneth Crane made their way to ADG’s “in our own backyard” park, Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The goal was to take some reference photos and make some field sketches to finish off the new book Joel and Ken were working on: Wilderness & Wonder. (Spoiler Alert: The book is now available on our site!)
Two Action-Packed Days
Ken’s time in Nashville was limited (he’s based in Monument, Colorado), so Joel called his friend Dan Pierce to help the pair plan a memorable trip to the Smokies. Dan Pierce is the co-author of the Illustrated Guide to Great Smoky Mountains National Park, a local expert and historian of the Smokies.
Ken and Joel had just two days to spend with Dan and see the park, so Dan put together an itinerary to ensure Ken could see, photograph, and sketch aspects of the park he wanted to experience, both as a wilderness enthusiast and as an artist.
Dan forwarded us his itinerary, and we’re amazed at how much he could fit in each day. It looked something like this:
Thursday:
- Leave at 6 a.m. and head to Cataloochee.
- Spend the morning in Cataloochee touring the valley, elk watching, and hiking the Boogerman Loop (7.4 miles).
- Take a picnic lunch.
- Head to the Big Creek area for the afternoon.
- Hike up Baxter Creek and the Big Creek Trail for the swimming hole and waterfalls (3-4 miles).
- Head to Waynesville for dinner at Boojum.
Friday:
- Rise even earlier and leave at 4:30 a.m. to head to Newfound Gap for the 6:30 a.m. sunrise.
- Head to the Alum Cave trailhead for a 4.4-mile hike.
- Head down to the Sugarlands Visitor Center.
- Travel back up the mountain to Clingmans Dome.
- Hike to Andrews Bald (3.5 miles).
- Stop for burgers at Innovations Brewing in Sylva.
- Sunset on the Blue Ridge Parkway.
That itinerary was action-packed, and Joel and Ken had their cameras out practically every step of the way. Below is a highlight reel of their trip!
An Interview with Joel
After Joel and Ken returned from their trip and Ken departed Nashville for his next adventure, we caught up with Joel:
ADG: You’ve been to Great Smoky Mountains National Park more than any other national park. What was the purpose of this particular trip?
Joel: We’ve been working on a new coffee table book, and Ken wanted to see the park so he could gather reference material and take photos. I’ve already been out west to visit Ken in Colorado and see some of the parks there, but Ken hadn’t seen a few of the parks on "our side" of the country yet, parks that display a different kind of beauty from what you’ll see out west. Everything in the Smokies was incredibly green and vibrant, the wildlife was quite active, and we had great weather. Taking someone to a park they’ve never been to is always a joy. It's almost like you’re getting to experience it for the first time along with them.
ADG: What were some of your goals going into this trip?
Joel: Ken wanted to see wildlife so he could illustrate and photograph common park animals for the book. And boy, were we lucky out there! Early August is when the wild mulberry and cherry trees put out their fruit, so we saw several black bears dining on nature’s provisions. We rounded a bend in Cades Cove and saw three black bear cubs in a cherry tree, eating cherries and dropping berries down to their mom. It was a real once-in-a-lifetime experience, and the mild weather made it so we saw wildlife throughout the day, not just in the morning and evening.
ADG: What were some of the aspects of the park you wanted to make sure Ken got to experience?
Joel: Great Smoky Mountains National Park is pretty large, and it has several sections. We wanted Ken to experience them all, as the book we’re working on provides an artist’s perspective––and a guide––to all 63 national parks. So we wanted to mix hiking, wildlife viewing, waterfalls, rivers, mountaintop lookouts, meadows, historic buildings, and scenic drives. It helps to do all of the above to get the full Smoky Mountains experience.
ADG: It’s amazing you were able to do all that in just two days.
Joel: We couldn’t have done it without our friend and colleague Dan. He’s a local to the area and a historian of the Smoky Mountains. He knows the area like the back of his hand. He could have guided us through the park blindfolded.
ADG: Is it helpful to visit parks with someone who’s been there?
Joel: Absolutely. Particularly with the larger parks. People can spend so much time planning and working on contingencies and backup plans, but if you go to a park with someone who’s familiar with it and who knows the ropes, you’re able to have a more streamlined and comprehensive experience, especially helpful if you’re short for time, as we were.
ADG: What were some of the highlights of the trip?
Joel: The black bear experience was a highlight, but we also checked out Mt. Leconte, Cades Cove, Clingmans Dome, and Cataloochee. This trip was about seeing the iconic must-sees in the park so Ken could get a well-rounded experience. We got sunrise and sunset photos, Ken got some great wildlife shots, and we did some picturesque scenic drives. Also, a lot of hiking! A favorite was the two-mile uphill hike to Alum Cave. It’s challenging, but you’re walking along a stream most of the time, so it’s quite pleasant.
ADG: Do you know what number this is for you? In terms of the number of visits to the Smokies?
Joel: Hmm… I came to the park 6-8 times when Dan and I worked on the Illustrated Guide to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park coffee table book. And I’ve been there 5-6 times since. This trip was probably my 14th time visiting the park! But in all my adventures there, I’ve never seen wildlife like we did on this trip. We experienced an elk “traffic jam” in the Cataloochee area, similar to the bison traffic jams visitors experience in Yellowstone.
ADG: Any advice for folks planning a trip to the park?
Joel: Try to go to the park with someone who’s been there, if you can. If that’s not feasible, take the time to map out your itinerary. It’s a big park and there’s lots to do. Keep an eye on the National Park Service website for the Smokies, as they post road closures, weather conditions, and important schedule information, like the fact that the Cades Cove loop road is closed to automobiles one day per week and reserved for bicyclists on that day.
ADG: What’s most inspiring to you about the park?
Joel: It’s a four-season park, and you get a different experience each time. It looks different in summer, autumn, winter, and spring. Also, the autumn colors in the park are superb. Because of the stark elevation changes throughout the park, fall takes its sweet time in the Smokies. Leaves start changing color at higher elevations in September, but it’ll be well into October before the forests at lower elevations (like Cades Cove) start changing.
ADG: Sounds like a wonderful trip! Thanks for telling us about it.
Joel: My pleasure!
ADG’s Biggest Release for 2024 is Now Available!
Over the past 18 months, ADG has collaborated with Kenneth Crane to produce an illustrated guide to the 63 national parks, rendered from an artist’s perspective. Ken and Joel’s trip to the Smokies marked the final step in the long journey of researching, visiting, photographing, creating art, and writing about the parks.
Just in time for the holidays, we’re thrilled to announce Wilderness & Wonder—An Illustrated Guide To The National Parks is now in-stock and available for purchase. Check out the book (click here for hardcover and here for softcover), read about it, see a few sample pages, order yourself a copy, and snag one for a friend, too!
This book is a visually stunning collaborative work of Ken's full-page illustrations of the national parks, plus hundreds of spot illustrations and on-location photos accompanied by helpful and inspiring text about the national parks.
May the book inspire life-changing travels to the national parks this year, next, and beyond.
Happy trails.
-Ren Brabenec
Anderson Design Group Staff Writer
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