November 6, 2021

Good Morning,
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Welcome to what should be a beautiful autumn weekend in the Smokies. We’ll be basking in sunshine again today, but the top is still going to be quite cool, especially with the howling winds. We’re currently holding steady around 30°, and when you factor in the 20mph winds, the chill factor has it feeling much cooler. High temps are expected to get back into the 40s today, but visitors will definitely need to layer up. Watch for slick places on trail where water runoff has refrozen. Hopefully in the next day or two the trails clear up and dry out to help ensure safe passage for all.

Tonight is the time change courtesy of daylight savings, so be sure and set those clocks accordingly. Beginning tomorrow, we will be serving guests supper AFTER sunset for these remaining 18 days of the season. That means guests staying overnight starting Sunday will be served at 6:15 PM Eastern. That gives everyone adequate time to enjoy sunset and make it back down to the lodge safely before cozying up with a warm meal. We will also be adjusting our gift shop hours to 12:00-5:00 PM, and beverages for overnight guests will be available from 1:30-5:00 PM. Guests will have no problem now catching sunrise in the morning before enjoying breakfast at 8:00 AM.

In case you missed it, this week’s snowfall caught the attention of many from around the country. The first flakes of autumn always help to get folks excited for the coming winter and holiday season, so it was no surprise to see so many folks check us out. We were especially excited to learn that the Today Show mentioned the lodge on its famous nationally televised show Thursday morning. Those interested can check out the brief spot at https://www.today.com/video/tens-of-millions-face-freezing-temperatures-125461573578?playlist=mmlsnnd_todayarchivesfriday to see our favorite lodge.

Stay warm out there and have a great weekend.