What a difference

This weekend I'm going to spend a day at Wilderness Wildlife Week in Pigeon Forge Tennessee.   This will be my forth trip to this fantastic event.   Started by Ken Jenkins 23 years ago this event is committed to the education and enjoyment of the public as to the wonders of Great Smoky Mountains National Park.  It is 8 days filled with free and low cost programs, classes, and hikes including some great photography programs.   Check out the program on the website to pick out sessions you might want to attend.

There are a couple I highly recommend

Nature Photography Workshop: Kendall Chiles, Tom & Pat Cory, Daniel Dempster and Harold Stinnette 9:00 AM - 1:00 Saturday January 12.  I've attended this one before and am going again.   You would pay good money to go to a workshop led by any one of these professionals.   Getting 4 hours of instruction from all five for free is a deal not to be missed.  

Learning to See Photographically: Bill Fortney 2:30 - 3:30 PM Saturday January 12 and 10:30 - 11:30 AM on Sunday January 13.   You will never go wrong going to anything by Bill Fortney.   I have seen an earlier version of this program and will make sure I see it again.   I just can't get enough of Bill's instruction and inspiration.

If you go, get to the rooms early and get a seat.  They always fill up and people will stand along the sides and in the back.

The last time I was at WWW was 2011.   On Friday night that year it snowed and June and I got up early and skipped several of the programs to head into the park to play in the snow.   It wasn't easy finding a gate that was open and we almost got locked in when they closed the gate near Townsend.   This is a picture of the road to Tremont on January 8, 2011.  You can see there were no tire tracks on the road.  There were a few people down that road.   I'm not sure how long before they got out.

The  forecast high for this Saturday is 67.   Not much of a chance of snow this year.   That's OK.  That way I won't be tempted to skip the programs this year.