June 26, 2017
Bumbleberry Season at Buckhorn Inn!
Dinner guests at the Buckhorn Inn on June 28 have a real treat in store–bumbleberry cobbler for dessert!
Warm berry cobbler can’t be beat.
You may ask how many bumbleberries it takes to make one cobbler? The answer is that there is no actual fruit called a “bumbleberry”. Rather, the word describes a mix of berries, or a “jumble” of berries. The delicious combination most commonly is used in a pie or in preserves. Typically the mix includes both sweet and tart flavors that burst into juicy goodness in your mouth. We bake ours into a cobbler that features a tender crust. Wikipedia credits Western Massachusetts as the home of the bumbleberry. Lore has it that the name came from a waitress who was asked what kind of pie was being served. Bumbleberry recipes have appeared in print since the late 1950’s, and we argue that ours is one of the best.
Bumbleberry Cobbler Recipe
Preheat oven to 375 F.
1/2 cup cold butter
1 cup sugar
1 cup self-rising flour
3/4 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 tart apple, cored, peeled and sliced
1/2 cup diced rhubarb
1 cup fresh sliced strawberries
1/2 cup blueberries
1/2 cup raspberries
1/2 cup blackberries
Cut cold butter into pats and line the bottom of a 6″x 9″x 2″ pan. Blend the flour and sugar. Add the milk and vanilla and stir to make a batter. Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Mix fruit together and pour on top of the batter. (Optional: if the berries are not sweet you may add 1/2 cup sugar to them.) Bake for 30-40 minutes until golden brown. The batter will rise to the top as it bakes. This recipe makes 10-12 delicious servings.
For a preview of other delightful menus coming up at the Buckhorn Inn, please visit our website https://www.buckhorninn.com/dining
Mixed berries are the basis for many summer treats at the Buckhorn Inn.
June 22, 2017
Eclipse Visible in Lower 48 for First Time since 1979
In 1972, Carly Simon sang to a lover who flew his “Lear jet up to Nova Scotia to see the total eclipse of the sun”. Luckily, on August 21 you only need come to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park to view the Moon pass between the Earth and the Sun!
The website http://www.greatamericaneclipse.com names the Great Smoky Mountains National Park as one of ten great places from which to view the eclipse. The park offers great vistas from areas such as Clingman’s Dome. These expansive views offer the chance to see the shadow of the moon scurrying across the landscape–sure to be a dramatic sight, indeed.
A rare solar eclipse will be visible in Tennessee on August 21.
Park Preparing for Eclipse
The blotting out of the sun will be visible from the entire western half of the park. Park officials are preparing public viewing events for three locations: Clingman’s Dome, Cades Cove, and Oconaluftee. You are welcome to view from other areas within and without the park on your own. The park expects large crowds, so we advise that you make your plans well in advance of August 21. For information and updates on events in the park, please visit http://www.nps.gov/gsm
Eclipse Details
During a total solar eclipse, the moon covers the sun so that only a sliver of the sun’s corona is visible. In our area, the disappearance of the sun will last for one minute and 17 seconds with totality beginning at 2:35 pm EDT. It is recommended that eclipse viewers purchase solar protective glasses far in advance, wear them while watching, and only remove them during the totality of the darkness. At the Buckhorn we expect to fill up quickly during this time period, so please reserve your accommodations soon!
The Buckhorn Inn provides a serene oasis from the crowds viewing the eclipse.
https://www.buckhorninn.com/lodging
June 14, 2017
Buckhorn Inn is Gateway to Greenbrier Area
Just 1.5 miles from the Buckhorn Inn is the Greenbrier entrance to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Often referred to as “the locals entrance to the park”, the Greenbrier largely is undiscovered by tourists. The Greenbrier area of the park boasts the Ramsey Cascades–the tallest cascades in the Smokies. In the Greenbrier, named for the thorny vines common in this area, one can find beautiful hiking trails, fishing, and picnic areas tucked among the towering hemlock and maple trees.
History of the Greenbrier Area
During the Ice Age, the high mountain slopes fractured, creating boulder fields. The natural forces of erosion carried smaller boulders to lower elevations. The early settlers in this area used these stones to build long rock walls, many of which are still standing today. In fact, the Old Settlers Trail has dozens of these picturesque rock walls. You will notice that the streambeds in this area are lined with sandstone and slate rocks of all sizes.
The stone walls built by early residents of Greenbrier still stand.
The first inhabitants of the area were the Cherokee, who had a seasonal community at Porters Flat. The first recorded residents of European descent in the area were brothers William and Middleton Whaley who settled here around 1800. In 1818 John Ownby and his family joined the area. They were subsistence farmers, who supplemented their income by hunting and trapping. By the early 1900’s, the population of the Greenbrier area was near 500. The Greenbrier area has many streams which have cut deeply into the terrain. Because of this natural feature, residents lived in many small communities along the streams, rather than being part of one large community. General stores in the area provided a venue for residents to trade chickens, eggs, and animal furs for such necessities as clothing, medicine, and coal oil. They farmed corn and potatoes, and dug ginseng.
Hiking along the trails in the Greenbrier, one can easily imagine the lives of the previous residents of this beautiful area. This is a special place to spend one, or many, days exploring. Guests at the Buckhorn Inn can keep up their exploring stamina by pre-ordering hearty, delicious sack lunches to take with them.
Gourmet sandwiches are the mainstay of Buckhorn Inn sack lunches to enjoy in the Greenbrier area.
https://www.buckhorninn.com/dining We will see you on the trail!
June 6, 2017
Buckhorn Spotlighted in Best of the Smokies
We are thrilled that Knoxville’s Cityview magazine included the Buckhorn Inn in their May-June Best of the Smokies roundup. The article references one of our many famous guests, Walt Disney. Mr. Disney stayed in Cottage 2 at the Buckhorn while filming the television series Davy Crockett. Some scenes from the five-part series were filmed in color at the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in the Mountain Farm Museum. Mr. Disney enjoyed his stays at the inn so much that every year until his death in 1966 he sent Christmas presents to the innkeepers’ children. Watch this blog for future articles detailing other famous guests at the Buckhorn Inn! We are especially pleased that “Hidden in Plain Sight: Treasures of Sevier County” by Hannah Overton describes us as “keeping the art of slowing down and enjoying the beauty of the mountains alive since 1938”. To read the entire article, please visit http://www.cityviewmag.com/hidden-in-plain-sight/.
Other Sevier County Treasures in Addition to Buckhorn Inn
We are in good company, the article highlights many other “hidden-in-plain-sight” treasures in Sevier County, including Gatlinburg, Pigeon Forge, and Sevierville, and the Great Smoky Mountains. The author points out that in Sevier County “you are not limited to the boundaries of one theme park or resort destination–you are in the driver’s seat for a
Cottage 2 at Buckhorn Inn
day or weeks’ long vacation of endless possibility”. Truly, this area has something for everyone. Among the best: The Track classic wooden go-kart track in Pigeon Forge; The Apple Barn for all things apple; The Outdoor Gravity Park adventure course where you get into your own giant transparent sphere; Sugarlands Distilling Company which has a connection to traditional moonshine distilling; and Chubby’s Deli inside the New Center Market & Grill.
The Buckhorn Inn is the perfect calm, restful place with easy access to the wonders of nature and to the excitement that our towns have to offer.
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