Tag: Gatlinburg

Tennessee officials spent $24,000 to install 12 viewfinders at parks around the state. The viewfinders are specifically tailored to help colorblind people, according to various media reports. But there are less expensive options for colorblind consumers to purchase with their own money, specifically custom-made glasses. According to a Google search, those glasses range in cost from $90 to $350. Tennessee Department of Tourist Development officials say the goal is to help park visitors take in the different parks’ lush scenery. According to the Jackson-based WBBJTV, the new colorblind viewfinders have lenses designed to alleviate red-green color blindness. State officials installed the first viewfinder in October of last year at the Great Smoky Mountains. They recently installed another viewfinder at Chickasaw State Park in Chester County. The Houston-based KHOU, meanwhile, reports other color-blind viewfinders are available at Ober Gatlinburg, in Gatlinburg, Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area near Oneida, and at the Westbound Interstate 26 overlook near Erwin in Unicoi County. Southern Living covered this story as well. “State officials believe their viewfinders are the first time the innovation has been used in a viewfinder,” according to Southern Living. All About Vision reports color blind glasses will not cure…

Who isn’t eager to go into a candy shop? Aunt Mahalia’s Candies in Gatlinburg can’t even keep the wildlife away. At least, that was the case last Thursday night, when a black bear dashed into the store. No one was inside the store on the Parkway at the time. Employees were washing dishes in the back. Tina Aucker, one of the employees, heard screams from a crowd outside the store. “I come walking around like this and there was a bear standing right there,” Aucker told WATE 6 News. “And I looked at it like this and I said, ‘Hang on one moment and I’ll be right back.’ I turned around, walked back to the door and yelled, ‘Amy, there’s a bear out here.’” The bear was soon gone. Employees believe the crowd outside the shop spooked the bear, prompting the animal to barrel inside. Bill Stiver, a Great Smoky Mountains National Park wildlife biologist, told WATE that bears are busy this time of year finding various food sources and eating. They will soon start hibernating for winter. Stiver advised people to keep their distance when they see a bear. Wildlife biologists emphasize that a bear’s behavior is unpredictable. The whereabouts…