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Welcome to TOUCHMARKS©, and the panoramic view side of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. This picture was taken from the deck of one of our rental chalets ("Sugar Tree") in Cobbly Nob which is about ten miles east of Gatlinburg, TN. Gatlinburg is the gateway to the Park on US 441 from the Tennessee side of the mountains. Cobbly Nob is a golf course community development halfway between Gatlinburg and Cosby, TN along US Highway 321 (see GATLINBURG and COBBLY NOB). Cobbly Nob, begun in 1970, is half as old as the Park itself.

My wife and I have lived here since 1984, or half of our married life. I'm an architect and Faye is a professional storyteller. For the last eighteen years, I have designed and built a couple dozen homes, cabins, and chalets here in Cobbly Nob. Faye has contributed greatly to this effort, particularly in the decorating and furnishing stages. Most of this time we've only had one full-time employee. Lynn Ball, born and raised on Webb Mountain (the site of Cobbly Nob), worked with me for 16 years. We still own the last of the chalets we built, and we have these available for overnight rental. You can see these by going to OUR RENTAL CHALETS.

Faye's storytelling focus has been on the lives and legends of the mountain people of this area. She writes the scripts and performs as one of the story characters. Naturally, this has involved much research among the people of the area. Many of her interviews have been with those who actually were raised within the boundaries of the National Park. A pride in mountain heritage permeates all her material.

We chose the name TOUCHMARKS for our site in part to reflect that pride of heritage. A touchmark is the mark that a blacksmith, silversmith, or other craftsman makes on his product to identify himself as its creator. Some years ago I tried my hand at blacksmithing and green woodworking. The experience proved a wonderful link to our being accepted into the local culture when we "foreigners" moved to the mountains in 1984.

On this site we will share with you information about this place and the life of the area. We'll continually add and update the site as new material and thoughts come our way. We hope you will partake of the "stuff" of our effort, but mostly we hope you will feel the draw of the life here and will visit us and see for yourself why we're so enthusiastic about this majestic land. Come celebrate with us life in one of the most beautiful places on this earth. And be aware: being here, you too will feel the touch of this place...it will leave its mark on your life.

 

Ronald and Faye Burke