Episode 37: From Breaking Stories to Breaking Trails with Vesna Plakanis

Our special guest in this episode is Vesna Plakanis, she and her husband Erik, are Owners and Operators of one of the oldest and most highly respected guides and tour services in the Great Smoky Mountains, “A Walk in the Woods” located in Gatlinburg, Tennessee.

The award-winning company was formed in 1998 and has been featured in multiple publications and on television networks including among others, Outside, Backpacker, National Geographic, Shape, Women’s Health and the Discovery Channel, Travel Channel, and PBS. Vesna and her husband, both dedicated Environmentalists, along with their daughter and beloved pets reside in their 90- acre Eco-Camp in the mountains of East Tennessee.‍

Tune in for this fun conversation at TalkRadio.nyc or watch the Facebook Livestream by clicking here.

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Show Notes

Segment 1

The show begins with Joseph’s introduction of the show and his beer for the episode. He then goes into the sponsored message before describing the autumnal experience in the Smokies, and the leaves turning into their vibrant fall colors. He introduces special guest Vesna Plakanis, then asks Vesna when she began foraging. Her foraging beginnings started with her mother and her mother’s French background. This segways into the discussion of the different countries Vesna lived in throughout her life. Saudi Arabia, France, and Iran are just a few examples. They go further into Vesna’s life and her college days, the time when she met her husband, Eric. She elaborates on how they began dating and the immediate connection she had with him through their love of nature and the outdoors. Joseph asks when her love of the Smokies began, and she describes it as a “love at first sight” deal when she saw the fall colors of the Smokies.

Segment 2

The show returns with the recounting of Eric’s 10-day vision trip as he went backpacking for 10 days in the Smokies to discover himself. After coming back, Eric describes his vision of how he wanted to educate people on the Smokies and everything it has to offer. Vesna and Eric got together to make a business plan to take people on tour guides of the mountains. She depicts her first tour trip with just a singular customer to how her business grew into what it is today. Joseph asks her how she got from point A to point B with her business. “A family-orientated vision and supportive staff” was all she needed. Joseph shifts the conversation into Vesna’s and Eric’s historian and survivalist side, and why they wanted to learn. Vesna explains that historical culture was very important to her and the survivalist tendencies naturally come from years of being outdoors. They get into Vesna’s love of storytelling, and she tells a Cherokee story of how the Appalachian mountains were made.

Segment 3

Coming back from the ad break, Joseph gets into bears and bear encounters. Vesna talks about a time when she was leading a group of backpackers, and a small bear came up and tried to eat their food. She managed to scare it away and protect the backpacks from the clutches of hungry bears. Vesna gets into the bear protection training she received as a safety precaution. The main thing she learned was that bears didn’t understand boundaries and to show boundaries to them, yelling, throwing objects, and, occasionally, setting off fireworks works like a charm. The conversation pivots to the Coronavirus and how it affected her business. She lost a major part of her customers which damaged the business, but were able to limp along. Moving on, they get into Vesna’s experience with testifying in Congress as an advocate against factory pollutants. One day, Vesna and Eric experienced ozone-induced asthma attacks which helped her testify against TVA to get rid of their plants that were polluting the air. Joseph then asks Vesna about the awards she received, and she goes into Eric’s “Best Tour Guide” award as their crowning achievement. They begin to talk about the services her company provides before getting into the commercials.

Segment 4

Back after the final ad break, Joseph asks her what the customers’ favorite tours and car tours were. Waterfalls, mountain peaks, and caves are just a few her customers love. They also offer classes on wildlife, historical cultures, and general nature knowledge. She describes her favorite area to hike in that has everything anyone can ask for. Beautiful wildlife, lush forests, and rich history behind the area. To end everything off, Vesna talks about future products that will be offered by the company and where the audience can find her.

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TRANSCRIPT

00:00:36.210 –> 00:00:39.810 Joseph McElroy: hey thanks for joining us on this week’s episode of

00:00:40.170 –> 00:00:50.250 Joseph McElroy: gateway to the smokies this podcast is about America’s most visited National Park, the great smoky mountain national park, and surrounding towns.

00:00:50.580 –> 00:00:59.430 Joseph McElroy: This area is filled with ancient natural beauty and deep storied history and rich mountain cultures that we explore with weekly episodes.

00:00:59.880 –> 00:01:12.990 Joseph McElroy: I am Joseph Franklyn McElroy a man of the world, but also with deep roots in these mountains my family’s lived in the great smoky mountain for over 200 years my business is in travel, but my heart is in culture.

00:01:13.620 –> 00:01:28.770 Joseph McElroy: today’s podcast is about breaking trails of the smokies today’s beer is by the Bronx new brewery now use can’t leave as a double IPA it’s just a second time I’ve done it on the show, but I liked it so.

00:01:31.980 –> 00:01:39.180 Joseph McElroy: I do it I’m going to North Carolina more next time we have a lot of great craft beers and the mountains of North Carolina.

00:01:41.010 –> 00:01:52.950 Joseph McElroy: But first, I want you to imagine a place evocative of motor courts of the past, yet modern and vibrant with a Chic Appalachian feel it please for adventure and for relaxation.

00:01:53.430 –> 00:02:03.840 Joseph McElroy: Imagine a place where you can fish and amount inheritance trout street grill the catch on fire and eat accompanied by fine wine or craft beers.

00:02:04.380 –> 00:02:20.190 Joseph McElroy: Imagine a place with all-time music and world cultural south, there is no other place like the Meadowlark motel and Maggie valley North Carolina your smoky mountain adventure starts with where you stay.

00:02:21.720 –> 00:02:32.730 Joseph McElroy: Now I will also when you want to find out information about the smokies you need to go to smokies adventure.com that’s plural smoky singular adventure COM.

00:02:33.210 –> 00:02:43.050 Joseph McElroy: It has lots of information and lets listings about the smoking’s about hiking about guides for hiking about trail maps and outdoor resources.

00:02:43.320 –> 00:02:58.770 Joseph McElroy: The emphasis of smoky advanced smokers adventure is outdoor recreation outdoor life events like weddings and adventures, along with providing information and lodging family entertainment events conventions, I mean rooms and more.

00:02:59.790 –> 00:03:03.840 Joseph McElroy: Its goal is to become the leading information portal of the smoky mountain.

00:03:06.210 –> 00:03:17.880 Joseph McElroy: So Hello guys, how are you doing so, this is the peak, this is the big tourist season for the smoky mountains because now we’re getting into fall colors they’ve just started.

00:03:18.510 –> 00:03:28.890 Joseph McElroy: And then 2021 which we’re in now you want to be soaking in all the beautiful fall colors that you need, I think everyone should do at least once.

00:03:29.460 –> 00:03:39.600 Joseph McElroy: it’s worth the peace and tranquility of the views are worth the trip Now I will not, not to mention all the things that you do all the here because everybody’s opening everybody to do with it.

00:03:41.760 –> 00:03:46.380 Joseph McElroy: I just read the recent fall report about what’s happening right now.

00:03:47.580 –> 00:03:58.170 Joseph McElroy: And so we’re actually expecting the leaves turn to the cool girl gorgeous fall colors and higher elevations around mid-mid-October, but now.

00:03:58.860 –> 00:04:12.570 Joseph McElroy: continue in the lower elevations until mid-November, so the fall foliage is going to be most vibrant, while the temperatures are in the 70s during the day and dropping the 40s at night, which they are now starting to do.

00:04:13.140 –> 00:04:22.710 Joseph McElroy: So you really can think of, but I, you know I would say that you know, right now, at the motel we’re seeing like everybody booked up right now, this weekend next weekend.

00:04:23.040 –> 00:04:32.490 Joseph McElroy: But you know the last weekend of October and the first one, where we had a November there’s still lots of availability and I think that’s going to be the peak that’s what this is saying there’s going to be the peak.

00:04:32.790 –> 00:04:41.070 Joseph McElroy: So you know get out there and grab your place to come out and see something that’s just spectacular natural wonders of the world.

00:04:42.810 –> 00:04:47.580 Joseph McElroy: So our guest today is Vesna Plakanis

00:04:49.410 –> 00:04:49.890 Joseph McElroy: How you doing.

00:04:51.120 –> 00:04:52.950 Vesna Plakanis: Great Thank you how are you doing.

00:04:53.400 –> 00:04:57.810 Joseph McElroy: Fine, so I forgot I forgot to read your bio let me do that real quick.

00:04:58.950 –> 00:05:09.660 Joseph McElroy: So you and your husband Eric are owners and operators of one of the oldest and most highly respected guides and tour services in the great smoky mountains, to call the walk in the woods.

00:05:10.020 –> 00:05:16.980 Joseph McElroy: And it’s located in Gatlinburg Tennessee now you are an award-winning company that was formed in 1998.

00:05:17.400 –> 00:05:28.620 Joseph McElroy: And you’ve been featured in multiple publications and on television networks, including among others outside backpacker National Geographic shaped women’s health and the discovery channel.

00:05:29.070 –> 00:05:45.510 Joseph McElroy: The travel channel and PBS you and your husband are both dedicated environmentalists along with your daughter and beloved pets who reside on a 98 or ECO camp in the mountains of East Tennessee so welcome back I’m glad to have you here.

00:05:45.930 –> 00:05:47.430 Vesna Plakanis: Thank you it’s great to be here.

00:05:48.780 –> 00:06:01.020 Joseph McElroy: So first off, I was doing a little research, I like to find out a little bit about the people coming on the show, so I read that you are a forger as a child was a common activity in your child in your family.

00:06:02.130 –> 00:06:16.050 Vesna Plakanis: um well my mother is French, and so we certainly you know went out the into the yard and to the good kind of local fields and was and pick mushrooms and herbs things like that, and then.

00:06:16.650 –> 00:06:31.620 Vesna Plakanis: my grandmother was a full-on I was depression era farmer, and you know back in those days you had to make do with everything and so she really taught me a lot about like what to do with weeds and.

00:06:32.760 –> 00:06:43.950 Vesna Plakanis: house and having you know dandelion fried dandelion and you know dandelion salad, and so you know learned about these things are a very, very young age.

00:06:44.370 –> 00:06:46.110 Joseph McElroy: Is that where you grew up in Iowa.

00:06:47.040 –> 00:06:50.670 Vesna Plakanis: No, I am what my husband calls an international met mutt.

00:06:52.710 –> 00:06:54.750 Vesna Plakanis: I grew up all over the world, actually.

00:06:55.110 –> 00:06:59.220 Joseph McElroy: Oh really well yeah give me some examples of where you live.

00:06:59.700 –> 00:07:07.860 Vesna Plakanis: Well, I was born in Germany, my mother’s French, so I spent some time in France lived in Iran and Saudi Arabia.

00:07:08.070 –> 00:07:09.300 Joseph McElroy: Oh, my gosh oh.

00:07:10.140 –> 00:07:11.400 Vesna Plakanis: This little bit of every place.

00:07:11.880 –> 00:07:13.500 Joseph McElroy: And when did you come to the United States.

00:07:13.950 –> 00:07:28.500 Vesna Plakanis: Well, on and off from the time I was too, so my dad is a midwesterner, and so we actually they lived in Minnesota when he was growing up and so Minnesota was kind of our landing pad and we’d come to go back and forth to Minneapolis area.

00:07:28.920 –> 00:07:35.250 Joseph McElroy: I see and during all this traveling around the world, and you get to do a lot of hiking and outdoor activities.

00:07:36.150 –> 00:07:43.590 Vesna Plakanis: um well when I lived in Saudi Arabia, I was actually in the girl scouts and we would camp out on sand dunes.

00:07:47.730 –> 00:07:48.210 Vesna Plakanis: Oh.

00:07:48.630 –> 00:07:51.090 Joseph McElroy: wow we know, I was.

00:07:52.320 –> 00:07:57.060 Joseph McElroy: You know, being in the content marketing business that Saudi Arabia is actually done this whole you know.

00:07:57.450 –> 00:08:08.460 Joseph McElroy: thing to try to be more tourist-friendly destination, and so they were approaching us about doing some content marketing for that and I got into researching them, and while there was a lot of problems with the I didn’t want to deal with at the end of it.

00:08:09.750 –> 00:08:23.520 Joseph McElroy: It really is a beautiful place for outdoor activity as a lot of amazing you know biking trails and our desert rallies and yeah so there’s a there’s quite an eye-opening and what, in which you can do.

00:08:24.480 –> 00:08:33.330 Joseph McElroy: So oh you’re so you’ve had a great journey so, but you, you went off to college you got a communications degree right and you had a career in television.

00:08:33.810 –> 00:08:42.000 Vesna Plakanis: I did yep marketing maybe you know just the whole nine yards, I was everything from advertising to copywriting to the producer.

00:08:43.140 –> 00:08:45.060 Vesna Plakanis: newscaster all of it.

00:08:45.600 –> 00:08:47.610 Joseph McElroy: wow where did you do that.

00:08:48.810 –> 00:08:50.280 Vesna Plakanis: in Illinois and Knoxville.

00:08:50.880 –> 00:08:51.600 Joseph McElroy: Okay cool.

00:08:52.080 –> 00:08:56.010 Vesna Plakanis: and actually Atlanta I worked for the Olympics in 96.

00:08:57.360 –> 00:09:01.260 Joseph McElroy: Well, that must have been an interesting time the bomb scare and every day right.

00:09:03.510 –> 00:09:17.490 Joseph McElroy: So your husband Eric is also had a different career he’s your partner right, so he was an accountant right and then, and then presumed a few fields, right here, but what did you guys meet.

00:09:18.510 –> 00:09:25.260 Vesna Plakanis: um well actually he was living in Atlanta, and I was living in Knoxville and he was dating a friend of mine.

00:09:29.190 –> 00:09:31.860 Joseph McElroy: Okay, now we get into the Peyton place to her.

00:09:36.270 –> 00:09:46.950 Vesna Plakanis: And I asked her if it was okay if I called um but we were instantly you know, there was a connection there as soon as we met so I didn’t steal him.

00:09:48.150 –> 00:09:48.780 Joseph McElroy: All right.

00:09:49.680 –> 00:09:55.080 Joseph McElroy: yeah that’s great well know the psychic connection yeah just created that was weird.

00:09:58.470 –> 00:10:09.720 Joseph McElroy: So, so do you remember you I mean you obviously developed some sort of a bond around nature, I think because you made a career right like instantly from the beginning.

00:10:11.130 –> 00:10:16.530 Vesna Plakanis: I think both of us just loved you know the natural world and when we met, it was just kind of a.

00:10:17.370 –> 00:10:29.550 Vesna Plakanis: kismet um but no I was growing up in Minnesota, even though I was in Minneapolis you know, we had woods in our backyard, I was at it in school at the time.

00:10:30.090 –> 00:10:47.430 Vesna Plakanis: Were they kind of had experimental things in you know in public high schools, and so we had a required outdoor education program and so from the time I was 12 years old, we had a climbing wall, we went camping when we were you know kids you know in sixth grade that was like required.

00:10:48.720 –> 00:10:55.260 Vesna Plakanis: And so I just really got into the natural world and moved around a lot, I was kind of a lonely kid.

00:10:56.070 –> 00:11:03.900 Vesna Plakanis: So it was very natural for me to just go out into the woods and find that solace and then Eric grew up in.

00:11:04.380 –> 00:11:08.790 Vesna Plakanis: New Jersey right on the New Jersey New York state line and ma.

00:11:09.240 –> 00:11:16.470 Vesna Plakanis: Which is right off the Appalachian trail, and so you know he played in the woods, this whole you know childhood to and so both of us just.

00:11:16.680 –> 00:11:24.570 Vesna Plakanis: Love nature and this is what we love to do, and then, when he and I got married we actually went backpacking and camping through Maui for two weeks.

00:11:24.810 –> 00:11:29.670 Joseph McElroy: wow so that’s so for the weekend go you started your bonding over that.

00:11:30.120 –> 00:11:39.120 Joseph McElroy: yeah so when did so you live in Knoxville imagined, and he was in Atlanta Atlanta so did you have your first experience of the smokies together or separately.

00:11:39.600 –> 00:11:48.990 Vesna Plakanis: know I lived in Knoxville for several years, so I worked at the TV station and we used to go up you know, to the park and you know to go camping and do picnics and go hiking and.

00:11:50.040 –> 00:11:58.140 Vesna Plakanis: So now I fell in love with the smoky mountains, when I was in college and my mom and my stepfather had lived in Knoxville.

00:11:58.740 –> 00:12:09.480 Vesna Plakanis: And it just moved down when I started college, so I came downfall break once and just I just remember falling in love coming over the Kentucky border.

00:12:10.140 –> 00:12:21.360 Vesna Plakanis: And it was fall and just the colors were so vibrant and magical and because I moved around so much, I never really felt at home anywhere instantly.

00:12:22.830 –> 00:12:25.380 Vesna Plakanis: Like it just got under my skin, I felt at home.

00:12:26.280 –> 00:12:36.690 Joseph McElroy: And then, according to your website your husband went on a 10-day vision quest in the smokies which then really sort of set you on a path right to have a shared passion.

00:12:37.290 –> 00:12:44.220 Vesna Plakanis: yeah we really Atlanta, and both in corporate America and we’re like oh God I don’t want to do the rest of my life and.

00:12:45.240 –> 00:12:53.430 Vesna Plakanis: So we were having these you know little picnics in downtown Atlanta we’re like you know, we really should do something like homestead and Alaska.

00:12:55.620 –> 00:12:59.070 Vesna Plakanis: sounds crazy and we’re vegetarian, so what would we eat and.

00:13:01.320 –> 00:13:11.070 Vesna Plakanis: One day we after one of these little picnics you know kind of vision, you know, like fantasy picnics we went into a coffee house and picked up a magazine.

00:13:11.490 –> 00:13:18.240 Vesna Plakanis: About a woman who left corporate America and started training under this naturalist school in North Georgia.

00:13:18.840 –> 00:13:29.490 Vesna Plakanis: And she actually left her job and went lived off the land were like this sounds really cool so we started taking classes from this guy in medicine bow and.

00:13:29.970 –> 00:13:41.460 Vesna Plakanis: that’s really sparked our interest in goddess kind of thinking about getting in this direction and then yeah Eric went on his 10-day backpacking vision quest and came down we picked him up and he’s like know what we’re gonna do.

00:13:43.440 –> 00:13:48.660 Joseph McElroy: There we go so we’re gonna take a break down and when we come back we’re going to talk about what you did.

00:16:04.230 –> 00:16:12.240 Joseph McElroy: howdy this is Joseph Franklyn McElroy back with a gateway to the smokies podcast my guest is Vesna Plakanis

00:16:12.720 –> 00:16:24.390 Joseph McElroy: So you were telling you that you had your husband come down from the mountain after 10 days vision quest and he had a vision of what you guys were going to do what was that vision, what do you guys do.

00:16:26.490 –> 00:16:32.010 Vesna Plakanis: Well, this is the most visited National Park in the country and a lot of people don’t go.

00:16:32.460 –> 00:16:44.310 Vesna Plakanis: More than half a mile you know from the parking lot and he really saw that kind of on his 10-day backpacking trips when you come out and to the parking areas and people would be like where did you just come from.

00:16:45.270 –> 00:16:56.700 Vesna Plakanis: His dirty mouth man, he was you know isn’t backpacking for days so when he came out of the woods after that 10-day backpacking trip, he said, you know I really feel like.

00:16:57.180 –> 00:17:05.820 Vesna Plakanis: People, we need to educate people, we need to get them out there and get them excited about what makes a split place I’m so very special.

00:17:07.020 –> 00:17:19.350 Vesna Plakanis: And so we started to kind of do a business plan on, you know how we would create a guide service, and you know how would we would be more education-oriented, so we didn’t want to take people from point A to Point B.

00:17:20.220 –> 00:17:25.440 Vesna Plakanis: You know, we really wanted people to be immersed and experience what makes the smokies.

00:17:25.890 –> 00:17:43.170 Vesna Plakanis: So very special but also you know, hoping that that would kind of filter out into the greater world so people could understand that you know we are part of this beautiful planet and that was kind of a lofty goal but that’s what we set out to do.

00:17:43.800 –> 00:17:48.060 Joseph McElroy: And how long did it take you when when when was that the vision quest.

00:17:48.690 –> 00:18:01.050 Vesna Plakanis: it was I guess in the summer of 96 so it took us a couple of years to sort of save money and figure out what you know the direction we wanted to take and exactly where we wanted to live.

00:18:01.980 –> 00:18:07.920 Joseph McElroy: And you started your business and what was your first, what do you make sure.

00:18:09.450 –> 00:18:18.630 Vesna Plakanis: So our first money it’s really actually funny because she came back last year um but you know we started out into like outfitters.

00:18:19.320 –> 00:18:32.100 Vesna Plakanis: You know, got to know, everybody that Chamber of Commerce, you know T-shirts, we thought we would walk through the streets of Gatlinburg with our brochures and T-shirts and people would magically stop this and go oh take us for a hike that didn’t happen.

00:18:34.620 –> 00:18:46.950 Vesna Plakanis: Through a very good friend of ours, who helped us with our website, and you know the Chamber of Commerce people eventually started finding us so our very first adventure was going up to Andrews bald.

00:18:47.310 –> 00:18:55.500 Vesna Plakanis: Which right now, by the way, his peak colors are gorgeous so bald is actually a high mountain meadow.

00:18:56.010 –> 00:19:12.660 Vesna Plakanis: Andrews bald is over 5000 feet in elevation and so you got this big wide open gorgeous natural space with you know just see after see you know of mountains and we took one woman both Eric and I.

00:19:14.760 –> 00:19:16.290 Vesna Plakanis: $14.

00:19:20.160 –> 00:19:23.370 Joseph McElroy: He made sure he had a good time for that $14

00:19:25.320 –> 00:19:33.420 Vesna Plakanis: The cute thing is she came back I think last year and hired us again she brought some friends and she said, you know I think I was your very first customer.

00:19:38.010 –> 00:19:39.990 Joseph McElroy: Two owners came along with theirs.

00:19:50.100 –> 00:19:50.670 Vesna Plakanis: From there.

00:19:51.600 –> 00:19:55.440 Joseph McElroy: Well that’s it, you know it’s impressive longevity I mean a small business.

00:19:56.490 –> 00:20:09.780 Joseph McElroy: yeah so it’s 98 yeah that’s what 23 years rightmost small businesses fail within the first five years right, so the IUCN you’re always I’m always looking for.

00:20:10.710 –> 00:20:21.390 Joseph McElroy: better ways to do things I took a look at your website and you have an incredible you know variety of things that you offer you also I looked at, so you have this incredible diversity of.

00:20:22.140 –> 00:20:39.420 Joseph McElroy: the roster of guys of all ages and genders, and all very clearly talented you have like history, you know people with history degrees and former park Rangers and things So what do you how did you build that roster of guys.

00:20:42.000 –> 00:20:47.460 Vesna Plakanis: just getting to know people were very we made friends with people in the park service.

00:20:48.330 –> 00:20:57.510 Vesna Plakanis: Our daughter actually between I think for junior and senior year interned at the park and that’s actually how we got one of our first.

00:20:57.870 –> 00:21:03.840 Vesna Plakanis: guides who’s been with us forever our historian Sam um and then we just built a reputation, you know.

00:21:04.140 –> 00:21:17.040 Vesna Plakanis: Gatlinburg is a very small town, even though we get so many people there are only 4000 people in Gatlinburg and so you pretty much know everybody, you know you bump into people all the time at the grocery store and so just by getting to know people.

00:21:17.640 –> 00:21:26.790 Vesna Plakanis: And I think we also have a reputation, as you know, family-oriented business, and that makes people very comfortable when they come to work for us, you know we’re very.

00:21:28.290 –> 00:21:40.440 Vesna Plakanis: Clear about mentoring and helping to expand our guides and so you know there are certain things that we want from our staff, they have to be wilderness first responders which we will pay for.

00:21:41.220 –> 00:21:50.790 Vesna Plakanis: We also promote you know outside larger you know, education if people want to become naturalist certified naturalist you know we help with that with scholarships.

00:21:51.360 –> 00:21:59.460 Vesna Plakanis: So we’re very supportive in that respect, and we also you know any given time in our office you might have.

00:21:59.970 –> 00:22:10.050 Vesna Plakanis: a toddler running around or five dogs, or you know, last week we even had a one-month-old baby, because one of our guides just had a baby or one of our staff.

00:22:10.530 –> 00:22:19.110 Vesna Plakanis: um you know, so I think we just try to be a very supportive kind of family environment, even though we now have 30 people on our staff we just we still have that core.

00:22:19.590 –> 00:22:25.110 Joseph McElroy: cool no I was, I was pleasantly surprised so, but you know.

00:22:25.170 –> 00:22:27.030 Joseph McElroy: You and your husband combined have.

00:22:27.720 –> 00:22:32.700 Joseph McElroy: Seven years of outdoor experience and you say most of that your husband Eric stuff.

00:22:39.990 –> 00:22:42.660 Vesna Plakanis: Just the two of us did biking and.

00:22:44.340 –> 00:22:55.200 Joseph McElroy: So, but you are also not only a hikers mature expert survivalist, and a historian, so you were in marketing, he was an accounting you had a vision quest came up here.

00:22:55.530 –> 00:23:04.350 Joseph McElroy: So, how did you learn about the different plants and tracking and you know survivalism and how did you go about becoming experts have back.

00:23:05.100 –> 00:23:12.870 Vesna Plakanis: um well, a lot of it was when we first started taking those classes from the naturalist school and in North Georgia.

00:23:13.380 –> 00:23:23.850 Vesna Plakanis: And that’s run by a man named mark Warren medicine bow and he teaches that kind of primitive skills but based on what the Cherokee used to teach and what the turkeys to use.

00:23:24.450 –> 00:23:31.410 Vesna Plakanis: And so, that was a natural way for us to really start learning about the local natives of the area and.

00:23:32.010 –> 00:23:42.630 Vesna Plakanis: I love history, you know, having traveled all over the world I’m very into cultures and understanding how you know people you know things move together, and you can have.

00:23:43.260 –> 00:23:52.800 Vesna Plakanis: You know people moving into an area without understanding the environmental, you know issues and what they’re dealing with and the Scotch Irish you came down here and.

00:23:53.190 –> 00:24:00.900 Vesna Plakanis: The fact that the Appalachian mountains are you know, part of a chain that goes, all the way to Scotland and so when people settled here it felt familiar.

00:24:01.290 –> 00:24:10.890 Vesna Plakanis: So I think it’s just a natural thing when you are a guide in this area, you know to sort of put all those pieces together and where we’re as rich.

00:24:11.640 –> 00:24:24.780 Vesna Plakanis: in human history, as we are in diversity, where the most biodiverse place in the world, north of the tropics we also have the largest collection of human artifacts in any national park in the country, so it all goes really hand in hand.

00:24:25.350 –> 00:24:25.980 wow.

00:24:27.330 –> 00:24:33.150 Joseph McElroy: yeah I was reading about you guy’s depth of knowledge and, of course, you know Bob Plott who’s.

00:24:33.840 –> 00:24:41.820 Joseph McElroy: Who helps me with this program is also a pretty fine historian and understanding the smoke as well just has high things to say about you guys.

00:24:42.420 –> 00:24:49.830 Joseph McElroy: But I also understand you’re really great storyteller so I’m looking forward to hearing some of your stories, so you know a lot about the Cherokee and.

00:24:51.000 –> 00:24:58.620 Joseph McElroy: And the European settlers they know how did you know is that something that’s important on your picking people out.

00:24:59.490 –> 00:25:07.710 Vesna Plakanis: Oh yeah We very much whenever and even as we’re mentoring and training, these new guides you know, one of the things we really try to emphasize is that.

00:25:08.010 –> 00:25:19.440 Vesna Plakanis: You know you’re not just going, and this is a tree, and this is that you know you’re really trying to weave something together, and I was an English major before I became kind of been.

00:25:20.400 –> 00:25:23.730 Vesna Plakanis: into communication which I guess is all part of the same thing.

00:25:24.540 –> 00:25:35.190 Vesna Plakanis: But I really look at being a guide as being a storyteller you know it’s an art it’s you know you’re introducing characters and you’re introducing a plot, and you know, then there’s drama.

00:25:35.550 –> 00:25:43.230 Vesna Plakanis: And then, at the end you know the you’re bringing it all together, and this is such a natural place to tell these wonderful stories.

00:25:43.830 –> 00:25:45.930 Joseph McElroy: what’s it what’s a favorite story you tell.

00:25:47.160 –> 00:25:47.460 Vesna Plakanis: Oh.

00:25:50.160 –> 00:25:51.960 Vesna Plakanis: got a lot of um.

00:25:53.100 –> 00:25:55.440 Joseph McElroy: Quick what we felt like.

00:25:57.300 –> 00:26:02.580 Vesna Plakanis: Well let’s see, let me so so what I love about this one, this is the Cherokee creation story.

00:26:03.300 –> 00:26:13.890 Vesna Plakanis: And what I love about that is that somehow they had this understanding of how these mountains were really created that you know we used to have an ocean here and the story goes that long ago.

00:26:14.430 –> 00:26:23.820 Vesna Plakanis: This with the earth was just this big blue globe and there was nothing but water and all the plants and animals lived in the sky vault and the animals were giant animals.

00:26:24.240 –> 00:26:36.390 Vesna Plakanis: And as time went on population expanded and there wasn’t a lot of room and so they looked down at this place, which was the late, great blue globe and they said, maybe we can move down there, but all they saw was water.

00:26:36.930 –> 00:26:42.900 Vesna Plakanis: And so they sent the little water beetle, who was a great swimmer down to explore, to see if he could find some land.

00:26:43.230 –> 00:26:54.540 Vesna Plakanis: And he went down this web that had been spun by a spider and he went down and he started to swim and look for the earth and he couldn’t find any so we don’t down and he found some mud he brought them.

00:26:54.840 –> 00:27:08.580 Vesna Plakanis: up and, as he brought it up, it expanded into our earth and it was too soft was money, so we went back up and he told everybody, and so the animal sent grandfather buzzard gigantic bird to look for dry land.

00:27:09.030 –> 00:27:26.670 Vesna Plakanis: And he was a big bird and he skipped flu and he flew in his wings were so gigantic but, after a long time he could only find that money got so tired and, as he flew and not more tired his giant wings hit the earth and made valleys and when he brought it back up they made mountains.

00:27:26.880 –> 00:27:36.060 Vesna Plakanis: And after a while, nothing but mountains and valleys and the animal said to come back and he did, and that is how he created the Appalachian mountains.

00:27:36.330 –> 00:27:38.130 Joseph McElroy: Oh, a great culture

00:27:40.470 –> 00:27:41.670 Vesna Plakanis: buzzard that’s right.

00:27:42.000 –> 00:27:59.640 Vesna Plakanis: And if I have time just finish it real quick the sun thought it was so beautiful that the sun took a trip she went from east to west and, as she went over she was so in love with this area, and she dried it all up and all the animals and plants were able to come down to the.

00:28:00.840 –> 00:28:12.030 Joseph McElroy: the fabulous day I love that story, so I want to talk more about stories and more about bears when we come back.

00:28:12.360 –> 00:28:12.720 Okay.

00:30:51.300 –> 00:31:01.320 Joseph McElroy: howdy this is Joseph Franklin McElroy back with the gateway to the smokies podcast my guest Vesna Plakanis

00:31:02.100 –> 00:31:09.480 Joseph McElroy: You know, when people come to visit the motel or talk to me up here, even up here in New York, about the smoky mountains ask

00:31:09.840 –> 00:31:15.600 Joseph McElroy: You know where to start asking a little bit about things they asked about wildlife and they always ask about two things now.

00:31:16.170 –> 00:31:22.890 Joseph McElroy: used to be always about the black bears, and now they talk about else, of course, as well because it’s become somewhat famous.

00:31:23.610 –> 00:31:34.080 Joseph McElroy: When you’re out there I’m sure you had some bear counters on the trails and you know men been what almost a quarter-century now do you have any interesting tour stories about that.

00:31:35.640 –> 00:31:47.220 Vesna Plakanis: um well you know I’ve always been run into them once in a while, especially different times of the year, I did have a group that I was taking out a four-day backpacking trip and.

00:31:47.910 –> 00:31:57.720 Vesna Plakanis: was hearing, I sound kind of you know, on the shelter around the shelter and you know, in the middle of the night kept getting up didn’t see anything.

00:31:58.830 –> 00:32:09.120 Vesna Plakanis: And then I heard a Jingle Jingle Jingle and ran out to the place where you hang your backpack so you know there’s a steel cable pulleys you hang your backpack.

00:32:09.510 –> 00:32:23.280 Vesna Plakanis: And there was this little yearling I’m not a very big bear that was trying very, very, very hard to shake and get our backpacks you know down off those hooks and I was able to you know kind of chase them away and.

00:32:25.020 –> 00:32:34.290 Vesna Plakanis: And, but apparently some of the Appalachian Trail thru-hikers I’m assuming it’s the same one later saw the same little bear.

00:32:35.250 –> 00:32:45.810 Vesna Plakanis: You know, actually trying to learn how to unhook it so he was trying very hard to kind of work on that hug so he can hook back up backpack so bears are incredibly smart.

00:32:46.110 –> 00:32:57.300 Joseph McElroy: wow wait no reason I ask is that I read that you got training with a bear expert, known as the bear whisper his name is Steve Sir all right.

00:32:58.440 –> 00:33:01.170 Joseph McElroy: And what was the What would it be training abilities.

00:33:01.800 –> 00:33:08.400 Vesna Plakanis: So actually Steve Cyril was on animal planet for a while, I think it was a show called the bear whisper.

00:33:10.380 –> 00:33:24.660 Vesna Plakanis: The park and the town of Gatlinburg of back in August around the year 2000 we’re really trying to understand you know how to operate as a gateway Community you know because bears don’t understand boundaries.

00:33:25.560 –> 00:33:30.840 Vesna Plakanis: And so, when you know when the smells are coming from you know the restaurants and.

00:33:31.320 –> 00:33:45.600 Vesna Plakanis: Food season is maybe not so great, you know master crop in the park is not so plentiful or is that in-between time before all the NUTS start falling you know the bears will