Singing Creek

Author Morgan Simmons is the former outdoor editor for the Knoxville News Sentinel and winner the Tennessee Outdoor Writer of the Year award for seven consecutive years. Over the course of his 28-year career, he covered environmental issues and wrote a hiking column that enabled him to explore the Smokies, become familiar with the challenges facing the park, and report extensively on GSMA and its various projects. He grew up in Martinsville, VA, and graduated from Washington and Lee University with a degree in English. After completing the National Outdoor Leadership School's instructor's course in the mid-1980s, Morgan settled briefly in the Wind River Mountains of Wyoming before returning home to the Southern Appalachians to pursue writing, raise a family, and learn the banjo. Morgan Simmons lives near Knoxville, Tennessee.Illustrator Don Wood is an illustrator whose career spans 30 years at the Knoxville Journal, the Press-Enterprise (CA), and the Knoxville News Sentinel, earning him recognition on both local and national levels including induction into the Scripps Howard Hall of Fame. His work has been published in the Orange County Register (CA), Nashville Scene, Greater Knoxville Business Journal, the Associated Press, and Smokies Life. A Knoxville native and graduate of the University of Tennessee, Don is now a freelance illustrator and enjoys painting, playing music with his friends, and spending time with his family. The Smoky Mountains have always been a favorite spot for him, whether hiking trails, fishing for trout, or camping. Don Wood lives near Knoxville, Tennessee.