Our 45th Park visit - Great Smoky Mtns. (1)
Panoramic view from Newfound Gap Road (2)
Same shot the next morning (3)
Hiking the Appalachian Trail! (4)
Mingus Mill (5)
Spooky trees from atop Clingmans Dome (6)
Cool Creek along Roaring Fork Motor Nature Trail (7)
Classic Cabins near cool Creek! (8)
Trekking to Elijah Oliver Place in Cades Cove (9)
Elijah's Place (10)
Cable Grist Mill - Cades Cove (11)
Sunset over Great Smoky Mountains (12)
Sept 8, 2014 - We begin our 45th park visit with a flight from Phoenix to Charlotte, NC via the "new" American Airlines - formerly US Airways - formerly America West Airlines! Terry has us booked "standby, " which those of you who know me, know this is my least favorite way to fly! At least within the continental US. International flights, first class - no problem!
From Charlotte, we'll jump on a commuter jet to Knoxville, TN and then drive about an hour to the Doubletree Hotel in Gatlinburg, TN. The Dbltree will serve as base camp for the three days we'll be visiting.
Sept 9th - My birthday! I've been fortunate to have a loving wife who will allow me to trek to a park over my birthday! Last year, Charlie, Terry and I were in Glacier National Park. The year before that…I believe we were in Crater Lake! Nevertheless, I am up early to attempt to get the classic sunrise shot from Newfound Gap. The one with the mountains all filled with "smoke," the sky filled with the burnt orange, red and pink hues the clouds get when the sun peaks over the horizon and the hills all neatly aligned in alternating fashion.
Alas, the cloud cover was thick this morning (picture #3 above) and so I would come away from my pre-dawn photo op somewhat empty handed. Back to the hotel to see if the bride has risen yet! Nope! Still sleeping!
The itinerary for the day is to travel from Gatlinburg, TN through the park up and over the mountain ridges to the Blue Ridge Parkway. Along the route we would stop by the many overlooks to gawk at the Smokies. We'd pay a visit to Mingus Mill, an old time grist Mill located near the Oconaluftee Visitor Center. The section of the Blue Ridge Parkway we traveled is the southernmost section of the 469 mile road that winds its way north through the Appalachian Mountains. Nice…however, the fall color had not yet taken shape along one of America's most traveled roads so all vista's were pretty much the same - very green!
After getting our fill of the Parkway, we headed back up Newfound Gap Road to Clingmans Dome. The tower atop the Dome is the highest point in the park (6643 feet) and is said to provide its visitors with a 360 degree view of the Smokies. That might be true; however, during our brief visit, the cloud cover was pea soup thick (see picture #6).
After departing the Dome, we took the Roaring Fork Motor Nature Trail. This is a must do if you visit this park! Just outside Gatlinburg, this single lane, one way road winds you up and through a dense forest filled with old homestead houses, babbling brooks flowing over moss covered boulders and trails leading to gorgeous waterfalls. (pix 7 and 8)
When we completed the Nature Trail, we ventured into the tourist section of Gatlinburg to see what may be available for dinner. What we found is a plethora of pancake houses. We counted 8 Pancake restaurants all within a 2 mile radius! When we asked a local what the deal was with all the pancake restaurants, she replied, "oh, us southerners just love our pancakes!" Go figure! (We counted another 10 pancake houses along the main drag of Pigeon Forge!
And there were three times as many Mini golf courses, and amusement parks along the Hwy 441 between Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge. By the way, Pigeon Forge is home of Dollywood - Dolly Pardon's theme park! Here you've got this amazing national park just minutes from Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge, yet the majority of the visitors were hanging out in town!
Which brings me to a question about how the Park Service can state that this park is the most highly visited one in the system. Statistics say that Great Smoky gets over 9 million visitors annually. Yet, unlike many of the National Parks there are no entry stations to collect entry fees or to count visitors.
Could it be that half of those 9 million "visitors" were actually just passing through the Park on their way to get at some of those Pancakes before hanging out at Dollywood?
Sept 10th - Today we ventured down to Cades Cove - a relatively flat valley tucked between mountain ridges. The 11 mile loop road takes you through the valley with stops at several of the historic old buildings found along the drive. Elijah Oliver Place and the Grist Mill (pix 10 and 11) were a couple of the highlights during our visit.
After dinner, we made our way back up Newfound Gap Road in hopes of catching a photo op of a decent sunset. Much to our delight, we were treated to the last bit of golden light cast upon the clouds by the stetting sun.
