It was a day of great diversity. We started out by driving north from our campground north of Atlanta, into the mountains of Northern Georgia, into larger mountains in North Carolina, and then into the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in Tennessee. Beautiful overlooks throughout the Smokies, but when we drove out of the park into Gatlinburg, it was total chaos. Bumper-to-bumper traffic for more than an hour with overflowing sidewalks passing by every imaginable gift shop, restaurant, museum with Halloween themes, ice cream shops, Jeep rentals . . . It was crazy. We had less congestion getting into and out of Atlanta! Fortunately, our campground is six miles out of town and in a quiet, wooded setting by a stream.
Unfortunately, we will have to go back through Gatlinburg tomorrow to spend the day in the national park. Being a Saturday, it might be even worse.
Today also was a trip down memory lane. Driving up and over Newfound Gap in the Smokies, we stopped at the point where the Appalachian Trail crosses the road. This is where I came off the trail in March, 2013, with frostbite and was fortunate enough to get a ride into Gatlinburg (15 miles) to a hospital. The road had been closed because of snow, but my guardian angel was a scientist from Ohio State doing research on the winter habitats of salamanders (no joke) and he drove up through the road blocks.
Tomorrow we might pick up the trail where I came off and go a short distance, just so I can end my hiking experiences in the Smokies on the trail and not on an ice and snow-covered road.
While driving up through the park, we stopped at the Mingus Grist Mill. The mill was constructed in 1866 and local farmers would bring their corn harvest for milling.
A couple more images from the park:
Planning on some hikes tomorrow and hopefully some black bear sightings while they fatten up for hibernation.
Our campground has a cable connection so we’ll be watching the Red Sox-Astros in Game 6 and looking forward to seeing Game 7.
T&C Southwest Adventure 2021 