Blue Ridge Parkway, NC & Gatlinburg, TN - April 28 & 29, 2005 (Re-run)

 On this trip to the Smokies, we roamed around quite a bit, from NC to TN and back again.  Driving the Blue Ridge Parkway, any part of it, produces great mountain scenery.  The valley called Graveyard Fields got its name because the trees there, all covered with moss, looked very much like a graveyard.  Then a fire destroyed all the trees nearly 100 years ago.  Now it's known for its beautiful waterfalls and very popular swimming holes.

Interesting that we passed frozen formations and spring flowers on the same drive.

Gatlinburg is the most popular town in the region, some say it has been ruined by its own success.  We first visited there in 1963, when it was a peaceful little town.  Steady growth, and the creation of Dollywood, has turned it into a bustling city with massive traffic.  Still, there are plenty of reasons to come and enjoy all there is to do.  One way to escape the craziness is to drive the Roaring Fork Nature Trail.

Great Smoky Mountains N P, NC & TN - April 24-25, 2005 (Re-run)

 Great Smoky Mountains National Park is one of our larger parks, more than half a million acres, and definitely our most visited national park with roughly 15 million visitors each year.  Dedicated in 1934, GSMNP is like a giant greenhouse containing magnificent forests, our oldest mountains, endemic wildlife,  abundant wildflowers, gorgeous streams and waterfalls, as well as many historical homes, farms and other structures that are an important part of our culture.  The park is situated in both NC and TN with entrances in several towns, making it easy to enter the park without traffic jams.

Cataloochee Valley is in a remote section of GSMNP that is accessed by a narrow, steep, partly unpaved road that traverses the mountains.  At the time of this visit, there was still snow all around, adding to the adventure.  Entering the valley is truly going back in time.  Elk had been re-introduced to the valley just a few years earlier, starting with only 25 animals, and the herd has grown to more than 200 and spread out into other areas of the park.  Historic structures remain from when the valley was home to some 1200 settlers, the last of which left because they knew the park was imminent.

Any road in the park will lead to in beautiful scenery.

Cades Cove is another valley that has been preserved to demonstrate the life of early residents.