August 6, 2015

The Smokey and Blue Ridge Mountains offer a bit of mystery that intrigues and invites one to explore.  I recently spent all to brief of a time amongst them as my son and I drove back to Michigan from a quick trip to Asheville.

On  Wednesday, Hayden and I cruised the Blue Ridge Parkway near Asheville, as well as some of the more fun (i.e. higher speed limit) tracks that lead away from it.  The curvy roads are a lot of fun in the new Mazda we picked up, and the views were spectacular.

There was a forest fire burning near the Blue Ridge and the smoke added to the drama of the scene.

On Thursday, we headed north, but not without first taking another drive along the parkway.  This time, we stopped at Graveyard Fields and made the short hike down to Lower Falls.  I love the sound of water flowing!

Next, we made our way through Great Smokey Mountains National Park, stopping for pictures along the way.

The view from the top of Clingman’s Dome added to the mystery of the place, as we could not see more than 30 or 40 feet.

On my way back to the parking lot, I hiked along my long dreamed about Appalachian Trail.  It was only one short mile, but it was a great hike and I was glad to be off the concrete and away from the crowds.

Our last stop was at the Tennessee – North Carolina line to take a few pictures next to the sign, as we did 10 or so years prior.