On Top Of Old Smoky

This will be a short post, since today was basically a travel day as we headed from Nashville (TN) to Asheville (NC). We opted for the scenic route, driving through the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The  trip through the park did provide a number of scenic views, although nothing spectacular. However, we did not deviate off the main road (i.e., US-441) and due to some on-and-off problems with Caren’s knee we decided not to risk taking any of the hiking paths to some of the more scenic waterfalls or other vistas. We did consider taking the Appalachian Trail to Katahdin, Maine (see photo), but figured we’d have a hard time getting back from the 1,972 mile hike before it got dark. The highlight of the day was seeing the car’s thermometer register 79 degrees for the outside temperature as we reached the higher elevations in the park… a significant drop from the 102-degree temperature it showed earlier in the day. We enjoyed the short-lived coolness while we could, but it didn’t last long.

The pace in Asheville should be a bit slower than some of the bigger cities we’ve visited recently. Depending on the weather, we will most likely go to the Biltmore Mansion tomorrow, the biggest attraction in the Asheville area.

Stay tuned,

Stu

P.S. – My apologies to Caren, who came up with the wonderful suggestion of “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough” for today’s blog title. I had planned to use her suggestion until I came up with the more appropriate (at least in my mind) title above.