We decided to take a drive to see if there were any colors left. We got on the Blue Ridge Parkway at Brevard Rd. near Asheville and drove through the Great Smoky Mountains National Park ending up in Gatlinburg, TN. From Gatlinburg we took the most direct route home via I-40. We packed a lunch and stopped at a picnic area in the National Park. The short trip made for a relaxing day off.
View all the photos from our drive.
This past weekend we drove to the coast to explore Savannah, Hilton Head Island, and Charleston. We had never been to the area before and we wanted to get away for the weekend so we thought it would be a good time to go check out the coast. It was a cool and rainy weekend here in the mountains, and the weather proved to be excellent by the coast. It was mostly cloudy with some sun, but it rained only at night and was plenty warm. We are looking forward to returning to either Savannah or Charleston on another trip when we can spend more time. We thought we might like one place over the other, but it is a pretty even draw for us.
View all the photos from our trip.
There was an article in the newspaper recently about the observation tower at the peak of Mt Mitchell being torn down and a new one being built in its place. Well, since we had never seen the current one that is going to be destroyed, we though we better head out there and see it. This was not only my first time to Mt Mitchell State Park, but my first time on the Blue Ridge Parkway. Mount Mitchell is the highest point in the eastern United States at an elevation of 6,684 feet. It is interesting that air pollution and acid rain are contributing to the decline of the spruce-fir forests in the area.
Some friends from the congregation and I, seven of us total, drove a little over two hours to hike in the Joyce Kilmer Memorial Forest which is contained in the Nantahala National Forest. There are trees as old as 450 years there. It is one of the very few remaining tracts of virgin hardwood in the Appalachians. The large old trees are tulip-poplars, some with a circumference greater than 20 feet and over 100 feet tall.
View all my photos from the hike.
View information on the Joyce Kilmer Memorial Forest. (1.4 mb pdf file)
