On the Road to the Great Smoky Mountains

Yesterday we spent the day driving north of Asheville on the Blue Ridge Parkway, today we'll head south towards the Smoky Mountains.  Living in Southern Utah, we don't see fog or fog banks so it was quite a sight for us.  It turned out to be a beautiful day, we enjoyed some spectacular scenery and historical buildings. 

The morning started out foggy in Asheville

Fog Bank over the French Broad River Valley

The Pisgah National Forest

Once we started heading west it cleared up

We were thankful for no traffic

All together we drove through 25 tunnels

Yay! The Great Smoky Mountains

Mountain Farm Museum

The house was well built and the perfect size . . . if only I'd been a pioneer!

The peaceful Oconaluftee River

Mingus Mill built in 1886 uses a water-powered turbine

Even though Clingmans Dome was closed for repairs,
 the 1/2 mile walk up was worth the views

Great views all the way down the path

The blue haze of the Great Smoky Mountains comes from the water vapor
 and hydrocarbons given off by the trees

Newfound Gap, the Appalachian Trail (AT) crosses here

You can't see them, but there are most likely people hiking the AT right now

On the road again . . .

Blue Ridge Parkway

This Fall we decided to do something different; we headed for the Blue Ridge Parkway.  We started in Asheville, NC; it took us an entire day to drive 70 miles!  Of course, the speed limit is only 45 and we had to stop often to take in the views.  We enjoyed waterfalls hikes, beautiful scenery, perfect weather and meeting people along the way.

Dry Falls on the Cullasaja River near Highlands, NC

Who could resist these pumpkins?

We have arrived!

In September, Hurricane Irma pummeled more than 300 miles of the Blue Ridge Parkway.
The entire mountainside near Craggy Gardens was leafless

At 6684 ft. Mount Mitchell is the highest point east of the Mississippi River

There are several varieties of trees, flowers and shrubs making the Blue Ridge Parkway
 a great place to visit any time of the year

We had some great views along the Parkway

The tunnels were large enough for most RV's 

Crabtree Falls is a beautiful 70 ft. cascading waterfall

It's starting to look like Fall

 Crabtree Falls is a 3 mile loop hike

So many pretty colors

Linville River

Upper Falls

 Linville Falls from the Chimney viewpoint

The Blue Ridge Parkway covers 469 miles, of course we didn't have that much time 

Second Falls at Graveyard Fields

There are 26 tunnels on the Parkway and they are all named

Some amazing views 

Looking Glass Falls, near Brevard, NC is the most accessible waterfall,
 it can be seen from the road 

We drove past this neat pottery shop and quickly made a U-turn, what a fun little shop!  

Ward Charcoal Ovens Nevada

I've always liked the quote by John Muir, "Of all the paths you take in life, make sure a few of them are dirt."  It's amazing what you can discover if you do just that.  We have driven past the sign for Ward Charcoal Ovens many times; today we took the dirt path . . . so glad we did!

The moon setting over the Egan Range south of Ely

At Ward Charcoal Ovens you can explore, fish, camp and learn about the history 

There are six ovens

Very impressive

I had no idea . . . wow!

Chimney

Sturdy construction made from rock quarried in the hills nearby

Here's a view from the back of the ovens

A picturesque setting

Fall foliage along Willow Creek