2004/04 Boston and South Carolina trip - Smoky Mountains |
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We had to leave the parkway for shopping and gas and to post some mail. We did some of this in Waynesville, and then we ended up on the Cherokee Indian Reservation. There were miles of commercial junk between us and the Smoky Mountains national park, but the park was a blissful stop, a place for picnics without any commercial opportunities.
The road through the park crosses from North Carolina into Tennessee. This is supposedly the most visited national park in the USA, though I’m sure the fact that entry is free is a big factor. The Appalachian Trail crosses the road at the border. I walked a few hundred yards up the trail which runs from Georgia all the way up to Maine, more than 1000 miles.
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Smoky Mountains (0.53) |
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We camped at the Little River, a great spot with the river gurgling past us. The picture shows some of the interior of the camper and the view through the windows.
We took a drive along the river, and found a pretty waterfall. Our last stop was up on Clingman’s Dome. There’s a lookout tower at the top of the mountain but the wind was so strong up there that I had little company on the trail to the peak. Mountains in all directions.