The Land of Blue Smoke

There is no substitute for hearing a rippling stream in the mountains, watching a sunset, the music of the winds, the grandeur of tall green trees, the beauty of a wildflower and the smell of a deep forest.  It was time for us to take a break and head to the mountains for a few days.  Great Smoky Mountains National Park, here we come! It was going to be a long road trip (about 8 hours one way), but we were also going to use this as a pre-anniversary celebration (our 40^th!) that is September 15.  We rented a cabin outside of Bryson City, and it was located up a narrow, winding, gravel road.  And it was very nice!  Great views of the mountains!

 

The view from our front porch on the cabin!

Check how our view changed when the "blue smoke" rolled in!

We have visited Smoky Mountain National Park before, but not on the North Carolina side.  It’s just beautiful!  The Road to Nowhere made for a good, long hike which we really needed after sitting in the jeep the day before.  This is a scenic mountain highway that takes you six miles into the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and ends at the mouth of a tunnel, from the edge of Bryson City.  On the map this road is called Lakeview Drive, but to the locals it is The Road to Nowhere – A Broken Promise.  You see, in the 1930s and 1940s many people in Swain County gave up the majority of its private land to the US government for the creation of Fontana Lake and the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.  Hundreds of families lost their homes but also the roads leading to those communities. The government promised to create a new road. It was to have stretched 30 miles along the north shore of Fontana Lake, providing access to old family cemeteries.  But the road fell victim to an environmental issue and construction was stopped at the tunnel. 

Fontana Lake in the distance

The tunnel, which unfortunately has a lot of graffitti

The captain is always waiting on me.

The Mountain Farm Museum, located at the Oconaluftee Visitor Center

The Oconaluftee River, and a tree that someone felt the need to leave their mark on.

The chickens liked roosting in the kitchen!

I did read that in 2010, Swain County agreed to a $52 million settlement, paid over time, from the US government in lieu of completing the road. And on weekends throughout the summer, the Park Service still ferries groups of Swain County residents across Fontana Lake to visit their old family cemeteries for Decoration Days and family reunions.

I always think of the Smokies as being a great place to come and experience how our ancestors lived, with log cabins in many of the areas.  But there is also a lot of Oconaluftee Cherokee Indian culture to explore as well. It’s a very diverse area! We also hiked up to Clingman’s Dome (pretty challenging) and I was a little disappointed that cloud cover moved in right as we neared the top. Oh well……

The next day we decided to go see the waterfalls!  Again, it’s a short drive from Bryson City to Deep Creek.  Did you know that North Carolina encompasses more than half of the Smoky Mountains National Park?  There are 3 waterfalls to go see here and are accessible from a loop trail.  If you ever wonder how small this world is with all the humanity in it, let me share an example.  Back in 2016 we volunteered with a seasonal ranger named Rhonda.  I believe it was last year she got hired on as a permanent.  Well, guess who we happened to meet on the trail?!  She was taking a group of 8^th grade students on a hike, studying about water sources.  What are the odds?

Pondering the waterfall.

Me and Ranger Rhonda! Wow!

All in the day of the job of being a National Park Ranger!

What do you know about the Blue Ridge Parkway?  Well we must say it's a beautiful drive, although we only did a small portion of it.  It's a historic road that traverses through Virginia and North Carolina, with many pull outs to look at the scenery.  Construction began in 1935 at Cumberland Knob.  It is 469 miles long - and no, we didn't travel that far!  It will need to be done in segments. And by the way, some of the tunnels are only 12' high, so don't bring a big rig!

Always important to remember the Native Americans.

Lot of beauty!

As I end my souvenirs from this blog entry, I must say that we do have our eyes on Hurricane Dorian. With that path inching to start climbing up the east coast, we may just be making an early exit to our volunteer jobs here.  We’re in very low country in Hyde County. Our scheduled leave date was September 15.  Stay tuned!