Great Smoky Mountains NP and Congaree NP.
With side trips to Chimney Rock,
the Blue Ridge Parkway,
Luray Caverns,
and the New River Gorge.
May 9 - May 19, 2015
(4 National Parks, 6 states, 2 time zones, 10 days)
Our first stop was Chimney Rock, in North Carolina. Now to get to
the top of Chimney Rock, you have to climb up 491 stairs.
Or you can ride the 26 story elevator up to the top.
Unfortunately, when we arrived, the elevator was broken.
We attempted to take the stairs, but didn't quite make it.
See the rock outcrop on the right. There is an observation point on it.
That's as far as we got. Kathleen thinks we were 1/3 of the way up, but she is dreaming.
But we still got a pretty good view as you can see below.
Our next destination was supposed to be a two day drive on the Blue Ridge Parkway from Asheville
to Shenandoah National Park. We got on the Parkway, pulled into the first overlook, and put a two inch gash
in the front tire when we hit the razor sharp curb made of chiseled stone. No problem, we thought,
we'll just put on the spare and drive back to Asheville to get a new tire.
One problem, the rental car did not have a spare tire to our surprise!
We had to get the car towed back to town which took over 3 1/2 hours to arrange
and buy a new tire on a Sunday at a store just 30 minutes prior to closing.
So, we ended up spending the night is Asheville and taking the Interstate
to Shenandoah National Park the next day to make up for lost time.
Next, we went to Luray Caverns, which is just
outside Shenandoah National Park.
Turns out this was one of the better caves that we have been to.
The picture above is of a lake in the cave that is reflecting the formations above.
It's had to tell where the reflection end and the real formations begin!
The Great Stalacpipe Organ is an electrically actuated lithophone.
It is operated by a custom console that produces the tapping of ancient stalactites of varying sizes
with solenoid-actuated rubber mallets in order to produce tones.
Next stop was the New River Gorge, a National River.
The light color area right above the river is actually
a railroad track. I'd imagine that the views from the
passenger trains are phenomenal!
The New River Gorge Bridge
Constructed in 1977, it is the longest steel span in the western hemisphere
and the third highest in the United States.
Our next destination was Mammoth Cave National Park
We always like to stay in lodging within the National Park, if possible.
While you do not have all the amenities of a hotel, it does enhance
the National Park experience
Now that's no fun.
View from our balcony
Ran into these two fellas while taking a morning walk
Historic Entrance
The Rotunda
The Bottomless Pit
Note the dates 1899 and 1855
At the end of the Historic Tour, you climb up 155 stairs
at the Mammoth Dome tower. This is what is above ground
at Mammoth Dome which stretches 192 feet from floor to ceiling
and was carved by water dripping though this sinkhole.
Next, we went on the Domes and Dripstones tour
which originates at the other end of the cave.
We were surprised that the majority of the cave does not
contain typical dripstone formations such as stalagmites,
stalactites, soda straws, flowstone, cave bacon,
columns, cave popcorn, etc.
After our cave tours, we went for a drive and ran into this!
A little worrisome until we rounded the corner and saw...
The Green River Ferry.
It can carry two cars at a time and is held in place by two guide cables
running from the river's edges about 20-30 feet up.
On the edges of the picture on the left you can see the cables that
connect the ferry to pulleys that traverse the guide cables
After leaving Mammoth Cave, we headed to Smoky Mountains
National Park. We decided to stay in Gatlinburg. We were expecting a
small quiet town and imagine our surprise when we arrived on a Saturday
afternoon and found that it took about 30 minutes to traverse the ten blocks of town!
Guns and Moonshine...what a combination!
Aerial tramway to Uber Gatlinburg
Midway point where tram going down passes us going up.
View of downtown Gatlinburg
View from our balcony and the neighborhood watchdog
Upon entering the park, we came across this sign.
We originally thought we were entering a traffic circle - but no.
We actually entered a bridge on the start of the curve and
continued in a circle until we crossed over the same bridge
and continued on our way.
Mingus Mill is a functional grist mill built in 1866 used to produce cornmeal from corn.
The water in the slough powers the turbine that churns the corn.
Cornmeal being produced.
Some falls along the side of the road.
At the start of our trip, we had temperatures in the mid 80's.
But upon leaving Mammoth Cave, we ran into a series of storms.
Clingmans Dome is the highest part of the park and
has an observation tower. It is a seven mile drive from the
main road and this is the visibility at the start.
By the time we got to the top, we could not see more than
ten feet in front of us, making driving up and back quite a challenge!
However, when leaving the park the next day, we were just
at the beginning of the next storm and decided to try it again.
It was still foggy, but not quite as bad as the previous day.
What we did not realize was that we had to go up a trail
that was only 0.5 miles but went up hill 300 feet. I kid you not, there were
people walking up the path that were inhaling from portable oxygen tanks.
But we made it!
Gatlinburg is right in the middle of the ridges...
at least that what the sign said!
Funny how fast the clouds move through. This is the bottom
of the hill about one hour after we originally arrived.
Upon leaving the Great Smoky Mountains National Park,
we went on the tail end of the Blue Ridge Parkway for a while
Looking Glass Rock
Leaving the parkway, we passed by the Looking Glass Waterfall
in the Pisgah National Forest
And our final stop was the Congaree National Park.
Oh good, mosquitos. And we didn't bring any bug spray!
Some of the rare signs of vibrant color in the swamp.
"Knees" rising up from the roots of the bald cypress trees. A slug on the boardwalk.
Where is Tarzan?
