Day 2 - Knoxville to Asheville, NC

We slept in a bit this morning as the time change (we are in Eastern time now) and the long day in the car Friday zapped us.  The breakfast in the hotel was pretty good, all things considered, and we soon hit the road south towards the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.  We decided to take the more scenic route into the park which meant that once we hit Pigeon Forge, we turned west for a bit.  This was a good move as we soon came across the Smoky Mountain Alpine Coaster.  We HAD to stop and give it a try.  You get seat belted into this sled-like coaster that ascends the nearby mountain via a few different climbs.  Once you reach the summit, you push down on the coasters handles, and off you go as you slide/glide down the hill on steel tracks through corkscrews, bumpy straight sections, and banking turns in a woodland setting.  Franklin rode with me and was a little scared at first, but halfway down he was yelling, "THIS IS AWESOME, we have to do it again!"

Back on the road, we turned toward the Smokies and were soon at an area called "The Sinks" where folks come to swim and jump into the Little River's natural pools caused by the river making an S-turn.  The weather today was outstanding as the sun was out, but temperatures were amazingly pleasant.  This great late July day clearly brought a lot of people into the park.

Our next stop was the Newfound Gap which is about halfway through the park is at nearly 1 mile above sea level.  The temperature really started to cool off here--it was about 68 degrees at 1:00 pm.  The Appalachian Trail crosses the Gap as does the Tennessee/North Caroline state line.

Clingmans Dome is the highest point in the park (6,643 ft), the tallest mountain in Tennessee (yes, it's barely back across the state line), and is the third highest peak east of the Mississippi.  As we parked, clouds started to envelope us.  Not fog, but rolling clouds that curled and curved with the wind.  The temperature had dropped to about 64 and everyone except me donned long-sleeved t-shirts or a pullover.  A tower sits at the summit and is a half mile walk (uphill the whole way) and, during clear weather, offers sweeping views of the park.  Today was NOT a "clear weather" day.

As we left the park, we stopped to have our picture made with the southern entrance sign and then we hopped onto the Blue Ridge Parkway and then Highway 19 en route to Asheville, our final destination for today.  I was first introduced to Asheville by Caroline in 2003 when she, Jason, and I camped in nearby Maggie Valley.  The town is quite an eclectic mix of things to do, restaurants, and people.  The downtown area is a little like the French Quarter in New Orleans except locals, tourists, street musicians, college kids, and retirees all come here to enjoy what the city has to offer.  We found an excellent taproom and pizzeria for dinner and then spent some time just walking around.  We're staying put in Asheville tomorrow, which will be very nice.  Looking ahead, there has been a power outage on the Outer Banks that has caused the evacuation of two of the islands.  Fortunately, where we will be staying in a few days hasn't been affected.