May 16, 2008

May 16, 2008

It poured all night. Now morning, the rain has stopped here in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park but it is still very overcast and cool. I am thinking we turned north a little too early. We drive uphill into the center of the park. The sun looks like it is starting to peak through the clouds; and we cross our fingers. At the crest we take the branch road that leads to the Clingman’s Dome trailhead. Our string of luck has run out. When we get there, we are back in the clouds and it is cold. We get out the jackets and make the half-mile walk uphill to the summit. At 6643 feet, Clingman’s Dome is the highest point in the park and in Tennessee. That is summit number two for us in the Hilltoppers Club. Only 48 more states to go. I bet the view is awesome when it is clear. Right now we can barely see twenty feet from the modern observation tower.

We coast downhill to the north side of the park. It is a beautiful drive through spectacular forests. We need to come back in the fall some day when the colors are ablaze. We stop for a few photos but not for any hiking. I would like to do a section of the 2100-mile Appalachian Trail that stretches from Georgia to Maine. But we are not in the hiking mood and the crowds of cars at the trailheads leave little room for RV’s. Unfortunately for us Old Smoky is the most popular of all National Parks with more than a million visitors a month at peak times.

Driving north out of the park, somebody turns a switch and we are in the tourist town of Gatlinburg, TN. What a contrast to the park. For the next umpteen miles, it is nothing but a long string of tourist traps. Finally we get to the interstate, which we take to nearby Knoxville, TN where we spend the night in a private RV park.