The Long Way Home: Foothills Parkway & Look Rock

 

This morning we got up and headed out super early – we were planning to drive through Cades Cove and take the long way home down the Foothills Parkway.

We saw the sun rising over the mountains.  So beautiful!  Wish we were staying longer!

We saw a bear at Cades Cove!!!

We took Rich Mountain Road out of the park.  Neither of us had ever been this way before – it is a winding mountain road that comes out in Townsend, near the Foothills Parkway.  There was a gorgeous overlook!

We finally made it to the Foothills Parkway.  The fall colors were definitely peaking – the reds and oranges were so bright.  It was beautiful!

We made it to the Look Rock parking lot and hiked up to the observation tower (~0.3 miles).  Spectacular views of Maryville on one side and the Smoky Mountains on the other side.

Look Rock was the Grand Finale of our beautiful autumn weekend. After we left, we made a quick stop in Tellico (to see Tincie, who had to be hospitalized last week after a stroke!), then we went on to Chattanooga to meet my family for a mid-day meal at Souper Salad, and then on to Tuscaloosa. Whew!

Hiking the Smokies: Andrew’s Bald & Clingman’s Dome

We planned to return to Clingman’s Dome for sunset since our last sunset viewing there was so spectacular.  We also wanted to hike to Andrew’s Bald, a short 1.7 miles from the parking lot.

Clingman’s Dome was so crowded that we had to park on the road down from the parking lot and hike in.  Once we got there, we took the trail (downhill most of the way) 1.7 miles to Andrew’s Bald.  It was so serene & peaceful here!  The view was somewhat obstructed by the tree line, but it was still gorgeous.  We rested a bit before heading back.

(Who wears short shorts?)

From Andrew’s Bald, we hiked 2.5 miles up to the top of Clingman’s Dome.

We reached the top of Clingman’s Dome at about 6 pm, 1 hour before sunset.  We quickly realized that we were in the clouds again.  It was VERY COLD!!!

Smoky Mountains Scenic Drive–Fall 2012

We were so excited to see some colorful foliage!  We followed Newfound Gap road all the way to Cherokee, North Carolina and stopped at the Oconaluftee Visitor Center. Then, we took the Blue Ridge Parkway to Heintooga River Road until it turns into Balsam Mountain Road (gravel road), which eventually loops through the mountains and goes back to Cherokee.  It was nice and scenic, but 28 miles is a looooong time on a winding gravel road! It was certainly beautiful, though!

Below is a view of the Chimneys from the road.  Hard to believe that we were on top of the peak yesterday afternoon:

Road trip playlist: Avett Brothers, Civil Wars and Adele

It was such a good decision to do this scenic drive.  We were able to get away from the crowds and see so much scenery that I had never seen before.  Next stop: Clingman’s Dome for sunset!!