Early in the morning we were back to Blue Ridge Parkway, but there was nothing special on this last portion. We stopped only one or two times. At milepost 469, we arrived at the end of it, inside a Cherokee Indian reservation.
We arrived at the southern entrance to Great Smoky Mountains National Park, slightly before 9am and Oconaluftee Visitor Center was still closed. While we waited, we visited the pioneer farmstead displays nearby, brought in from the area. In the beginning of this century, logging was an important economical activity.
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Almost at the crest that defines the border between North Carolina and Tennessee, we took the road to Clingmans Dome. From the parking lot, we walked a beautiful trail for about 20 min to the summit, 2025 m (6643 ft), the highest point in the park, where there is also an observation tower. It was completely cloudy - we were in fact walking inside clouds - so we were not able to view the surrounding area. Boards around the tower gave us an idea of what we would have been able to see on a clear day - rare occasions, as we learned.
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In Newfound Gap, the road meets Appalachian Trail, which has its most untouched section inside the park, over 110 km (70 miles) along the crest. We had lost contact with it in the beginning of Blue Ridge Parkway - the trail runs west of it. So we went twisting down Newfound Gap road, now in Tennessee. It's a very, very winding road. One can get sick. From time to time, we got a glimpse of Little Pigeon river. An interesting thing in this park are the "quiet walkaways", in which small parking areas for very few cars are the starting point for people simply venture in the woods, with no special sight to see, just the pleasure of enjoying quiet moments away from the road.
But it seems quietness is not the word that defines Gatlinburg, the main city at the northern entrance of the park. We were shocked. A huge traffic jam, thousands of people walking and driving in a holiday chaos. We thought that maybe Pidgeon Forge or Sevierville, farther from the park, would have more options, but these places are actually close to each other and we found nothing affordable in any of them.
We decided to leave the hotel problem for later and not waste more of our little time. To avoid the lousy slow traffic in Gatlinburg, which was reflecting all along the way, we took another road near Pigeon Forge, going west. We stopped near Townsend for a snack and there, a much quieter place, though still full of people, we found the nice Tuckaleechee Village Motel, where we got an ample room and even a barbecue pit in the back (not that we were going to use it!), facing the river. We were so lucky. Townsend has many other options, from camping to chain motels, and it seemed to us a much more pleasant place to stay than Gatlinburg and vicinity.
So we were back into the park at about 2pm, going up to Cades Cove. Along the road, many people fishing, swimming and walking. There is a loop road on Cades Cove, leading to an once inhabited rural area, sometimes with a sight to the pastures, other times running inside the woods. We saw one deer there, very close from us, but I had to change the film in my camera, so I only watched it. I found it a bit annoying to have so many cars at the same time on the loop road (which has restricted parking along it).
Back from the park, in the end of the afternoon, we still had time to drive Foothills Parkway, also run by the National Park Service. It's a scenic road, but not very winding, 29 km (18 miles) long. We came back the same way, stopping in some of its several overlooks. There is a 800 m trail (0.5 mile) to the observation tower at Look Rock, but we didn't have enough time for it.
We rested a while before dinner. There are many restaurants and our choice was Shirley's, but I didn't really like their food. We had one of their specials, country ham steak, with vegetables.
Day 7 - "Two deers crossed the road, but they were too quick to be photographed!"
We were up very early. The only bakeries and delis we found didn't have any fresh baked items, so we decided to take a cooked breakfast for a change. This time we made a good choice: Hearth & Kettle, where I had three delicious fluffy pancakes. Simply delicious!
We drove east into the park on Little River Road, which follows the curves of this sinuous river, which offers very nice spots, including view to small waterfalls. We went past Sugarlands Visitor Center and Gatlinburg, still quiet at that time of the morning.
Our destination that morning was Roaring Fork Motor Nature Trail, a charming narrow road inside the forest, with some points of interest, such as old farmhouses from the beginning of the century. When the park was created, people who lived there were allowed to stay, but most decided to leave. We saw two deers and a wild turkey. Creeks and waterfalls and the forest help to make this a very beautiful drive. I would say this was my favourite place in the park.
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Our windshield was often hit by locusts on our way to Nashville, where we arrived that afternoon and that was the end of our trip. We later learned that about every 13 years locusts invade the area, buzzing for days and covering trees and parking lots. I had never seen something like that.
After finding a hotel, we did a little bit of sightseeing, going to Opryland and The Country Hall of Fame, but we saw everything only from outside - they were closed by then. I had expected people playing in the streets or maybe a street full of country music bars, similar to what we had already seen in New Orleans, but we found nothing like that.
We had a delicious dinner at Cracker Barrel. It was difficult to decide what to eat, but I didn't regret my choice: grilled chicken tenderloin, with salad, baked potato and delicious warm cornbread and biscuits. They also have a store with souvenirs, homemade jam, etc.
Day 8 - "I finished the walk where I should have started: Fort Nashborough, a replica of the original fort that was part of the 18th century frontier settlement."
Early in the morning we were packing and heading to the airport. After checking in, we had breakfast in the only place that was open in the airport. I wished Ernani a pleasant flight and went downtown, to see a little bit of Nashville's old quarters. Old, but full of modern buildings too, like the exotic Bell South skyscraper.
At 9 am in a Memorial Day, I felt like I was the only human being in a ghost town filled with locusts, a déjà vu feeling of a sci-fi movie about the end of the world. I followed the City Walk, a path on the sidewalks, which guides us through the main interesting points, showing some of the city's past as an important market linking east and west - 150 years ago, Nashville was the second largest city west of the Appalachians. Brick wharehouses from still stand by the river, most of them nowadays turned into bars and shops.
I finally started seeing people, and shops were selling souvenirs and country wear. I could not resist entering a shop that sells only bears, Bobby Bear Trap, and even less buying one for me - dressed in country style, of course. I had icecream at Baskin Robbins (I loved its Mississipi Mud flavour) before going to the airport to start my way home, leaving behind those quiet lovely places we had seen.
text and photos © Maria Adelaide Silva
no reproduction is allowed without the author's agreement