Great Smoky Mountains

August 26th through September 21st, 2024

We left this beautiful area in the Blue Ridge Mountains six days before Tropical Storm Helene did its damage. The campground where we stayed was not damaged so we would have survived, but so many people lost their lives, homes, and businesses. It's devastating, and our thoughts are with the communities there. CNN has coverage of the incident in the area, and there are many videos showing how the beautiful town of Asheville and the surrounding areas were wiped away with water, mud, and debris.

We visited Asheville many times during our stay. It's a city with a lot of character, and lots to do. We hope their recovery is fast and not too difficult. Closer to where we stayed, the towns of Sylva, Dillsboro and Bryson City had flooding, but they didn't see the damage other parts of North Carolina did, thankfully.

Shifting gears, it was an honor to be able to enjoy the eastern edges of North Carolina before Helene did its damage. We stayed on the Tuckasegee River, about ten feet above the waterline when we were there. When we came in, we discovered it was going to take us a few tries and lots of maneuvering to get backed into our site. The campground host was a bit stressed out by the time it was done, but we got in without any damage to property, theirs or ours. The site had lots of grass and views of the river.

We had just come from a lovely stay in Virginia's Blue Ridge Mountains, and now we were in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina just outside of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Our first day of touring was up to Clingman's Dome (renamed to "Kuwohi" soon after we were there to reflect the Cherokee name for the highest point in Tennessee). The drive to that high point was beautiful, though it rained off and on. The path to the high point was very steep, and it drizzled rain much of our hike. It was worth it, but it was definitely steep.

That same day took us near the Appalachian Trail, a footpath from Georgia to Maine. We only hiked about 20 feet of it, but it was still cool to be on it.

The second half of our weekend brought us to Greenville, Tennessee and the Andrew Johnson National Historic Site. We were fortunate to be there when a ranger who completed his graduate studies on Andrew Johnson was working the front desk of the visitor center. He gave us the truth -- no one liked Andrew Johnson, because he was a jerk. We had watched the series "Manhunt" and already didn't think we liked him, and the ranger confirmed that it was pretty accurate. He was the vice president who took over as president after Lincoln was killed. The ranger said he was the second-worst president after Buchanan. It was a great stop, and we saw a lot of his homes.

We were really looking forward to the next weekend in the area so we could get the Jeep off of the pavement for a bit. The Great Smoky Mountains is full of roads and trails, and the Balsam Mountain Loop was high on our GSM bucket list. It was a peaceful and beautiful drive through the mountains, and it really felt like we got away from it all. We even saw a baby bear making its way across the dirt road, with momma bear nowhere in sight. Luckily, we didn't see her.

As of the time of this post, the Balsam Mountain Loop is closed due to flood damage. We feel very fortunate to have seen it before the flood.

Margot had done some kayaking on Fontana Lake and loved it, so we decided to see more of it by renting a pontoon for the day. It was an absolutely beautiful day, and perfect weather for boating. We coincidentally timed our trip just right and were able to see the Great Smoky Mountain Railroad train go by the lake. We were doing that trip just before we left, so it was awesome to see it then.

Lacey is getting so brave, jumping into the water to fetch a floating toy. She'll jump from shore but struggles to be brave enough to jump from a boat. Baby steps!

The national park for the Great Smoky Mountains is huge. We planned a day to see what was supposed to be the most popular one in the park, Cades Cove. We jumped on the one-way road, and it wasn't long before we found ourselves in a traffic jam. Traffic would be at a complete stop for a long while, and then we'd all move 20 feet farther to stop again. It was a very long delay and we were stuck. When the traffic finally started moving, we found out from a ranger that there was a bear at the head of the line of cars. It was gone, so we were allowed to pass. We finally made it to the visitor center and had time to explore the old buildings.

Our plan was to take another dirt road through the mountains to get out of the park and head for home, but the Parson Branch Road was closed. We had to get back in the crazy traffic that formed again, but only for a little bit to get out of the park via another dirt road along Tater Ridge. It was lovely, but it meant a long trip home.

We'd seen the Blue Ridge Parkway at its northern end when we were in Virginia, and now we'd be able to explore the southern end at the Great Smoky Mountains. It was a foggy day to start (typical for the area), but then the weather turned perfect. The southern end has the highest number of tunnels, and there were so many awesome views. Our goal included a few visitor centers. We stopped at the Waterrock Knob Visitor Center where we found items we wanted to purchase, but their credit card machine was down. Who has cash anymore? Margot ended up getting some cash and going back there another day to pick up what we wanted.

We also wanted to get to the visitor center in Asheville, and we made it there with five minutes to spare before they closed. We were able to buy things but didn't have time to explore the center. As of the time of this post, the visitor center is closed due to flood damage. In fact, much of the Blue Ridge Parkway is closed while they clean up debris and do road repairs.

We loved Asheville so much that we did their Hop-On/Hop-Off Tour. We love these trolley tours because we get to see a city or town and figure out where we want to spend some time. This time, though, we rode the loop and didn't hop off until we were back at our starting place. Asheville is truly lovely. We had a fabulous dinner before we left town.

Our stay in North Carolina was a whirlwind! The day before we left, we had a chance to take the Great Smoky Mountains Railroad train, the Nantahala Gorge Excursion. We took a steam-driven train into the mountains and stopped at a busy place where there was a lot of rafting happening. We had an adults-only, first-class ticket and our own table. They served lunch, and it was fabulous. Unfortunately, someone had a low blood sugar incident on the train, and it was a bit nerve-wracking until she was able to get off the train with paramedics. Other than that, our time on the train and in Bryson City was lovely.

This trip will always stand out above the rest for us. It was beautiful, of course, but we feel so fortunate to have seen it before the flooding. The people there were warm and welcoming, and there was a real sense of community. We didn't have a long stay there, but we are sure the people of North Carolina will recover, hopefully stronger than before. Our thoughts and appreciation are with you, NC.