Originally posted by deltaman:
The road looks like it could be the Blue Ridge Pkwy (?), but I don't recall the bridge (i travel portions of the BRP fairly regular). Maybe I haven't traveled far enough south?
Too far South, I think. We didn't make it to the Blue Ridge Parkway. The only time we had to make it to the NC side was for a Casino run in the late evening. The bridge shot is on the Roaring Fork Motor Nature Trail. It's right off US-321 on the North side. It's a very cool 1-lane first gear road. Steep roads up and down and sharp curves. A few old buildings to stop and look at including an old miner's setup where they used to pan for gold.
The other shots were just along side of the raod up to Clingman's Dome. All throughout the area are flowing rivers with car pull-offs. It was a little early for fall colors as they were just starting to change. My wife wants to go back in mid-June to see all the bloomiing Rhododendrums (sp). They are everywhere!
The trip only took 9 hours incuding all the stops for food and rest rooms. Considering it's about that far from Detroit to the Upper Peninsula to get some other kind of really good nature walks, the Great Smokey Mountain Nat'l Forest Park has far more to offer, plus cabins are cheap there. And, I like to drive.
Once you get out of the major turist traps (Pigeon Forge & Gatlinburg), the city just stops and you're surrounded by trees and mountains. The raods are just sweet. I used 3rd gear a lot, but if the roads were closed to traffic 2-3 gear corners the whole time. Most slower cars even pull over to the side when they start backing up. That's unheard of!
Well, enough about my experience. If you live within 5 hours of the area, you should go there. Take a 3-4 day weekend and rent a cabin (of which there are thousands to choose). Split it with another couple and it's even cheaper.
I wish you a speedy recovery.
Thanks to all.
