Gregory's Bald

Also on our trip to see the Fireflies of Elkmont, we hunted down the azalea blooms on Gregory Bald. It was a 4.5 mile hike up along Gregory Bald Trail. To get to the trailhead, we were forced down a one lane, one-way, gravel road, which had a rock slide at the other end blocking entrance back into Tennessee and forcing us into North Carolina. Oh my! We also spotted this big guy on our way in. I'm glad we were still in the car, because had I been on foot, I'm sure I would have ran, hence identifying myself as "dinner".



The azaleas came in many colors and only on the bald. It makes the hike worth it, because you have to get all the way to the top to see the orange, pink, and red blooming shrubs that cover the entire bald. There was also a very well fed deer enjoying the azaleas and all the visitors to Gregory Bald that day. We squatted under a tree to enjoy lunch and get out of the short blast of rain, then started the 4.5 miles downhill and back to the car.













Then our adventure through North Carolina began. We ended up on a stretch of road known as the Dragon, which includes 318 curves in 11 miles and photographers at every key point to snap your photo as you fly around the curve in a super sporty fashion. After trying to get off the dragon for an hour and half we end up on Cherohala Skyway...40 miles of nothing but curves at 5000 ft elevation. We should have known that any road suggested to us by a motorcylce lodge owner would be for motorcyclists! Although the curving switchbacks were more than I could handle for 3 hours, it was an amazing drive.





Some of the best views of the Appalachian Mountains I've ever seen, not to mention one of the strangest road signs...



If you know what it means or might mean, I'm taking ideas.