On Saturday I took a break from the trail as Deb and I did the tourist thing on a autumn leaf color drive from the Great Smoky Mountains National Park (GSMNP) to the Blue Ridge Parkway (BRP). We started the day in the park at Sugarlands Visitors Center. We got there pretty early and it was packed! I have been here at nine in the morning before and today it was more like mid-summer afternoon. Anyway, it was here that I saw my first wildlife of the day as a flock of turkeys was near the visitors center. When we left it seemed most cars were headed toward Cades Cove, we thought lucky for us as we were going the other way up the Newfound Gap Road. Well, we weren't that luck as plenty of people were going our way too. Chimney Tops and Alum Caves Parking Areas were overflowing and we couldn't even park at Newfound Gap because of the crowds. But, it didn't spoil the driver as we had plenty of overlooks with mountain vistas and fall colors. Then just past the Webb Overlook, on the way down the North Carolina side, a number of cars had pulled off and so did we. Soon we spotted what all the commotion was about, a mama bear with cubs (couldn't get a good picture), which was awesome! We reached the final two spots on the Newfound Gap Road drive, the first was historic Mingus Mill which is a 119-year old grist mill. Next we arrived at the visitors center on the North Carolina side, Oconaluftee. Besides the visitors center there is also the Mountain Farm Museum. This pathway back in time shows what a mountain farm, circa 1900, looked like. A surprise a waited beyond the barn as two bull elk rested in a field. Turkey, bear and elk in the same day...nice! We then made a short stop in Cherokee before heading up the BRP. Deb had never been on the southern most section and it offered plenty displays of autumn colors and mountain views. A section of the BRP here goes above 5,000 feet and at that elevation the leaves were past peak. One place I didn't get to visit when I was through here in 2013 (because of the government shutdown) was the Waterrock Knob Visitors Center. This is the highest one on the BRP. Deb got to souvenir shop, we enjoyed great views and I even got some hiking in (are you surprised). I hiked the six-tenths of a mile trail up to the summit of Waterrock Knob, it was steep and half paved and half trail. Oh, near the start it merged with the Mountain-to-Sea Trail which means in a little over a week I hiked the sea and then the mountain. Once at the top were some excellent views of the Smoky, Balsam & Black Mountains and Maggie Valley. With this hike and some earlier in the day I did over two miles, not bad for a driving day. It was here, because time had gotten away from us that we exited the BRP at Balsam Gap near Waynesville. It was the end of an awesome fall day and highlights why this region is wonderful in autumn.
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