
The Great Smoky Mountains National Park,
Tennessee and North Carolina
July 02, 2006
On July 02, 2006, I was in Knoxfille, TN, so I went to The Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Here are some photos from that trip. I drove from Knoxville through Pigeon Forge (where Dolly Parton has the Dollywood amusement park and other businesses) and Gatlinburg, TN.

Right from the start, you can see where these mountains got their name. The bluish mist, which clings to the mountainsides and fills the valleys, gives the park its name.


I had a limited amount of time to spend here, so I only saw a small portion of the park. One of the nation's largest collections of historic log buildings is within the park, including homes, schools, mills and churches of the mountain people.


There are more species of trees here than in northern Europe, 1,500 flowering plants, dozens of native fish, more than 200 species of birds and more than 60 species of mammals.
No place this size in a temperate climate can match the Great Smoky Mountains National Park's variety of plant and animal species.
This information is from the pamphlet distributed by the rangers at the park.

The park encompasses over 800 square miles. There are over 270 miles of road, most paved, and the gravel roads are maintained in suitable condition for standard passenger cars.

There are eleven self-guiding nature trails available, as well as selected trails designated as "Quiet Walkways."

This photo was taken at a place called Newfound Gap, at an elevation of 5,046 feet above sea level. The Tennessee-North Carolina border crosses Newfound Gap east-to-west, as does the Appalachian Trail.



This is a paved half-mile, very steep, trail to the top of Clingman's Dome, the highest point in the Great Smokey Mountains, the "top of old Smokey." The peak is 6,643 feet in elevation and at the top is an observation tower.

The dead trees you see in some of these photos are Fraser firs which grow only at the highest elevations in the Smokies. The were killed by the balsam woolly adelgid, which was accidentally introduced from Europe. More than 70% of the parks mature firs were killed by this insect which feeds on the tree sap interferring with the flow of water and nutrients.


In this photo, from the observation tower, you can see Gregory Bald, Thunderhead, Silers Bald and Rich Mountain, among other things.

Here you can see Meigs Mountain, Chilhowee Mountain, Bluff Mountain, Fighting Creek Gap and Sugarland Mountain.

In this view from the observation tower, you can see Sugarland Mountain, Balsam Point, Cliff Top, Mt. LeConte and Myrtle Point.

Here you can see Cliff Top, Mt. LeConte, Myrtle Point, Newfound Gap, Mt. Kephart, Mt. Guyot, Mt. Hardison, Hyatt Ridge, Richland Mountain, Hughes Ridge and Big Cataloochee Mountain. Also, the state line between Tennessee (on the left) and North Carolina (on the right) runs diagonally through this photo.

This photo shows Richland Mountain, Hughes Ridge, Big Cataloochee Mountain, Mt. Sterling, Mt. Mitchell, Smokemont, Chiltoes Mountain, Soco Gap, Waterrock Knob and Balsam Gap.

In this view from the observation tower, you can see Thomas Divide, Waterrock Knob, Balsam Gap, Slyva and the Nantahala National Forrest.





The main road through Pigeon Forge has many attractions on both sides all the way through the town. One of the types of attractions are go-kart tracks, many of them three stories like this one!

Also in Pigeon Forge is Wonderworks,
The Smokies only upside down attraction.
An amusement park for the mind, featuring over 100 interactive exhibits for the entire family to experience.



Wedding License Information from Pigeon Forge Online:
Couple the beautiful natural chapel of the Smoky Mountains with the relatively minor requirements for getting married and you understand why a Smokies wedding and honeymoon is the most popular in the South.
Couples can be joined in holy matrimony in a chapel, the National Park, or the privacy of their cottage or cabin.
