#7: Great Smoky Mountains National Park
First, I’d like to recognize that I fully acknowledge I’m behind on writing. :)
My time after Tennessee and before Thanksgiving (South Carolina) was a little up and down, and a little decide-as-I-go. Weather was the main factor, as I ran into some heavy, heavy rain leaving Tennessee.
Long story short, I “lost” a day due to the weather - it POURED for about 24 hours straight. There wasn’t much I could do outside so I hibernated a bit in the Airstream and ran a few late afternoon errands.
The next day I’d get up early and head to Great Smoky Mountains National Park for a morning hike. The tricky bit with this park is that dogs are not allowed on the hiking trails. Although I completely understand why (disruption of the park’s natural habitat and safety), it not only bums me out, but also poses logistical challenges with what to do with Addie (only option is to leave her in the trailer with the heat on - which she is fine with). I just never want to leave her for too long at a time. She is my travel buddy!
The campground I landed on was sub-par (actually, it was worse than that). It was about an hour outside the park and about 20 minutes from Asheville, NC - a place I wanted to explore. I didn’t want a campground too far in the mountains because I was concerned about snow. Good thing, because when I got into the park and found this:
Surprisingly, I was excited to see snow in the mountains. It just provided a different type of beauty that I hadn’t gotten to experience yet on the trip. I was also probably excited because I wasn’t RESIDING in it and worrying about pipes freezing!
GSM NP is stunning. Absolutely stunning. It’s actually named a UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) “World Heritage Site” for its natural beauty and global importance. I really wanted to spend more time there and see more sights, but the road that led where I wanted to go was closed due to the snow/ice. Oh well. I guess I’ll just have to return in warmer weather. I got a solid 2-hour moderate hike in, so I was satisfied. I also spent some time around one of the visitor centers where they had a “homestead” set up like it would have been at the turn of the century. I’m a sucker for history.
One thing I noticed in the “homestead” area that I want to mention: Some people have no appreciation for what these parks are here for and what they provide to us. I witnessed kids banging on signs, kicking old wooden structures and nearly vandalizing what the park had put there to educate and preserve. The parents said and did nothing - like they didn’t even notice that their children’s actions were wrong. It was rather disturbing and left me somewhat disgusted. To me, it was representation of the lack of appreciation and respect “we” have for: a) things that aren’t ours (duh), and b) preservation of land and the hard work that people have done to conserve and protect. This was probably what got the gears going in my head about land preservation (more to come on this later).
That afternoon, Addie and I headed into Asheville to check out the city that I’ve heard so much about. It was a really cool town and we both enjoyed it. I found a parking spot and we walked around, popped into some shops (ones that allowed four-legged guests), found a dog-friendly heated patio (it was cold, which is probably why I don’t have too many photos) and enjoyed a gooey grilled cheese, delicious tomato soup and a local beer. I probably could have spent more time there if it were a tad warmer and I didn’t have Addie with me. If you’re wondering, I did not end up checking out the Biltmore - mostly due to time constraints and lack of wanting to leave Addie - although I did consider it.
By the time the next morning rolled around, I was so done with that campground. I really just wanted to get out of there…so I did!