Thursday May 16th, 2019
Day 2.
I awoke at 6:00 a.m. feeling very refreshed and ready for my planned days’ ride ahead of me.
It was very foggy, making for a very tranquil morning.
At 7:15 a.m. I sauntered to the reception area for breakfast.
It was still too foggy to take off and start the days’ ride in the mountains so I opted to walk around and take some photos to pass the time whilst I waited for the fog to lift.
Today I would be heading out to ride the Foothills Parkway and then on to Clingman’s Dome and beyond to Little Switzerland, NC for my next nights’ stay on this ride/tour.
Clingmans Dome, elevation 6,643 feet (2025 m) is the highest point in Tennessee and North Carolina and also the highest mountain in the Great Smoky mountain Range.
Additionally and of course, since the Appalachian Trail crosses here, is also the highest point along the Appalachian Trail as it winds its way northwards for some 2400 miles (3840 km) from Georgia to Maine.
And whilst I’m in a lecturing mood and spilling out facts I picked up along the way, it’s also the 3rd highest point in the eastern half of North America.
Leaving the motel, I turned towards the Great Smoky Mountain National Park - another highlight of my trip.
For many years, I‘ve been dreaming of making this trip/visit.
Needless to mention, I was excited to be here.
I entered the park.
It was lusciously green!
The road followed the twists and turns of the Little River in it’s gorge and wound all the way till I got to the junction of Highway 441.
The road was so congested, I could not avoid noticing that.
It was like a parking lot in the middle of Cleveland on the day of any given festival!
Every Tom, Dick and Harry was out on this day in the park.
It ruined “my ride” and left a very “sour taste” in my mouth and a great sense of disappointment with the visit.
I was so unimpressed with this visit. I couldn’t believe that this is what so many have described as being so great could have turned out to be!
So based on my personal experience it is not a place that gave me a “wow factor”. Nor is it a place I would care to visit another time.
For now, I’ve been there, seen it and experienced it.
I made a left turn onto Highway 441 - The Newfound Gap Road and began my journey westwards towards Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge.
Crawling through the jammed towns which seemed to take forever, I wound my way to find the junction of highway 321 - the Wears Valley Road a.k.a. the Missing Link.
………. and exactly as I had researched, the views were just great. The road quality was second to none.
The road wrapped around the mountainside offering views too beautiful to ever forget. A lot of which are seared into my mind.
The views from this road did not disappoint.

After enjoying the whole length of it, I wound my way back again through Townsend, TN back to the junction of Highway 441, where this time I turned eastwards onto the Newfound Gap Road, towards Clingmans Dome.
Again, the road surface was really great.
The views were gorgeous. I Found it hard to keep my eyes on the road and I found myself stopping very often to take pictures.
Almost every turn or bend in the road offered such magnificent views. The road and the thrills and views it offered were first class! It was impossible to not stop and appreciate the world from this perspective.
Yeah, I was literally on top of the world.
The road wound and twisted like there was no tomorrow! I was enjoying a very spirited ride.
This was the stuff my bike was built for. It never complained once!
It just delivered on everything I asked of it ………. And boy, did I ask!

With the Appalachian Trail crossing the road again, I made a right turn onto the Clingmans Dome Road and followed the twists and turns on another great quality road all the way to the full parking lot. So full I had to circle around twice in order to find a place to park my bike.
Lots of visitors.
Finally, I had no choice but to squeeze in between a couple of cars for a parking spot.
Grabbing my camera gear, I began the 1/2 mile (0.8 km) walk up the steep, paved walkway towards the summit.
………. I thought I was in good shape!
Gradient so steep, I, along with all the other visitors going in my direction, had to stop every few steps to catch our breaths.
It is a very steep half-mile (0.8-km)climb, so if you have a health condition you may want to consider avoiding this visit or else be prepared to make several stops along the way.
That being said, you don’t want to miss this!
It took me about a half hour to make it up to the summit, atop which sits an observation tower that presents views out of this world!
On a clear day, you can see endless ridges of mountains in all directions for as far as your eyes can see.
I was lucky to be there on a very bright and sunny day which made for lovely clear conditions and very comfortable weather.
Because of the great elevation, it tended to be a little cooler than the lower elevations and I can well imagine that it could get relatively colder on other days despite warmer weather down below.
So if you do plan to visit, take that into consideration by coming prepared with something to keep you warm should conditions change instantly.
The views from the observation tower are indescribable.
I hope you enjoy some of the photos I have place in my photo album for this trip.
I mulled around around for at least an hour. I couldn’t get enough of the scenery, but due to time concerns, I had to wrap up my visit and begin the trek downhill back to the parking area and leave the area.
I was way up in the mountains and it was already past midday. I had quite a ways to go to my destination for the day and with so many stops along the way, I would have to make some quick tracks through and out of the mountains before nightfall. Now time was of the essence.
The ST delivered!
More twists and turns, more views, more stops!
No cell phone signal.
I was incognito!
I was in rider’s heaven!
I pushed it, reluctantly dropping out of the mountains, but needing to, finding myself in Asheville, NC around 7:00 p.m.
I fueled up for the night with about 12 bucks of gas and picked up a sandwich for dinner from the “Mickey Dees” attached to the gas station and made a call ahead to my motel for the night, letting the proprietor know that although late, I would be there as confirmed.
I still had about 98 miles (157 km) to get there.
So in order not to be in the mountains at dark, I made a detour from Asheville, NC here, and began heading towards Little Switzerland, NC - my destination for the night, along the highway.
The sun finally dropped out of the sky, bringing the day to an end and as I headed towards the Skyline Village Inn, Mike, the proprietor, stayed on the phone with me giving me directions on how to get to the location.
So far up and in the mountains, the area was not 100% mapped out on the GPS system - and it was pitch black/dark!
Finally at 9:34 pm. After 2 stops to describe my surroundings to Mike over the phone, I arrived.
His kindness, staying open this late to accommodate me was so appreciated.
We struck up great conversation in these early minutes of our meeting and ended up chatting for the next half hour after he had checked me in.
The Skyline Village Inn is built in to the side of a mountain and the room was quaint, clean and very well maintained.
Everything worked and I settled in for the night.
Phone calls made, I relaxed and did justice to my Big Mac, Fries and Sprite.
After a shower and a prayer of thanks for all the blessings of the day that had been bestowed upon me, I fell asleep with a smile on my face.