Mini Vacation Part 3

On Sunday of our vacation we took a day trip to the Blue Ridge Parkway.

I don't really remember which part we were on only that it was in North Carolina.

This was probably my favorite part of our trip.

I could stare at these mountains all day everyday for the rest of my life.

Connor got a slinky the day before we took our excursion.

He annoyed us played with it while we drove.

I think at one point I threatened to throw it off a mountain.

Don't worry, I didn't do it and the slinky is still intact.

Eventually the guilty party kept better control of his toy.

I can't stop staring at the beauty of this country.

Most of the time there's just no words for the gorgeous views God created.

Ah, brotherly love.

No orneriness goin' on here whatsoever.

I love cloud shadows.

This is where we had a picnic break.

It was quite a bit chillier than the lower elevations.

At 54 it was about 20 degrees cooler!

We tried making a call from up there but the signal wasn't the greatest.

:)

A certain someone thought it was funny to photo bomb the mountains.

You can see he's smiling in this one.

Last one.

There are frequent tunnels on the Parkway.

 Unfortunately, they're difficult to get a pic of with the phone.

Fun with the sign.

I believe the sign says Chestnut Cove.

However, I do see three crazy nuts.

According to our tour guide, Dan, the mountain on the right is where the Gatlinburg fire started.

It looks more ominous than it was due to the cloud shadow on the top.

It is still fairly barren though.

It's hard to see, but in the foreground there are blackened tree trunks from the fire.

There is also a distinct fire smell in this area.

In the lower center of this photo you can see a blackened trunk.

If you look closely as you drive along the roads in certain areas you can spot lots of these trees.

It is sad but there is new growth too.

Thanks to the fire there is a new chair lift in Gatlinburg.

Even though it's almost been a year, there is still a smell of smoke
in the air while driving through downtown Gatlinburg.

I was a little disappointed that I didn't see any bears this trip.

I'm not counting the roadkill cub that didn't make it across the highway.

I bet he left a mark on someone's vehicle!

We did see one turkey and it wasn't in the van.

:)