On the way to Asheville

Day 10

Blue Dome Day!  Not a cloud in the sky this morning.  It was cold; 39°F in the van and 32°F outside, and a dusting of snow around our campsite, but before the day was through we enjoyed 74°F temps.  

We left the campground at 8:45 AM.  The road up to Newfound Gap and Clingman’s Dome was still closed due to snow & ice, so we had to drive around the park in order to get to the southern park’s points of interest.  On the way we stopped for breakfast in Cosby at an apple orchard that my sister recommended. Thank you Wendy, we loved the apple fritters and the views across the orchard toward the high peaks of the Smoky Mountains were incredible.

Our next stop was in the town of Cherokee, which is in the Cherokee reservation, on the southern border of the park.  The have some incredible handmade crafts made by local Cherokees; Joni had a hard time controlling her purchases.

From Cherokee we were now able to drive up to Newfound Gap from the south since the road had opened. The seven mile side road to Clingman’s Dome was still closed; we’ll have to come back during warmer weather, but we were able to go all the way to the Gap which is where the Appalachian Trail crosses at 5000+ feet.  The temp at the gap was 43°F, a big drop from the 66°F in Cherokee, and the winds were blowing at 40 mph.  It was hard to stay still enough to take a picture, but the views were spectacular.

We returned for lunch in Cherokee and then drove to the nearby town of Silva, where the movie “Three Billboards in Hibbing, Missouri” was actually filmed.  The billboards are gone, but the downtown looks just like it did in the movie.

Before reaching our campsite for the next three nights in North Mills River National Recreation Area, we stopped at Dick’s Sporting Goods in Asheville and bought a replacement table. We learned our lesson.    We got to our campsite around 6 pm, another beautiful campground and we’re especially happy that it’s warm, 72°F.

Our mileage for day was 226.