By Jennifer

On our road trip to Florida we decided to take a detour through the Great Smoky Mountains National Park that straddles the Tennessee and North Carolina stateline. I wish we could have stayed there for a couple days to explore the fun mountain-side boutique towns of Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg. But, we were fixated on traveling along the one, and only, main road that bisects the ridgeline of the Smoky Mountains to reach the crest before sundown.

You’ll see in the slideshow beautiful vistas, the stone wall where Franklin D. Roosevelt designated the park in 1940, an entrance to the Appalachian Trail, Clingmans Dome — the summit at 6,643 feet — and a herd of elk that was settled alongside the road at the base of the mountain. One side note about the entrance to the Appalachian Trail there. Right after we snapped the picture of the kids at the sign, a couple who looked in their early seventies came hiking by me adorned in their outdoor gear, walking poles, and overstuffed backpacks. I stared at them as they gently disappeared beyond the trail marker. I was speechless staring at this trail-dirty couple doing their thing on the Appalachian Trail. I have no idea how long they had hiked. Boy, I wish I would have stopped them and asked. I have been kicking myself ever since. Anyway, I was in awe.