2011-57 Desoto Park, Alabama & Cherohala Skyway, Tennessee & North Carolina
Hello
All,
Arriving back home in Alabama it felt good to kick back for a while. And, since we had no action on selling our home in the down market we canceled the listing. We decided to keep it off the market throughout the winter months and then relist it in the spring. Our hope was there would be a turn-around in the market by springtime.
October is normally a beautiful month in the south with warm clear days and little humidity. The second and third weeks in October are an ideal time for cruising through the Smoky Mountains of Tennessee and North Carolina. The fall colors are normally at their prime and it is a peaceful respite. So, we grabbed our cameras and decided to let our hearts guide us on another road trip. It is always fun to take off to a general location without a specific plan. We let what we find daily guide us through the adventure. While driving to the mountains there were also a couple of places in eastern Alabama that we hadn’t visited before so we decided to check them out.
Our first stop was at DeSoto Falls State Park located in northeast Alabama near Fort Payne. Named after Hernando de Soto, it was developed in the 1930s by the Civilian Conservation Corps after the Great Depression. Nestled atop beautiful scenic Lookout Mountain this beautiful park’s natural scenery includes 3,502 acres of forest, rivers, waterfalls, and mountain terrain.
DeSoto Park and adjacent Little River Canyon National Preserve protect some of the most unique ecosystems in the United States. Little River, the west fork of which flows through the park, is one of the only rivers in the world that flows almost entirely on a mountain top. It is the longest flowing mountaintop river in the United States and has carved out a remarkable canyon. This was Cherokee land before the Trail of Tears and was a rich hunting and fishing area for members of the tribe.
Miller Dam is a small 20-foot dam built in the mid-1920s above DeSoto Falls. It was built to supply power for a hydroelectric generator below the falls. Still standing today, the dam forms a small lake that provided a photo opportunity.
Arriving back home in Alabama it felt good to kick back for a while. And, since we had no action on selling our home in the down market we canceled the listing. We decided to keep it off the market throughout the winter months and then relist it in the spring. Our hope was there would be a turn-around in the market by springtime.
October is normally a beautiful month in the south with warm clear days and little humidity. The second and third weeks in October are an ideal time for cruising through the Smoky Mountains of Tennessee and North Carolina. The fall colors are normally at their prime and it is a peaceful respite. So, we grabbed our cameras and decided to let our hearts guide us on another road trip. It is always fun to take off to a general location without a specific plan. We let what we find daily guide us through the adventure. While driving to the mountains there were also a couple of places in eastern Alabama that we hadn’t visited before so we decided to check them out.
Our first stop was at DeSoto Falls State Park located in northeast Alabama near Fort Payne. Named after Hernando de Soto, it was developed in the 1930s by the Civilian Conservation Corps after the Great Depression. Nestled atop beautiful scenic Lookout Mountain this beautiful park’s natural scenery includes 3,502 acres of forest, rivers, waterfalls, and mountain terrain.
DeSoto Park and adjacent Little River Canyon National Preserve protect some of the most unique ecosystems in the United States. Little River, the west fork of which flows through the park, is one of the only rivers in the world that flows almost entirely on a mountain top. It is the longest flowing mountaintop river in the United States and has carved out a remarkable canyon. This was Cherokee land before the Trail of Tears and was a rich hunting and fishing area for members of the tribe.
Miller Dam is a small 20-foot dam built in the mid-1920s above DeSoto Falls. It was built to supply power for a hydroelectric generator below the falls. Still standing today, the dam forms a small lake that provided a photo opportunity.
Water
flowing out of the dam goes over a small waterfall and then plunges 104 feet
over Desoto Falls. The chasm around the falls is absolutely amazing.
We drove Lookout
Mountain Scenic Byway and crossed over into Little River Canyon National
Preserve. The whole area has an amazing number of huge boulders scattered
throughout the forest.
And,
you had better keep a sharp eye on the road while driving, as the boulders are not just limited
to the forests.
Our
next stop was at Little River Falls. It too is in an amazing chasm of rock.
Here
is a shot of the falls from downstream that demonstrates just how rocky the
area is.
After
spending the night in Chattanooga, Tennessee, we worked our way to the
Cherohala Skyway. The Skyway is a 43-mile National Scenic Byway that connects
Tellico Plains, Tennessee, to Robbinsville, North Carolina, with no commercial
traffic. We’ve traveled the byway many times and highly recommend it for a
beautiful fall drive in the Smoky Mountains.
One
of the first items of interest you come across after passing through Tellico
Plains is this beautiful covered bridge across the Tellico River.
A
little further up the Skyway we turned onto Bald River Road. The road follows
the Bald River Gorge for about five miles before reaching the falls. It is a great drive but you must be wary of
oncoming traffic, as the road is quite narrow. The river is on one side while
the steep mountains with overhanging rocks are on the other.
Upon
reaching the falls we found it as lovely as ever. It is a 100-foot cascading
waterfall—one of our favorites in the Smoky’s.
After
backtracking to the Cherohala Skyway we continued our trek up into the
mountains. The road winds and climbs to around 6,000 feet. There are many
places to stop and view valleys, lakes, and various other points of interest.
It didn’t take us long to figure out that the trees were a little past their
prime fall colors. But, they were quite lovely anyway.
We took
side trips into some of the small lakes and streams along the way. Just about
any area along this road had lovely vistas to photograph. There are beautiful
streams flowing down the mountains, some with reflections of the fall colors in
still water.
Every
now and then we stopped and walked in the beautiful hardwood forests, looking
up, and taking in Mother Nature’s beauty. It was very peaceful and refreshing!
In
North Carolina, as dusk was rapidly approaching, we turned off the Skyway and dropped
down to Lake Santeetlah. This beautiful lake is surrounded by the Nantahala
National Forest and is within 15 miles of Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
While there are only 67 permanent residents at the lake, there are over 200
cabins. Most of them are second homes owned by Georgia and Florida residents.
What
could make the above photo even more serene?--how about a guy in a canoe paddling
into the picture from around the point. In our eyes it was truly lovely!
As
the sun was setting on the lake it was also setting on our trip into the Smoky
Mountains. Our next adventure will take us to a whole different section of our
country--the deserts of the southwest. But, more on that in our next little
blurb.
Until next time,
Dave & Barb
The Traveling Browns
Until next time,
Dave & Barb
The Traveling Browns