Here is a except from our daily journal notes last year over the Cherohala
Scenic Skyway, NC to Tenn. It rained the previous day so there was lots of
water flowing down the mountain streams, a nice treat for us San Diego
"desert by the sea" people. The changing of the tree colors make this drive
really spectacular in October. Starting in September, we had worked our way
from Quebec, down through Maine, NH, NY and south as the colors changed and
the cold weather forced our progress southward. After over six weeks of
following the colors back and forth across the Eastern mountains, we were
still impressed with the drive over the Skyway. We went from east to west
and in talking with the people coming the other direction, that is the more
dynamic way as the vistas are bigger surprises.
10/14
The sun was out and burning off the clouds. We restocked, gassed up and ate
lunch before we started our trip over the mountain. The road to the drive
over the mountains is just as pretty as the drive would proved to be. We
followed the streams until we started to climb over the top of the mountains
at 5000 feet. At the base of the climb, the trees were just starting to turn
color. As we progressed up the mountain, the colors became more vivid. We
made stops along the way to take some pictures and take in the views. The
humidity is usually high here in the smokies, so the mountains take on a
bluer haze the further away they are. At the crest of the mountain, some of
the trees had completely lost their leaves and others were losing their
leaves in the winds. As we ran across the top of the mountains, the views
down into the valleys was spectacular as the trees went from leafless clumps
to the full color spectrums and then almost green at the warmer lower
levels. Holding up our trip over the mountain one day really paid off
because we had a cloudless sunny day to view the colors. This country is
truly one of the most beautiful parts of the country at this time of the
year. The weather was in the mid 60's and nice and warm as long as you
stayed in the sun. A prefect time of the year and perfect day to take the
Cherohala Scenic Skyway.
Chuck Botts, San Diego
Scenic Skyway, NC to Tenn. It rained the previous day so there was lots of
water flowing down the mountain streams, a nice treat for us San Diego
"desert by the sea" people. The changing of the tree colors make this drive
really spectacular in October. Starting in September, we had worked our way
from Quebec, down through Maine, NH, NY and south as the colors changed and
the cold weather forced our progress southward. After over six weeks of
following the colors back and forth across the Eastern mountains, we were
still impressed with the drive over the Skyway. We went from east to west
and in talking with the people coming the other direction, that is the more
dynamic way as the vistas are bigger surprises.
10/14
The sun was out and burning off the clouds. We restocked, gassed up and ate
lunch before we started our trip over the mountain. The road to the drive
over the mountains is just as pretty as the drive would proved to be. We
followed the streams until we started to climb over the top of the mountains
at 5000 feet. At the base of the climb, the trees were just starting to turn
color. As we progressed up the mountain, the colors became more vivid. We
made stops along the way to take some pictures and take in the views. The
humidity is usually high here in the smokies, so the mountains take on a
bluer haze the further away they are. At the crest of the mountain, some of
the trees had completely lost their leaves and others were losing their
leaves in the winds. As we ran across the top of the mountains, the views
down into the valleys was spectacular as the trees went from leafless clumps
to the full color spectrums and then almost green at the warmer lower
levels. Holding up our trip over the mountain one day really paid off
because we had a cloudless sunny day to view the colors. This country is
truly one of the most beautiful parts of the country at this time of the
year. The weather was in the mid 60's and nice and warm as long as you
stayed in the sun. A prefect time of the year and perfect day to take the
Cherohala Scenic Skyway.
Chuck Botts, San Diego
