I have seen a stat somewhere that speaks to the number of visitors to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park who never get further than a fraction of a mile from their car – or worse yet – who never get out of their car at all.  I can’t find an official stat this morning now that I’m looking for it, but from memory, it was an overwhelming majority.  In one sense I suppose it’s nice that the park has something to offer for everyone, of all skill-levels and abilities, but it does make me sad to think what all those people are missing inside our beautiful park.  Having said that, we do have some amazing roads!

This year we have had very little rain, so the streams are dry as a bone!  In lieu of photographing the streams as much, I’ve spent a lot of time shooting road scenes, and this week’s Picture of the Week is the result.  Below in the Alternative Perspectives section, you’ll see a collection of images that are how we experience roads from our car, but above is view I really wanted to focus on.

As I typically do, I spent time at higher elevations this fall when the leaves started turning up there, and then basically followed the color down the mountain.  On one such trip to Newfound Gap, I was enjoying the early light when I noticed the scene above – 441 snaking through the ridges of the mountain.  I loved how the light was catching the leading edge of the mountains, illuminating the brilliant trees, with the road adding some additional interest.

More next week!

–Dan Thompson