Over the weekend, I wasn’t sure if I’d have time to squeeze in a mid-week post but I found a few minutes and decided to share a few photos I took on Friday. We got out of the house kind of late because of the early morning rain but wanted to go somewhere, so we drove to the Smoky’s. Traffic got congested the closer we got to Sevierville and by the time we neared the Five Oaks Shopping plaza in Pigeon Forge it was worse. We took a short cut to avoid the mess placing us near the entrance to the stretch of of road between Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg. Once we hit the by-pass off the spur heading toward the park traffic wasn’t too bad. Our venture led us to Clingmans Dome. We had hoped to have a picnic with the view of the Smoky’s outside our car window but unfortunately, there was no empty parking spaces which we should’ve expected this time of year. We just drove through the lot heading back to 441. I did manage to captured the below two photos.
Once we intersected with 441, we turned south just across the North Carolina state line there is a large overlook of the valley on the right. We decide we’d enjoy our picnic there. The view is nice. It’s seldom busy unless it’s during peak season which means a number of vehicles pulled in and pulled out while we were parked. I packed us a simple bologna and mustard sandwich on white bread, Utz Original Kettle potato chips, Nutter Butter Peanut Butter Wafer cookies, and Diet Rite soda. Not a fancy lunch but somehow in the mountains a bologna and mustard sandwich tastes better than any other place. I credit that to the atmosphere of our dining experience as reason for the better tasting sandwiches. 🙂 After we ate, I snapped another picture. The colors are there but not quite so as it was just north a short way but what’s really cool about the snapshot is the rainbow. Do you see it? What a happy little surprise to find in the sky!
It was late afternoon and we really didn’t want to be out to long, so we headed back to Knoxville. The beautiful drive in the mountains was enough for us for the day. It helps knowing in two weeks our staycation begins and we’ll have ample opportunity to visit the mountains again, hopefully with far less terrorists tourists.
You’re invited to join the self-prompting Wild Wednesdays linky party where just about anything goes!
I’m not linking up with anyone this week but for those who enjoy participating with others in the Wordless Wednesday community, please visit my bloggy pals Sandee, Natasha, Marie, & Wordless Wednesday! Tomorrow, my TAD post is scheduled for those interested. I’m in the midst of preparing for our staycation and I’m limiting my involvement in Blogosphere. I shall leave you with today’s WSC song picks. Have a wild and wonderful day! X💋X💋, Cathy
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Such beautiful photos. Very lovely.
You captured some nice views and yellow color. And those moody clouds! We avoid (or try to) any peak leaf peeper tourist season sites, although here winter closes in too soon after the leaves fall. Enjoy your staycation and hope you have some good day trips.
Such pretty scenery! Eric Clapton is such an amazing artist!
That was beautiful, thank you!
Sorry..fell asleep. I’m in the hospital and doing well. Sore obviously
Sorry, fell asleep. In hospital. Doing well but tired. Pain but from ehlers and rough.night.
I haven’t thought about Diet Rite in years. Made by the people who make RC, which in my opinion is better than either Coke or Pepsi…
It is definitely beginning to look like autumn here too. I know all the leaves will be off the trees soon..
Joanne,
Yes, the leaves will drop before we know what happened. I hope they manage to stay on long enough for us to see them even more brilliant than in these photos. Thanks for stopping by!
I would love to see fall in your neck of the woods. Beautiful. Just beautiful.
Love your playlist. Music is a wonderful thing.
Have a fabulous day and rest of the week, Cathy. Love and hugs. ♥
Sandee,
I bet the falls along the Pacific coast are equally spectacular. Hopefully, one day we can venture out west to see it for ourselves. Thanks for stopping by, my dear!
Happy WW, Cathy! Seems you had a nice drive in the mountains even if it rained. Love your selection of music, especially Eric Clapton! Btw, I love bologna and mustard sandwiches. Have a great rest of the week! 😘
Eugenia,
The rain stopped early in the morning. For the most part, while out on our drive the sky was beautiful. Just the way I like it with lots of interesting clouds parting to show the blue skies that are concealed. The clouds hung heavy over the mountains especially at the higher elevations. Once you turn onto the road that take you out to Clingmans Dome the condition can be quite different. I love the moodiness of the shifting clouds, breeziness, and cool temps! Bologna and mustard sandwiches make me think of a cold hot dog and who doesn’t like hot dogs? 🙂
Very pretty fall photos. Thank you for hosting. Have a great day. XO
Thanks for joining the Wild Wednesdays party, Ellen!
Hi, Cathy!
Happy Wild and Almost Wordless Wednesday, dear friend! I hope your week is going well.
I wish Mrs. Shady and I had gone to the Smokys around this time of year instead of a month earlier. Thanks for showing us the view we would have seen from the parking area up on Clingmans Dome. Brilliant yellow leaves are my favorite fall color. When we stood at overlooks like the one you showed in today’s post, the thing I noticed most of all was the peaceful silence. As I told you before, several minutes sometimes passed between cars or, more likely, a group of motorcycles passing by. Therefore, most the time time we were alone up there with only the occasional sound of a calling bird to interrupt the silent scene. How often do we get experiences like that? Mrs. S. and I certainly don’t, but I’m sure you and DH often find remote spots and enjoy that kind of serenity. It’s easy to understand why you guys love going to that area. Is the rainbow just to the left of center in that picture? Is it possible you will see some snow when you head back over there on your hiatus two weeks from now?
Great selections for the WSC, Cathy! I haven’t heard Clapton’s “I Cant Stand It” in many years, but it was a biggie and I like it. I don’t remember that Faith Hill song “This Kiss” (#1 Country and top 10 pop in 1998) but I like it and enjoyed her video. I well remember crooner Al Martino, but don’t think I ever heard his “Daddy’s Little Girl” song.
I already busted my brain at BB’s taking the Weekly Song Challenge, but I will test myself again and try to come up with three different songs in support of your post. Here are my picks:
CHEATER OR CHEATING SONGS: “The Cheater” by St. Louis bandleader and musician Bob Kuban and his one-hit-wonder group The In-Men, a single that made a run at the top 10 on the chart in 1966. Ironically, Walter Scott, the lead singer on that record, was murdered by his cheating wife’s lover!
KISS SONG: “Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye,” a #1 charting single by another one-hit-wonder group, Steam, in late 1969 and early 1970.
DAD OR FATHER SONG: “Color Him Father” by the D.C.-based R&B group The Winstons, a single that reached #2 on the R&B chart and made a run at the top 5 on the pop chart in the summer of 1969.
Thanks for the mewsic and entertainment, dear friend Cathy, and enjoy the rest of your week!
Tom,
I guarantee you if you and Mrs. Shady make it back to these parts for another vacation, especially during the height of the tourism bustle then you find car and people traffic heavier. Some of the popular hiking trails are slammed. It’s not uncommon to find cars lining the road parked in ditches or anywhere there is barely space to squeeze a vehicle. Sometimes the way people park make me wonder when they try to pull out if they find themselves in a jam because of how low some vehicles sit to the ground.
Oh to answer your question, yes the rainbow is center left in the photo. If you click on the picture you can enlarge your view.
It’s not uncommon to see snow flurries in the Smoky’s when the conditions are just right. I recall one Mother’s Day it flurried one us at Clingmans Dome but in the valley below it was 20+ warmer and sunny. That’s so weird but wonderful. That all being said, while flurries are always a possibility I wouldn’t expect anything to stick around long unless it’s been really cold for several days. They close road that leads to Clingmans Dome December 1st. Hopefully, we’ll get a few more opportunities to drive out there before the deadline catches us.
Thanks for sharing your song picks. I only knew the kiss song you mentioned. I will have to check out the other two at YT. Have a great afternoon, dear friend!
I love your pictures. I forgot about the Eric Clapton song that is perfect. I forgot about that famous song from Faith Hill.excellent pick.i don’t know the last one but it sounds like a hit from. The 1950s. Groggy