Did you know that the human eye can distinguish more shades of green than any other color? This is because while blue is at the bottom of our wavelength range, and red is at the top, green is in the middle allowing for superb stimulation of human rods and cones. Well, by late April the Tennessee leaves were filling in and my rods and cones were firing!
It was perfect timing to start the first of 3 scenic drives along the Cherohala Skyway, through Great Smoky Mountain National Park and into the Blue Ridge Mountains.
Cherohala Skyway is a 43-mile scenic byway crossing the Tennessee – North Carolina border. It climbs to a mile above sea level and winds through hardwood and evergreen forests from Tellico Plains TN to Robbinsville NC. It is the costliest road in North Carolina at over $100 million to build and three decades to complete. It crosses through the Cherokee and Nantahala National Forests thus the name, Chero…hala. There are no facilities along the road and little evidence of civilization.
We started the day in Tellico Plains TN where the road is close to the Tellico River. We drove until we had nearly reached its end in Robbinsville NC.
Most of our stops were scenic overlooks, but we did take one quick walk with Bailey to Huckleberry Knob before heading to our campsite for the evening.
We camped near Lake Santeetlah, a sprawling lake with tentacles in nearly every direction, before entering Great Smoky Mountain National Park the next day.
Cherohala Skyway is an RV, sports car, and motorcycle enthusiasts dream with its sweeping corners and scenic views. Two thumbs up!
