Past POIs - Clingmans Dome [Tennessee, United States of America]

Before I did research on this, I actually thought that the observation tower was called Clingmans Dome, but actually, it is a mountain in the Great Smoky Mountains which is a mountain range that spans both Tennessee and North Carolina.

Panorama

Clingmans Dome, at 6,643 feet (2,025 meters) is the highest mountain in the Great Smoky Mountains, the highest point in Tennessee, and the highest point along the Appalachian Trail.  But, fear not, you don't need to travel too high to get here.  From the parking lot, you are looking at an elevation gain of 300 feet (91 meters) and a total of a 0.5 mile (800 meter) hike.  Oh, access to observation tower is free.

Clingmans Dome Observation Tower

Clingmans Dome's observation tower was built in 1959 and is 45 feet (14 meters) high.  The ramp itself is 375 feet (114 meters) in length and actually has the same grade as the trail so you won't notice a change in your step, quite clever!  The tower is actually one of nine observation towers built as part of the 'Mission 66' program which was meant as a way for the National Park Service to upgrade its facilities (visitor centers, campgrounds, roads, park headquarters, picnic areas, and other tourist facilities) due to an influx of visitors after World War II.  The total cost, $57,000 USD.

Come back Friday for another Past Point of Interest!

2015 - Asheville/Atlanta Day 5 (Asheville, North Carolina)

Breakfast at the Country Inn and Suites was a slight step above the Holiday Inn Express.  There were eggs and bacon although microwave kind.  It has a waffle maker which is awesome.  It had a lot of the other things like cereal, yogurt, bread and bagels.

Breakfast at Country Inn & Suites.

By now, I finally realized that the United States is a HUGE country (or the areas we were visiting are really big).  It took us roughly 2 hours to get to Oconaluftee Visitor Center from Asheville, another 40 minutes to get from the Oconaluftee Visitor Center to Clingmans Dome.  And finally, it would take another 40 minutes just to leave the park to Gatlinburg.

View from Clingmans Dome.

Due to not doing enough research on how long things would take, we did Clingmans Dome in the morning which is the the highest point in the Great Smoky Mountains which gives you very nice views of the surrounding area if you arrive on a clear day (which we did not).  It is a bit of a steep climb though but worth it.  Note that because of how easy it is to get there, expect a lot of people and cars, so don't be surprised that it takes you awhile just to get there from the parking area.  Definitely worth a stop if you are here.  The park and the dome are both free.

Panorama from Clingmans Dome.

Drove to Gatlinburg in hopes of lunch and ended up at a place like Lundy's Lane in Niagara, Ontario but on a much larger scale.  Ended up eating at Subway there.  The area is actually quite nice but we managed to arrive when it was the hottest time of the day (around 1pm) and we just ate lunch and headed back otherwise we would've wandered around.

The Village area in Gatlinburg.

By the time we finished at Gatlinburg, I knew that we couldn't do the other thing today which was the Chimney Top's trail, so we drove back to Asheville for dinner at Sunny Point Cafe in Asheville, North Carolina.  Ordered the heuvos rancheros and the chicken and waffles.  Both of which were really good.  Ended up getting the key lime pie dessert and I thought it was really good although it wasn't as limey as I would have liked.  Having not read the description, I didn't realize that it would be frozen, so it was actually like eating an ice cream cake version of Key Lime pie.  What a great way to end off the meal and the hot day that we had.  Definitely stop by if you are in the area.

Heuvos Rancheros.

Chicken and sweet potato waffles.

Ice Box Key Lime Pie.

Tomorrow we will head to Atlanta.