Cherohala Skyway

New Motorcycle friends We met At The Cherohala Skyway Lookout

Sunday, August 10, 2008

Hello again this is Carol:

A day like today makes me realize just how much I love fresh air, sunshine and nature. It was a beautiful sunny warm, not hot, clear day. I have been noticing many black butterflies in the fields where ever we go. They must be migrating by here and stopping at every wild flower possible. Not too many birds or other critters today.

We were on the Cherohala Skyline almost all day, it is Route 143 on the map. The Cherohala is a nice curvy newly paved road great for motorcycles. The main difference between our NJ landscape and NC is that when you view a mountain range in NJ you see a mountain. When you view the same thing in NC you see 6 or 7 mountains gradually getting hazier in the distance. This makes the near mountains appear to stand out separately. Not easy to get on film but very interesting to see.

The air is so different on the mountain. It is clear, fresh and feels like it contains more O2. It smells good and fresh; as you descend down the hill it gets dark and the air begins to smell moist and earthy more like dirt and rotting trees. It is cold on the mountain, I mean really cold and as you descend it gradually warms to HOT while in the towns and valleys. Chriss bought me a shirt that says "The Mountains are calling and I must go". It is very appropriate.

We also met some very nice people today, both at the Fontana Dam and on the road at a lookout spot on the Skyway. The people at the Fontana Dam were from NC and very happy to tell us some local folklore about the places we might visit. The lookout people were local motorcycle riders from TN, out for a Sunday ride. They told us about Sweetwater, TN and its underground lake. That is where we are tonight. The main attraction in town is a cave with a large underground lake. They take people out on the underground lake in glass bottom boats to see fish and sights under the water. We will do that tomorrow.

We must make some time up going west as we have an arrival date for Lawton, Ok. We have finally gotten out of NC and are in TN and staying at an Econolodge. So far we have done over 1000 miles but have not made much distance after leaving Luray,Va. We find too many interesting back roads to ride leading us nowhere. Because I sit behind Chriss and have limited view my world has few colors. I see clearly the blue and white sky when I look up, green trees to the side and a black road with yellow stripe when I look down. When I look straight ahead I see Chriss’s black helmet. Overall everything is so pretty. The wind takes the TN map from me, do I tell Chriss? We are really enjoying our trip.

Our main stop today was at Fontana Dam, the largest dam in the east. I have not seen a dam of that nature before and it sure was big. It is on a beautiful lake with a very meandering shore line. The water makes me really miss my kayak. The people at the dam’s tourist desk were retired volunteers and interesting to talk to. The man was an engineer who worked there before he retired, then they full time RV for 5 years now they are volunteers. We meet another motorcycle couple from Canada. We are really enjoying ourselves and having fun. We are now headed for Sweetwater, TN. Where is my Tennessee map???
Love to all, Carol and Chriss