Peter and the Wolf Ride America: On Top Of Old Smokey

We sluggishly woke up in Asheville and headed toward Tennessee. We talked with the locals at the Mellow Mushroom in Asheville about a nice route to Nashville. They informed us that the road through the Great Smoky Mountains was a great, scenic drive. We got the atlas out and determined our route. The Smoky Mountains divide the western border of North Carolina with the eastern border of Tennessee. It had been a month since leaving Yellowstone, so we were excited to get back into a National Park.

We stopped on the side of the road to enjoy a nice bagel and cream cheese we had left over from our continental breakfast in Asheville.

Peter enjoyed his bagel in the river.

Peter found some good skipping stones. Wolf decided not to join because he didn't want to get his feet wet, get out, walk through the dirt and then put his shoes on.

Just minutes after we passed the sign noting that we were in the park, there was a car pileup reminiscent of our Yellowstone trip. The cars had stopped for this pack of elk.

We headed only a few more minutes down the road when we saw more break lights and cars pulled over. An amazing elk with the largest antlers we had ever seen. We gave each other a high five and knew we were back to the place we love.

They don't call it the Smoky Mountains for nothing.

On top of Old Smokey.

We pulled over at a scenic lookout. There were several cars, but we couldn't pass up the opportunity to smash a golf ball into the smoke.

Peter took a chunk out of the grass and skied it about 100 yards. After we drove on, he continuously looked for another spot to hit a good one. Unfortunately, it never came.