Into The Blue Haze

Billy Cobham and his fusion friends, Alfonso Johnson, Tom Scott and Steve Khan, are seriously freaking out some Punk Funk in my ears while I am recalling last weekend to write this post. Their 1979 album of Alivemutherforya must be one of the best fusion albums ever produced.

For nearly ten years now, when ever we get the opportunity, we slip away to the Great Smoky Mountains, and specifically Gatlinburg, for a long weekend or so. The past weekend we did it again.

There’s something in the mountains that draws one back. We love to get a chalet up in Chalet Village (bit expensive but worth it, much better than a hotel room) and we try to stay out of town. We just want to rest, take in the surroundings, sleep late, lazy around, and totally unwind. We did kind of plan this trip because it’s fall and the Smokies is famous for it fall colors, and that means crowds. On top of that, they also had the yearly Fall Festival and a Craft Fair. More crowds. (Gatlinburg is famous for its many crafters that live in the area.) So planning ahead was very important in order to get a good chalet.

I expected more color, but we were just too early for the changes at lower altitude. But then, to experience great fall colors you have to get the timing just right and have luck on your side. Nature is not really famous for playing along with your plans. It’s got its own plans and will drop its leaves depending on his own circumstances. And if you work for a salary you don’t always have the freedom to drop everything to go and watch nature’s antics. Yes, the leaves started to change color, but only at higher altitudes. Our timing was out by about 2 weeks. But our circumstances were such that this was the only week we could get away by ourselves to the mountains and the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Unfortunately the weather was cloudy for most of the time with a misty rain now and then. Nature’s own plans again. Off course when we had to leave on Sunday, the grey was gone; the sky was blue and clear with not a cloud in sight.

But coming home the traffic was a bitch! Bumper to bumper, stop-start from Dollywood Lane in Pigeon Forge to the I-40 and there must be 30 or 40 sets of lights until you get to the highway. And even the highway home was very busy and the the average speeds were slower than usual. In the end, the usual 3 and a half hour trip took longer than 5 hours. But the few days away from work, children and everyday rigmarole was priceless.

A near constant blue haze hangs over the mountains, hence the name Smoky Moutains. The haze is caused when the plants release water vapor and terpenes, natural oils produced by the plants, into the air. I took this photo from one of the many lookout points we stopped at along Newfound Gap Road.

Driving along Newfound Gap Road in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The National Park, half of it in the state of Tennessee and half in North Carolina, is a unique biosphere and have more than 10,000 plant and animal species documented.

On Saturday when the rain stayed away, although still cloudy from time to time, we drove from Gatlinburg to Newfound Gap and then on to Clingman's Dome (2,025 m/6,643 ft), the park’s highest peak. The road goes up to about half a mile from the lookout point on the Dome.

Beautiful fall colors

The end of the road at Clingman's Dome, the 3rd highest peak in the Eastern United States. We decided against climbing the last 500 feet to the lookout point because of a cold wind that was blowing and from below we saw that the dome was constantly cover in a cloud (top left), which would have made decent viewing from there impossible.
A gently flowing stream now, but the Little Pigeon River can turn into a roaring beast in spring time as the snow melts.

The view from Newfound Gap. The original lowest gap through the moutains was at Indian Gap, but during the 19th century they found a lower path, hence the name Newfound Gap. The existing road through the mountains was built in the early part of the 20th century.

After we returned from the drive through the park we visited some stores in town and at Sleepy's we bought a wood carving of bears "Wipe Your Paws". The Black bear is the maskot of the National Park and there are about 1,500 bears in the park.

This is the view we had from the sofa in the sitting room or

from either of the 2 decks of the chalet.

Heaven on green cottonballs!

Chalet Village on Dwellable

Christmas in the Great Smoky Mountains

It is always amazing what 2 or 3 days up in the mountains can do for one’s state of mind. Three weeks ago I suggested to my wife that we get ourselves a chalet in the Great Smoky Mountains above Gatlinburg, TN, for the Christmas weekend, just to get away, just the two of us. It was the first time in 20-odd years that we spent Christmas alone without our kids. Earlier this year when we went to Italy we wanted to go without kids, but it didn’t turn out that way and when the opportunity to go away for the Christmas weekend presented itself we took it without thinking twice. The only draw back…It was too short.

We drove to Gatlinburg on Sunday and arrived at our chalet just as darkness descended over the mountains. It was rather important to get to our destination before it gets too dark because it can be tricky to find the right mountain roads to get to one’s chalet. The last minute arrival was all due to me taking the wrong road at Knoxville, going west instead of east, resulting in a 90 minute detour, because I forgot to printout directions to get to Gatlinburg. (We had directions to get to the chalet once in Gatlinburg.)

Late Monday morning we went down to the village to fill the car with gas and buy some firelighters, and then we drove down to Glades Drive where there is a huge concentration of arts and crafts shops. At Alewine Pottery, where a duet was playing Bluegrass music on a banjo and keeping beat on a double bass in front of a fire, we bought some pottery and further down the road I bought a colorful glass wind chime for the porch at home. On our way back to our chalet we took a detour along Sky View Drive for a view of the ski slopes of the Ober Gatlinburg resort and a different view of the mountains. It has not snowed yet this winter so the resort is making snow for the skiers. Only one slope was open for skiing. Upon our return to the chalet I started a fire in the fireplace, put on some good music, and just kick back and enjoy a cozy Christmas Eve. For dinner I made pork barbeque ribs in the oven, baked portabella mushrooms with in a Mediterranean balsamic sauce topped with aged Parmesan cheese, and baked potatoes. This was accompanied by an excellent 2002 Chateau Ste Michelle Cabernet Sauvignon from Washington’s Colombia valley. A nice full smooth and bodied red, but light on tannins.

Christmas morning we woke to a cold, cloudy day and utter stillness in the mountains. With the clouds a special air of calm and tranquility has descended upon the mountain. In the distance Pigeon Forge (5 miles away) and Sevierville were waking up to a beautiful sunny morning. The cloud cover was just local. Not unusual at all. The clouds play a big role in making the Great Smoky Mountains so unique and so beautiful. [Click here for a visitors guide on the mountains.]

Out on the porch the quietness was occasionally broken by the soft whirring of the aerial tramway down below as it ferries people from Gatlinburg down below to the resort and ski slopes above. Although we woke early, we only got up at noon, sending SMS’s or talking to friends and family from bed with a hazy view of the distant towns and another blue mountain range on the horizon, basking in an orange glow of the morning sun. Early afternoon freezing rain started to fall for a while before it turned to a fine drizzle, but by nightfall the rain stopped again. For Christmas I whipped up a dinner of Salmon in a creamy herb and chardonnay sauce, rice pilaf and steamed oriental-flavored vegetables. We had key lime pie for dessert.

It was one of the most relaxing getaways we have had in a long time. But good things came to an end on Wednesday morning when we packed our bags again and drove home, luckily in glorious sunshine. At home it was 60 degrees Fahrenheit, highly unusual for the day after Christmas because many a year we had snow at this time of the year. But I’m not complaining. The longer the heat stays the shorter the winter.

A view of Gatlinburg night lights through the trees after sunset.

Ober Gatlinburg resort (above) and Ski slopes (below)

The chalet was nicely decorated for the festive season, including a Christmas tree with lights. On the right, a blazing fire in the corner of the living room.

Sunset over Chalet Village above Gatlinburg, TN.

Gatlinburg on Dwellable