On The Road Through Mountains

Old Mill by figstreetstudio

Time for my now annual trip to Philadelphia so I took a new route from Knoxville Tennessee east through the Great Smoky Mountains. I avoided the usual tourist spots and opted to follow some little mountain roads. Last time I went south of the Smokeys this time I skirted north. From the distance they did look really smoky but as I got close I discovered it was thunder storms. Some really too windy and hard to drive through but I went forward up and over through a small town of Newport, then to Hot Springs, NC. The roads in North Carolina were better, less winding and more open than the tight curvy roads of Tennessee but after Mars Hill there was a lot of road construction with warnings of blasting areas. A sign saying to turn off two way radios and cell phone as an incorrect signal could set off an early explosion. For several miles things were slow and messy and I wanted to be clear away if a blast went off. It is a spot to avoid if you are heading this way and looks like it will be so for some time to come. Seems the state is widening the highway from Burnsville to I-26 but has to blast away a few mountains to do so. I am spending a few days visiting friends and plan on cooking a few New Orleans dishes for dinner.