Gatlinburg

So we went to Gatlinburg a couple of weeks ago.

The mountains up there are beautiful. (Yes I know they're nowhere near as tall and rocky as the "real" mountains out west but the Appalachians are geologically ancient compared to them. The Appalachian range was formed when the African plate butted up against the North American!)

Unfortunately a lot of the trees at the higher elevations are dying because of a tiny insect parasite. The devastation is unreal when looking at some of the pics, especially the ones from Clingman's Dome. Clingman's Dome at 6643 ft elevation is the highest point in Tennessee. The temperature is about 20 degrees cooler up there than at the base of the mountains. The view is worth it however.