The Road is Not Easy Getting Here! While on a strenuous hike with Taffy and Junko in the Smoky Mountains, we hoped to end the day at this particular point -- a 360 observatory that shows you the mountains in all their majesty. While I was, of course, mesmerized by the rolling mountain scapes, I was equally obsessed with the structure of this observatory! The railings in particular. I took this one going very low to the ground, which in hind sight was a pretty bad idea considering how much pain I was in hurrying up the very steep path to get here by sundown. But I got to the place. And then I watched others descend. By the time the sun fell, I was alone, walking back down the path to the car where Junko and Taffy waited in the dark.
More info here from Wikipedia: "Clingmans Dome is protected as part of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. A paved road connects it to U.S. Highway 441 (Newfound Gap Road). The 45-foot (14 m) concrete observation tower, built in 1959 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places, offers a panoramic view of the mountains. An air quality monitoring station, operated by the Environmental Protection Agency, is the second highest in eastern North America.
The Southern Appalachian spruce-fir forest which covers Clingmans Dome occurs only at the highest elevations in the southeastern United States, and has more in common with forests at northern latitudes than with the forests in the adjacent valleys. Clingmans Dome stands prominently above the surrounding terrain, rising nearly 5,000 feet (1,500 m) from base to summit. The forest on and around Clingmans Dome has experienced a large die-off of Fraser fir caused by the non-native insect, balsam woolly adelgid."
Brilliant processing, perfect shot, and great description. Kind of you NOT to write that "Taffy and Junko were total wimps and did not do this final walk, and then were too afraid to do a u-turn with my van on the mountain road so I even had to walk through the parking lot to the car on this cold dark night!" You rock!
FABULOUS, Daryl! And yes, everything that @taffy said. This is really a spectacular image, and just what you had hoped to get -- the structure, the mountains, the evening light. Perfect.
Wow this is a stunning B&W image Daryl!! The one thing I can't get out of my mind is you walking down alone in the dark - you are much braver than me!! I love everything about this shot - huge Fav!!
Love, love this!! That Clingman's Dome is soooo deceptive to how difficult it is for only being .5 miles it's a doozey! Good for you for making it up, it's well worth it. Just love this how you got the dome and the mountains in the backdrop.
@ladygator It was just about the worst .5 miles I have ever done, especially after doing the 3.6 roundtrip to Andrew's Bald right before. It was such a steep incline. Coming down in the dark was creepy and beautiful at the same time. I was just thinking, "please, no bears; please, no bears" :)
@jgpittenger I really think we need to do this again. I know Bruce enjoyed the Summit (I think @taffy and @jyokota might agree with me that our own "summit" was more up our alley) and I imagine he would do it again! This was certainly a wonderful 365 experience!
@pamknowler It was as I said above, creepy and beautiful. My van was down the road from the parking lot and no lights--, and at some point, I thought "wait, is my car there?" Then I barely saw it in the distance and was really glad to be reunited with Taffy and Junko!
@joansmor I don't regret the Bald hike, but the two together was pretty exhausting. The steep incline should only be attempted with energy and good knees. And it's best to start with it than end with it! Lesson learned!
@jgpittenger I would have to agree--and I think we'd all really enjoy a repeat of the photography fest we had. We had to force ourselves to go to bed at 2am! Ha!
@jgpittenger Healing is VERY GOOD! I really don't even feel it much now and only if I sit back on some corner or something accidentally. Really pleased that my body bounced back. Thanks for asking. :)
