SMOKY MOUNTAINS NATIONAL PARK · · PAGE 13. 

November 17, 2020:  Tuesday continues with the trip into to Tennessee on the north side of the Smoky Mountains.  The image below is an overview of where we left off on the previous page with the loop and passing the Chimney Tops Trail Head.  Google Earth is LOOKING DOWN from 14,493 feet above sea level to provide this image of the area we are exploring by car at this time.  The last ground photo from PAGE 12 was passing through the parking area for the Chimney Tops Trail Head.  The RED line on the image below is 2.33 miles in length.  Let's see how much elevation is lost in that many miles going down toward Gatlinburg, Tennessee just outside of the national park property.

There is a second tunnel through a hillside after passing Chimney Tops Trailhead going toward Gatlinburg.

Regardless of what you see above, our travel today is in the right lane going toward Gatlinburg.  The Google Earth photo vehicle is going toward Cherokee, NC along with that Chevy pickup truck you see in the left lane as seen in these photos.

Here comes another horseshoe bend as we are pointed west going into the curve.  The elevation here is 2,813 feet.  We were at 5,050 feet when we passed the access road going from US 441 west to Clingmans Dome that is 6,649 feet MSL and the highest point in Tennessee.

The heading is now looking south as we should be half-way through this turn.

The "horse shoe" turn is complete.

After miles of driving through tree-covered roads, this open view is good to see again!

We are coming to the north side of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park at the Visitors Center ahead.  The LEFT TURN ahead is a nice ride inside the park boundary going west.  The need to get the tires checked is why we will go through Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge, Tennessee north of the national park.

 When the winter weather is really bad, this gate is where the mountain roads south of here get CLOSED.  There is a similar gate down at the Cherokee, North Carolina park entrance.

The next place of interest on this tour is the Sugarlands Visitor Center near the north entrance/exit from the national park.  This is the front of the building which faces away from US 441 on the parking lot side of the building.  I never have been in this building in my previous visits to the park.

Here is the rear of the visitor center building as seen from US 441 looking south.

There is human life outside of a National Park.  Welcome to Gatlinburg, Tennessee - a typical TOURIST TOWN.

This is where you say goodbye to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and re-enter the normal world with all its VISUAL pollution, mostly from billboards and other types of advertising.  The fresh air from the dense forest in the national park will be missed.