The Green is Back!
My favorite season is the one coming up on the cusp of the one just ending. So with Dakota and Chris’ proposal, it was refreshing to see green leaves at the higher elevations, where even though the calendar says Spring, sometimes Winter hangs on.
Their spot, Newfound Gap, is just over 5000’ in elevation. Here in the Smokies, Spring “rises,” that is, the leaves come back on the trees at the lower elevations and gradually they come out towards the top in time (and the opposite occurs in Fall, where the leaves turn color at the higher elevations and over the weeks slides down to the lower elevations).
Even better is that this particular spot had been unavailable for a while as the rangers did some needed repairs on the stairs and sidewalk there. It’s a good location - there is no retaining wall to block the view beyond and if you don’t know, Dakota and Chris literally parked a short distance away and walked a few steps to get there - perfect if you don’t want to hike or get too sweaty!
After their proposal, we worked our way down US441 back to the Gatlinburg area, stopping along the way for more pictures.
Here, let me show you . . .
