Discovering me: Fall & Friends : A trip to the Smokey Mountains!!!

United States of America is known for the fall foliage every Autumn. I have lived 8+ years in this country, but for some reason I never managed to take a dedicated trip to enjoy fall colors! This year finally a few of my closest friends made a plan to visit the Great Smokey Mountains and I decided to join in. It was rather a quick plan; the phase of life we are currently in, if it is not an impromptu plan, it is not happening! 😊

I do experience a little bit of fall here in Chicago. And I have travelled to nearby Lake Geneva during fall. These places are pretty but they are not particularly known for fall color. On the other hand, Smokey Mountains has quite the reputation! I was obviously excited! For those of you who are unfamiliar with this fall phenomenon, here is the definition directly from Wikipedia – “Autumn leaf color is a phenomenon that affects the normal green leaves of many deciduous trees and shrubs by which they take on, during a few weeks in the autumn season, various shades of red, yellow, purple, black, blue, orange, magenta, and brown. The phenomenon is commonly called autumn colours or autumn foliage in British English and fall colors, fall foliage, or simply foliage in American English.”.

The colors look absolutely brilliant in photos but unless you see it in real time with your own eyes, it is almost impossible to believe that nature can be this beautiful! These gorgeous, rich hued leaves trembling in wind - as if the trees are on fire! Fire with intensity that you find in Meji’s jui (if you are an Assamese you will understand); fire that is not destructive but calm and centered; fire that heals your soul with warmth and light! It is breathtaking!

This phenomenon also helps me acknowledge, at a deeper level, the resilient nature of life itself! These trees that are putting up this stunning display of colors right now will lose all their leaves within the next few weeks. They will be empty & sad. But they will stand tall; braving the harsh winter and come spring, there will be new leaves. It is the promise of hope! It is nature telling us that life is beautiful and come what may, life goes on! The entire experience is surprisingly soothing for my perennially poignant soul!

We were 6 people and 2 kids from Ohio, Illinois and North Carolina; we decided to travel by road. 4 of us met in Cincinati and got a rental car from there for the 5-hr drive to the Smokeys and join the rest at the destination. We were driving through Highway 75 to Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. Along the way, we got a few glimpses of fall colors in Ohio and Kentucky, but it was only after we entered Tennessee that the colors got vibrant and more visible! By the time we reached Pigeon Forge it was already 4.30 pm. We decided to visit the Alum Cave trail before checking in to our cabin. We did not go on hiking, rather just drove around. It was raining incessantly, but that rain added a freshness to the leaves and certain charm to the trees! There was a melancholy in the overall atmosphere and I loved that! We managed to stop at one or two places at the top of the mountain to enjoy the view! It was definitely worth struggling against the rain! The trees of different hues peeking through the hills and clouds so visible that you feel like you can touch it - it was so serene! Somehow it reminded me of the family trips to Cherrapunji (Meghalaya, India) when I was little. The hills there are smaller in comparison, but the feeling is the same.

We drove back to check-in to our cabin in Pigeon Forge that we booked through VRBO. It was near the city & all the amenities but it was very conveniently tucked away in a no-disturbance calm zone. We had to cross one or two steep uphill sections during the drive but it was expected! Because it was a last-minute trip, we did not really expect a “great house”. We were pleasantly surprised though. It had fantastic structure, and even beautiful interior elevated by fall décor! It had a karaoke machine (which worked perfectly), a teepee, a barbeque grill, 2 bunk beds and 3 patios overlooking more fall colors! It was more than perfect. Me and my friends are quite the lazy-bums and we were discussing how we could easily and happily spend an entire week or a weekend without wanting to go outside the cabin looking for fun. It cost us $301 per night and it was a good price, I feel.

The next day we started around 10.30 am towards the Clingmans Dome. It was about half an hour drive from Pigeon Forge. But once we reached Sugarlands Visitor Center, the road to the dome (Highway 441) was blocked. There were no signs or any warning to explain anything - they just barricaded the road! Even the ranger/traffic personal did not mention a thing. We could not figure out anything and we just turned right in the hope that GPS will re-route us to the dome. It is important to mention that there is no cell service as soon as you get in the mountains. Even in the city area the network is a bit spotty. So, if you are travelling in 2 or more cars, communication is impossible unless you are tailgating. We were in 2 cars and we lost touch with the other car. In hindsight, we could have really used a printed-out map. Anyway, after half an hour of wandering aimlessly, we decided to return to Gatlinburg city in order to try to contact our friends in the other car. We returned to the visitor center, when we asked, the traffic personal told us that because of high wind Highway 441 is closed and there was no road to get to the dome. Finally in Gatlinburg we met with the other group and had lunch at Callahan’s. Lunch was fantastic; fantastic enough to tend to our hungry, disappointed selves! Gatlinburg is a cute little mountain town serving as a base for the visitors to the park. Apart from strolling about in the main strip, there were plenty of fun things to do. We really did not have time or interest in exploring any of these activities. So, after strolling and taking some pictures, we head back to the same trails along Fighting Creek Gap Road near the visitor center.

These fall colors are omnipresent! Originally we planned to visit the Blue Ridge Parkway and some other recommended main scenic trails. But it did not work out as Highway 441 was already closed. As the day progressed, all the other roads/trails were also closing down. We were still able to stop at 4-5 viewpoints and enjoy the views while clicking hundreds of pictures. Given that this was a hurried plan and that we (me and my friends) suck at making elaborate itinerary, I consider this trip a success. We only had a day for roaming around looking for the fall foliage. An extra day or two would have given us more time to explore but we are glad for the little time we were able to manage.

We returned to the cabin around 7 pm and started prepping for one of the kid’s birthday party coupled with Diwali celebration! It was tiring but oh-so-much-fun! In this day and age where time is money, I am glad to have friends who make time for each other and try our very best to meet up a couple of times every year, despite the distance! We ended the night devouring on delicious Indian food (it was Diwali after all!) and birthday cake & Diwali sweets! We also had some fun with the karaoke machine even though we were really bad at it 😊