Friday, August 18, 2017

Great Smokies, Day 2: Grotto Falls and Clingman's Dome

The weather was better on Thursday, and we tackled two great hikes. The first was Grotto Falls, a 2.6 mile hike known for its water features and abundant salamanders, with a pretty waterfall that you can walk behind at the end:





Not a great picture, but I really liked the light in this spot
regular salamander
Extra large salamander

Extra tiny salamander
 



Turns out shooting the falls head on with people behind them is not an awesome picture

You can kind of make out all the cousins


Obligatory selfie

In the afternoon, we headed to Clingman's Dome, the highest point in the Appalachians. The drive up was beautiful, and we made a stop at Newfound Gap, which is at the Tennessee/North Carolina line (Clingman's Dome is in North Carolina):










At the top of Clingman's Dome, a man-made tower with 360 degree views




This is what Clingman's Dome looks like from below

After the mile hike to the Dome, which was very steep, we were all ready to call it a day. We headed to the historic Old Mill restaurant for dinner and then hit the sack so we could get up early for our last day in Tennessee.

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