Today I had my first taste of what is to come by crossing from Tennessee to North Carolina via the Great Smoky Mountain National Park. It was quite cold going over the top but well worth the discomfort. What surprised me the most was the amount of traffic on the road – it was really bussy probably from sight seers looking for the fall colours. At the lower levels I passed the town of Cherokee (a mostly Cherokee Indian town complete with braves in full dress regalia) that I will revisit in a couple of days because Cherokee is where the Blue Ridge Parkway begins its northward journey. In the meantime I am settled in to the Kickstand Lodge – a biker dedicated facility – for the next two nights. I need to change the oil in the bike (it's been 4,000 miles since leaving San Diego), attend to some laundry duties and ride the famous Dragons Tail.
