When we set out from Asheville, North Carolina, our road atlas showed two ways to Tennessee. We could either take interstate 40 around the biggest mountains from here to Colorado, or Newfound Gap Road (“found” since 1930) right through Great Smoky Mountain National Park. When time permits, and usually even when it doesn’t, we opt for the scenic route. We ignored the warnings. WARNING #1- First week of summer. WARNING #2 – America’s most-visited National Park. We saw no animals. We saw vehicles. We saw cars, trucks, motorcycles, and RV’s, loaded down with boats and tents and portable grills, firecrackers and kids and everything else you can cram in the back, on the roof, or strap to the bumper. We crawled along that little two lane road like a string of fossil-fueled beads stretching from North Carolina up and over the mountains all the way down to Tennessee.
“Don’t get upset” Nicole told me, “we’re here just like all the rest of them.”
“That’s the problem.” I said through my teeth, staring at the car in front of us, craning my neck to see beyond the car in front of it, and so on…looking everywhere but the beautiful scenery.
No animals, no flowers, no waterfalls, no 360 degree panoramic views, nope. That’s what you get when you try to see nature from the car. You see only cars.
After it was over, I didn’t feel inspired, refreshed, or soothed by nature, as I do when walking through it. I felt only irritation, wanted only beer, and I was ashamed of myself for even thinking it might be fun to try and appreciate a mountain paradise from the confines of the car. Go take a hike! Give nature time to impress you, and she will. Drive through in a hurry and you’ll miss everything. -DB
Nicole
Doug
Field Work 
Leave a comment