To the Smokies April 17, 2022

Our plans today took us north up secondary roads through northern Georgia across the border to southern Tennessee. What beautiful country! I think that springtime is probably my favorite time of year. Our views were of hillsides painted in many pastel hues of green. We motored past flowering pink and white dogwoods,  and roadside patches of pink, purple, white and yellow wildflowers.  Gorgeous! 

We must have passed at least 20 Dollar General stores along the way. Those stores rule the south!

Our campsite for the next several days is at a KOA just outside the Smoky Mountain Park boundary. It's probably the equivalent of a high end hotel room. We have a patio, strong wifi, great cable TV, and all the comforts of home. Our site is large, quiet, and nicely separated from others. 

Today we took a stroll on the Townsend River Walk and Arboretum. It's a short path through the woods by the side of the Little River that has been planted with native wildflowers in a natural setting. In one short walk, we saw red columbine, blue sage, trillium, redbud, dogwood, yellow trillium, cinquefoil, violets, wild iris, periwinkle, ragwort, phlox. red buckeye and more. At the beginning of the trail is a little faerie village, placed there by town residents who used a fallen princess tree to construct it. All in all, it was a delightful walk.

A few photos here: https://photos.app.goo.gl/7w3mYZ3Wh5qHkK6q7