Smoking Smoky Mountains

 I visited the Smoky Mountains this past weekend. This is my 4th visit to these spectacular  mountains in Tennessee. The Smoky Mountains hold a special place in my heart, and I wanted to reflect on the four trips I have made to this place. 

Visit #1: This visit took place during my tenure as a graduate student at Cleveland State University. My best friend, Shirin, and I lived in Cleveland, Ohio, while four of our other friends attended the University of Memphis in Tennessee. We decided to meet up, and the Smoky Mountains seemed like the perfect place. The plan was for Shirin and me to fly into the Knoxville, TN, airport and then get picked up by the Memphis natives and drive to the Smokies. The plan worked to a T, except that two of our friends were unable to join us due to some issue. So it was just the 4 of us - me and 3 of my very best friends from college. I remember we had a pizza dinner after we were picked up and then went to watch "Jerry McGuire". At that time, I wasn't into Hollywood movies because I thought they were all thrillers, murder mysteries, or mafia-based, or a combination of these. I didn't realize that Hollywood could also produce romantic comedies...Jerry McGuire changed that for me. What a hauntingly beautiful romance. Two of the dialogues went on to become iconic: "Show me the money!" and "You had me at hello!" From there, we drove to our cabin, crooning to the music from 'Dillagi' and 'Judwaa'. 

    "Aankh lada ke tune maara, paagal ho gaya dil bechaara...
     Suna hain tere chaahne waale, aage dus hain peeche gyarah..
     Tan tana tan tan tan taara, chalti hain kya nau se baarah!

And let's not forget:

    "Oonchi hain building, lift teri band hain,
     Kaise main aaoon, dil raza mand hain!"

Wah Annu Malik, kya baat hain! Mindless lyrics set to pulsating music - what better fun!

The cabin we were headed to, amidst all this chaos, was nestled in a lush green valley overlooking a creek. To this day, I have been looking for that cabin without much luck. It was easily one of the most beautiful locations I had stayed at in the Smokies. 

Visit #2: This was a family visit. We had initially planned to go during the summer months, but we had to cancel. We did get a refund; however, the catch was that we had to book the cabin by the end of the year, and of course, we waited until the last minute, right in the middle of winter. However, the weather was not that bad. The kids were very young, and hence most of our time was spent on activities that would interest them - the alpine roller coaster, which was quite fun as we were pulled to the top of the mountain in the car. We were allowed to roll down at our own pace. I did it with my youngest, and it was quite a blast. I generally don't like roller coasters, but coming down the mountain was quite enjoyable. We did the Dolly Land park. The best part of the visit was the walk through the charming town of Gatlinburg with its excellent mom-and-pop shops. We had our family's last name carved into a block of wood that now hangs on our front door. One of the highlights of Visit 1 was a home-made ice cream shop. We hunted for it and it did not disappoint. Each of us had two servings of the incredibly delicious butter pecan - yum!

Visit #3: This was another friend's visit, accompanied by three of my girlfriends. This was the visit where we accomplished many things that are must-do experiences when visiting the Smokies. It was almost 6 years ago, so I don't remember all the details. We did the trip around my birthday in November, and my friends threw a surprise celebration! It was one of my best birthday celebrations, spent in the picturesque mountains at a remote cabin surrounded by my dear friends, who made the day incredibly special for me. One of the things I discovered while driving in the mountains for the first time was that the narrow roads have steep drops and deep ravines running alongside them. Right at the beginning of the drive, I didn't realize this and drove the car into one of the ravines, where the front passenger's side tire got stuck. Luckily, a trooper was around, and we were pulled out pretty quickly. I was so careful driving after that, but I have to hand it to them, driving in the Smoky Mountains is perilous, especially in the dark. We tried to avoid it as much as possible, but the days are so short in November that before you know it, the darkness descends upon you. One time, we got hopelessly lost, with no signal - the closest I came to panicking. But with 4 heads on shoulders, we decided to drive to a clear area where we had a strong signal, and it was smooth sailing from then on. The best part of the trip occurred on a day when an interesting phenomenon took place. It had rained the day before, and in the night, the temperatures plummeted, and the moisture on the trees froze into ice crystals. It was such a hauntingly beautiful sight. The red, orange, and yellows of fall with the white of the winter topping them. I can never forget the beauty of that ride and feel blessed that we were subject to such ethereal loveliness! 

Visit #4: My latest trip to the Smokies occurred last week, when I took my brother, visiting from India, on a road trip to the Smokies. My sons came along too. Visit #2 happened almost a decade ago, and my youngest does not even remember some of the details. Now my eldest is old enough to drive and ably supported me in the almost 10-hour drive from Chicago to the Smokies. As soon as he took up the wheel about halfway into the journey, we were greeted by the heaviest rains. I was so proud to see him navigate this with ease. Yes, proud mama here :-)

To say that the Smokies were a sight to behold would be an understatement. I may have missed the prime fall sights by a week, but it turned out that most of the foliage was intact. We wanted to arrive at the cabin before darkness, but with Sunset happening around 5:30 pm, that was almost impossible. The last hour I drove in absolute darkness, but the past 3 visits had equipped me with the skills to navigate the treacherous roads. I am glad to report that no wheels were running into deep ditches this time. I kept a mile away from them at least! We reached Friday night and had the whole of Saturday to explore. We did the ATV ride, which was a blast, and it was a cool experience to drive head-on into the ditches and come out unscathed. The roads through the mountains were mindblowing, and there were a couple of times where maneuvering the turns and the twists cut out right next to the deep gorges, which managed to elicit a scream or two from yours truly! My aim when I go on a vacation like this is to do one thing that is adventurous and once-in-a-lifetime. The ATV ride would fit very well into that category.  

We drove through the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, admiring the colors and the stream riding alongside us. We did a 1.5 mile hike up the Chestnut Top Mountain Trail which took us to an elevation of around 500 ft. It was such a great expeirence doing this hike. The trail is pretty steep and as we walked up I could hear the sounds of the stream and the cars driving past. However, as we got higher and higher, the sounds faded into nothingness leaving just the sounds of the rustling leaves beneath our feet. When we stopped, it was absolute stillness. You gotta experience that much noiselessness amidst all that beauty to understand just how nature can make the biggest splash in complete silence. And yes we did the Alpine coaster yet again! 

Visit #5: I think this should be a solo trip with I, Me ANd myself where I could take in the absolutely breathtaking beauty of the valleys along with the ruggedly handsome mountains!