I happened to recall today that, a long while ago, during one of my visits to the (Great) Smoky Mountains in Tennesse, I had once taken a short onward road-trip from the town of Gatlinburg, further southeast, up and across the mountains, on U.S. Route 441, down to Cherokee, NC, and then to Asheville, NC, (which is the destination of my flight today). This stretch of Appalachian highway is well-known for beautiful vistas throughout the drive (most of which I recall fairly well). 

Now, being a bit more familiar with the Rockies, I checked today that the highest of the Smokies is 6,643 ft compared to e.g., the highest of the Rockies which is 14,440 ft. And here is a bit more of numbers...the highest (Park) Road that one can drive up in the Rocky Mountain National Park, is called Trail Ridge Road, which rises to an (unearthly) height of 12,183 ft, which is one drive I will never forget (and once of it was enough...🙂...). How about the following description of it, I read somewhere today, "Soaring to an elevation of 12,183 feet, Trail Ridge Road seems to leave the earth behind. It slices through the heart of Rocky Mountain National Park, entering a world of rare alpine beauty. Distant peaks loom in all directions, while fragrant wildflowers blanket the tundra in mid-summer..."...trying now hard to recall the fragrant wildflowers blanket but cannot...🙂...Oh well...it must be there, for sure...

Anyway, the highest point of the U.S. Route 441, cutting through the Smokies, is (only) 5,046 ft. Nonetheless, as I'm trying to recall, the many (up and down) slopes of that road, mostly down (so, low speed advised vs. riding continuously on the brakes...🙂...), and hilly curves and scenic overlooks, it was a most scenic drive too. During that trip of mine I'd come across the Little Tennessee River. This river flows northwest along the southern border of the Smokies through (picturesque) lakes and reservoirs (see pictures below) to eventually join the Tennessee River, south of Knoxville (which is the origin airport of my flight today).

So, here we go, as I fly my Cessna Skyhawk, from Knoxville's McGhee Tyson Airport (KTYS), tracking (upstream) along the Little Tennessee River, as far as I could, amidst the Great Smoky Mountains, and then onward to Asheville Regional Airport (KAVL). This is a low-altitude flight at an average altitude of 3,000 ft. but rising to 6,000 ft as needed for safe clearance. From above (and only from above this is possible), I could see how the Little Tennessee River struggles and fights constantly, desperately wandering, trying to make its way, often seemingly randomly, hither and thither, through these difficult mountainous terrains. The Smokies, when viewed from above, present a unique ridge-upon-ridge vista (seen in my pictures too) that seems to go on endlessly...over valleys, hills, pastures, and farmlands, all bestowed by nature with abundance of vibrant greenery and forests... (I hope, you can get a perception of these aspects and my claims, from the set of enroute pictures shown below)...as I have travelled from Knoxville airport in Tennessee, to Asheville airport in North Carolina, while getting to know this little river (locally known as Little T), a little more, thanks to MSFS...🙂..., and supplement bits of my fond memory and vague recollections of it from the past...

Hope you enjoy and thanks for viewing...!

Edited January 17, 20242 yr by P_7878

Very interesting and picturesque journey. Been to both Gatlinburg and Asheville in RL, but never on a "connecting" drive or flight.

Nice pix, and a nice memory jogger - had a two week holiday around Asheville once, and really emjoyed it. Lovely part of the world and looking good here.

Great shots! 😉 

Fine set and a nice Trip..

cheers 😉

Nice ! Did you use the map enhancement addon ?

Folks:

Thanks...! Much appreciated the comments and your own reminiscences of this (beautiful) region...

 

13 hours ago, MindYerBeak said:

Nice ! Did you use the map enhancement addon ?

Hello, thank you for chiming in... No, I haven't...On Xbox, anyway, my range of enhancements are rather limited. I normally use just the Garmin G1000 MFD/Map, and by zooming in or out, I keep myself safe in such mountainous terrain...🙂...for low level (visual) flights...especially in foreign/unfamiliar locations....

Here, this area is somewhat familiar to me from RW visits, and also the mountains are not that high...so an MSFS/GPS FlightPlan with a few strategic waypoints was sufficient to guide me through along the river ...