I Am a Motorcoach . . .

. . . out on the road because the road is the romance. I know, you probably don’t think of me as the romantic type – a bunch of chrome and steel, glass and fiberglass, nuts and bolts, wires and hoses, belts and treads, lights and mirrors, and so on. Well, I could make a case for the romantic nature of humming diesel horses climbing through sun-speckled mountain shadows to a golden Autumn peak, but mine is not the romance I’m eager to tell you about. The road romance I speak of belongs to my passengers. I’ve heard it in expressions of awe, the whispered “O my!” and the “Wow!” choruses. If they wanted expedience they could have just flown somewhere, right over everything. But their delight is experience. Their motivation is discovery. This week’s venture was about color. The location was the Smoky Mountains.

Selfies

(which by definition means I’m in them . . . though you might have to look for me)

Ya know, I think I will go ahead and make the case for the romantic nature of humming diesel horses climbing through sun-speckled mountain shadows to a golden autumn peak after all. Here it is:

(For the climb through sun-speckled shadows, you’ll have to watch the “See What I See” video at the end of this blog.)

Topping the climb, we came to a celebrated place where travelers could straddle the boundary dividing Tennessee and North Carolina. I could not make sense of the hubbub or the cause and placement of the sign. Couldn’t it just as well be located fifty feet earlier or somewhere amid the trees on the distant hill? Am I thinking too much like a machine here, too logically about this? At the risk of being a killjoy, doesn’t this phenomenon occur everywhere along every boundary between two states? Where are the signs?

MEETING THE NEWS on the roadways of America, first-hand, real time, real world news—going out and discovering the news . . .

SMOKY NEWS: Great Smoky Mountains National Park is the most visited National Park in the United States, hosting over 9,000,000 visitors annually. Situated in the southern part of the Appalachian range, the park encompasses 800 square miles, nearly all of which is forested. The park is shared almost evenly by North Carolina and Tennessee.

NEWS OF EVAPOTRANSPIRATION: The Cherokee named the mountains Shaconage – “Mountains of the Blue Smoke.” Located in the wettest part of the United States, on average the park receives sixty-four inches of precipitation per year – approximately 890 billion gallons. Around 500 billion gallons of water then leave the park via Rivers and streams. Transpiration (evaporation specific to water movement through plants) and general evaporation – evapotranspiration – is responsible for the majority of the remaining hydrologic cycle. Elevation and temperature are key factors in evapotranspiration rates throughout the mountains as well as the smoking appearance that inspired their name.

AMPHIBIAN NEWS: Moisture-loving creatures, amphibians thrive in the Great Smoky Mountains, which are home to fourteen species of frogs and toads. In 2012 a newly introduced resident of the park was discovered: the Green Tree Frog. Native to the coastal southern states, the newcomer is thought to have been transported to the park by clinging to places of shelter on out-of-state vehicles. Apparently enjoying their new home, early arrivals quickly multiplied into the millions. But the most prolific amphibians in the Smoky Mountains are the salamanders. There are thirty species of them, twenty-seven of those are of the lungless variety (breathing through their skin). In fact, Great Smoky Mountains National Park is known as the salamander capital of the world. Its largest species, the hellbender, lives in rivers and streams and grows to nearly two-and-a-half feet long.

(Unlike selfies, these are not about me, but about travel discoveries I think you’d like to know about.)

Our itinerary included the Biltmore estate in Ashville, North Carolina. Driving through the estate we were surprised to come upon a momma black bear with her five cubs. Spread throughout 800 acres, the Biltmore is large enough to promise a great variety of natural and manmade discoveries. When in the Ashville area, it is a Must See.

Quote Of The Day samples

“Climb mountains and get their good things. Nature’s peace will flow into you like the sunshine flows into trees.” – John Muir

“To sit in the shade on a fine day, and look upon verdure, is the most perfect refreshment.” ― Jane Austen (Mansfield Park)