Road Trippin' On Top of the Mountain by Karen Ruhl

This time of year is a favorite to so many of us with the leaves changing colors and the beautiful skies filled with white puffy clouds! It makes me want to take rides every day to see what God has in store for us to see.

In Mid-October, we took a drive to Elk Park in North Carolina. We stopped at an overlook for Brown Mountain. Brown Mountain Overlook sits at an elevation of 2,844 ft. If you like stories, here is one for you. According to Cherokee legend, around 1200 A.D. a great battle was fought between the Cherokee and Catawba Indians at Brown Mountain and the mysterious lights are from the Indian maidens still searching for their men who died in battle. Many people have tried to explain the origin of the lights over the years.

Oh boy, next! Look a sign ahead said Roan Mountain and it wasn’t far away, only 8 minutes. So, of course, we headed that way. Now what you need to know is that those white puffy clouds started to look like threatening storm clouds. We weren’t sure if we would drive up the mountain and end up in snow. From beside me, I heard Craig say, “Oh, let’s do it!” And so off we went.

Remember those clouds I mentioned? Well we found them, and the fog that came with them. We were not at the top of the mountain although I would say we were well over 5,000 feet. There were a few pull offs as we drove up, but they were packed with weekend visitors (great to see). We continued driving and went over the mountain in Tennessee and into North Carolina. If you get the opportunity, be sure to visit!

Thanks for going on a virtual trip with us, we think of all of our readers as we drive around.

If you like what you see, please share with others.

May God bless you and your family.

The small town of Elk Park was a wonderful find. Craig and I both love murals and Western North Carolina never disappoints us. Along the road, we saw this beautiful Mail Pouch Tobacco barn - they are getting harder to find.

Craig and I both encourage you to take a ride, you don’t have to go far. Sometimes our drives are only an hour or so - but most are between 4-6 hours seeing so much of God’s beauty along the way.

All photos are copyright to Karen Ruhl 2020, 2021

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Roan Mountain

Photo by Karen Ruhl

Located on TN Hwy 143 at the base of the majestic 6,285 ft. Roan Mountain. Roan Mountain State Park encompasses more than 2,000 acres dominated by rich hardwood forest along rugged ridges.