Magnificent Mount Mitchell

Although we loved Paris Mountain State Park, it was time to move on. We hated leaving the beauty of the mountains, the quietness of the park and the darkness of the night while sitting outside listening to the cicadas sing but it was onward to another adventure.

We drove to Marion, North Carolina and took up residence at a CampingWorld RV park. This is so not us but the park was convenient to the Blue Ridge Parkway and our goal was finally to see Mount Mitchell. Earlier in our travels this stretch of the parkway was closed because of damage Hurricane Irma caused so we were unable to visit Mount Mitchell. After settling into the campground we drove the hour drive to Mount Mitchell State Park. Mitchell's summit is the highest point east of the Mississippi. It stands proudly at 6,684 feet. We drove straight to the summit and although the sun was still pretty high in the sky the views were spectacular. We had a 360 degree view of solid mountain ranges. My photographs could not capture their beauty but I tried.

It was too late in the day to do any major hiking and honestly I was ok with that. It is bear season and there are warnings here about "aggressive bear attacks". The bears are feeding a lot and getting ready for the upcoming winter season. The last thing I wanted to do is hike into the mountains and confront a bear. I am getting wimpy in my older age.
On our way back down the mountain we stopped at all the overlook spots. Boo kept his head out of the window for a good portion of the drive up and back. The smells, including skunk, must have overwhelmed him.

There was one sad note along the drive. Apparently there is a tiny beetle called the balsam woolly adelgid and it is killing a large number of Fraser firs. You can look throughout the mountain and see the devastation. If you look above the Mount Mitchell sign (see photo above) you can see the stick looking trees in the background. These were once vibrant Fraser firs.









As we continued our descent down the mountain we came across an eerie magical fir that had been devastated by this invasive beetle. I found it to be quite beautiful so I will end this blog with pictures of this tree.