Before we did, however, we had to stop at a particular location just up the street from our hotel to see this sight...
The wrecked bus and locomotive were from the 1993 Harrison Ford movie, "The Fugitive", which was partially filmed in the Dillsboro and Sylva areas, and the railroad track is part of the old Southern Railway Murphy Branch line which used to carry both freight and passengers between Atlanta and Asheville. Currently, the Great Smoky Mountains Railroad owns this track.
From there, it was back to US 441 north to visit Cherokee and "clinch" Swain County. Since Mary and I are not exactly "high rollers", we did not go by their famous casino (which BTW we never even passed by). Instead, we were much more intrigued by the Cherokee history and heritage, thus the visit to the village and museum. After visiting both sites and becoming immersed in how the Cherokees lived (and unfortunately suffered from European encroachment), we both walked away with a much greater appreciation. In fact, after visiting the museum, it made me think "Why did our country have to treat the indigenous peoples the way we did?". While the Cherokees who live here on the Qualla Boundary were descendants of those who eluded capture and forceful removal on the infamous "Trail of Tears" to Oklahoma, they still had to overcome a lot to be able to keep their culture alive. For that, my hats are off to them and I hope that you can go and learn for yourself how Cherokees really lived (as opposed to the Hollywood-fueled stereotypes).
Speaking of Cherokee culture, their native language can be found on their street signs such as this one along US 441 (Tsali Boulevard)...
Here's a photo of the Cherokee Indian Reservation entrance sign along US 441 just outside the Great Smoky Mountains National Park...
From Cherokee, it was off to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park to visit the Mountain Farm Museum at the park's Oconaluftee Visitor Center on US 441.
During our entire trip, Mary did the vast majority of photography and took a boatload of scenery (and even some roadgeek) photos. Here's one of a couple of the residents of the farm museum...
While it was nice to see them, we couldn't stay and visit too long. Let's just say that only they could be happy there and that there were other exhibits onsite that we wanted to see before hitting the road again.
From the park, it was off to do some driving and sightseeing. Our first leg from Cherokee took us down US 441 to US 74 past Bryson City, where it picked up US 19 for most of the rest of its journey through North Carolina.
From US 19/74, we headed to NC 28 (part of the multistate highway 28 and "Moonshiner 28" scenic driving route).
While motoring along 28, I "clinched" Graham County and we stopped by Fontana Dam for a brief visit. BTW, did you know that Fontana Dam, located on the Little Tennessee River, is the highest dam east of the Mississippi River? That sorta makes it the "Hoover Dam of the East". Here's a photo Mary took of the dam...
This dam was built during World War II. When someone asked what they should do to get more electricity for the region, the answer apparently was, "Dam It, dammit!"
Moving along from the dam (and the really bad "dam jokes"), it was back to 28 and its curvy, winding path all the way to its northernmost end at US 129, near the Tennessee state line and at the infamous "Tail of the Dragon".
Since this is the northern end of 28, I took several "roadgeek pics" to commemorate my visit to this site. Please click here to see them.
Instead of driving "The Dragon" into Tennessee, we instead headed down US 129 on the "lower Tail" toward Robbinsville, the Graham County seat and hometown of singer Ronnie Milsap. Once in Robbinsville, we stopped at Kerr Drugs, a place where you can find drugs and SIGNS!!! Could my good friend Doug be behind this?
You may be wondering why you have US 129 north pointing northward and a detour of US 129 north pointing southward. For the answer, please click here .
Once we reached the point where the road dead-ended at US 19/74 at the point where Graham, Macon, and Cherokee Counties met, we headed north/east on US 19/74 back to Dillsboro and "base camp", with a brief stop for dinner at an Arby's in Bryson City.
Since this particular dead-end was the northernmost point of the US 19/129 "duplex" that runs through North Carolina and Georgia, I just had to take a picture.
From this point, US 19 and US 129 share pavement through Andrews, Murphy (where Olympic Park bomber Eric Robert Rudolph was captured in 2003), and Blairsville, before again separating in northern Lumpkin County at the end of GA 9 just above Dahlonega, In the future, I'd like to drive the entire 19/129 "duplex" to "clinch" it once and for all.
On our fourth and final full day of the trip, we head east from Dillsboro to "clinch" one more North Carolina county and do our last round of scenic driving... and we'll be covering it on the next blog post.
That's it for now. Thanks for reading and please come back again.
Copyright 2007. Steve Williams. All rights reserved.
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