Highway 441, A great ride

I left the GWRRA South Carolina State rally and rode up Highway 76 to 123 then over to Westminster SC then over to Clayton Ga where I picked up Highway 441 known in these parts as the Smokey Mountain expressway. I enjoyed many of the great mountain views along the way and followed highway 441 into Cherokee and through the heart of the smokies into Gatlinburg. If you decide to take this route, do yourself a favor and put on a jacket when you near Clingmans' dome. It can get quite cool up there even in the summer time. What I'd really like to do is take this same route to the Blue ridge parkway and ride it from just north of Cherokee NC till it ends in Virginia and then ride through the Shenandoah Valley. Clingmansdome is the second highest peak east of the Mississippi river at 6,643 feet. I have seen snow flurries in Cherokee and Gatlinburg and at the same time a snowstorm on Clingmansdome. This whole area is beautiful year round and one of my favorite destinations in the appalachian mountains.