Parson Branch Road, Great Smoky Mountains, Tennessee. May 23, 2011.
This is my post for the My World meme. It is hosted by Klaus, Ivar, Sandy, Wren, and Fishing Guy. To learn more about our world or to join and share your part of the world, click HERE.
Last Tuesday Betsy and I took a ride in the Smokies in our Prius, Mrs. P. One of the seasonal back roads, Parson Branch Road, had recently been opened for the season. Mrs. P sometimes thinks she is an off-road vehicle and was up to the challenge.
We had to drive through part of Cades Cove to get to Parson Branch Road, but that is always a gorgeous drive. When we got to the road, we saw a big sign announcing that Parson Branch Road was a ‘primitive’ one-way road and that it would take at least an hour to make the eight miles to US 129. (I wish I had thought to take a picture of that sign.) The picture above shows one of the better sections.
We enjoy taking these back roads whenever possible, because they often lead to waterfalls that aren’t listed in any of the books we have. We did find several waterfalls along Parson Branch Road which I’ll talk about in future posts. At one point along that eight mile stretch of road I thought Mrs. P might let us down, but she managed to get up a pothole-filled stretch of road (slowly) and had no problems the rest of the way.
Image from the internet.
But our adventure wasn’t over when we reached the paved highway US 129. We came onto the road along a stretch known as The Tail of the Dragon. As the poster above states, there are 318 curves in 11 miles of road. Obviously traffic doesn’t move at interstate speeds along this stretch of road. It’s a favorite of motorcyclists, however, and people come from all over the country to ride The Tail.
All in all we had a very interesting, adventurous and scenic day in the Smokies.
Senior Moments 
May 31, 2011 at 5:47 am |
WOW,this adventure sounds wonderful.I am glad you made it safely through.
May 31, 2011 at 6:42 am |
Beautiful scenery but those curves would have me a little car sick, I’m afraid! Don’t you just love finding an unexpected waterfall on these back roads? I look forward to your posts about what you found. Have a great day, George.
May 31, 2011 at 6:54 am |
Yeah for Mrs. P!!! Please give her a high five from me. I love how adventurous you and Betsy (and Mrs. P) are…this is why you find the good hidden treasures!!!
May 31, 2011 at 7:36 am |
amazing that the road can have that many curves. no wonder it is called the dragon. we name our cars to
May 31, 2011 at 8:27 am |
We like to travel roads like that also, You never know what you will see.
Seems like it would have been easier to count the straight stretches in the road rather than the curves. 🙂
May 31, 2011 at 8:43 am |
Do hope there are pull-outs on these one-way roads for when you see you want to stop somewhere! Good thing they are one-way – would hate to make a turn and meet up with oncoming headlights! I think the idea on these back roads is to take it easy! My hubby is a ‘let’s get in the car and see how fast we can get to our destination’ kinda guy! Glad you and Mrs. P. with your lovely Betsy take things a little more leisurely and enjoy the ride and the scenery!
May 31, 2011 at 9:05 am |
It does indeed sound like a great day, George, for all of you — even is Mrs. P had to work a little harder!! Glad you found some more waterfalls! Look forward to seeing more pics! Enjoy your day!
Sylvia
May 31, 2011 at 9:42 am |
Mrs.P is a tough lady, she can work well! It must have been a great trip!
May 31, 2011 at 9:59 am |
Fantastic road to drive. Very cool and scenic.
May 31, 2011 at 10:26 am |
Great adventures and capture!
Thank you for sharing.
Regards.
May 31, 2011 at 11:53 am |
I like the idea of naming a car. And Mrs. P is such an elegant name I thought.
May 31, 2011 at 12:12 pm |
Scared to death, this is my worst nightmare!!!! But I’m glad that people like you can explore so I can see all the good stuff from my safe couch!
May 31, 2011 at 1:28 pm |
Sounds like a fun ride! I guess I’d have to leave my vette home and take the FJ. : )
May 31, 2011 at 10:33 pm |
This picture made me think instantly that it could/should be a book cover!! LOVE it George!!
Sounds like a wonderful time you all had 🙂 I am thinkin I would have had to load up on dramamine LOL When we go to Branson Missouri or Eureka Springs AR the roads are all windy and if I am in the back it is almost certain I will be sick! *sigh*
Oh well, I just stay in the front and enjoy the scenery!!
June 3, 2011 at 1:01 am |
Wow. I enjoyed Your photo from the road. Everything is so green, so verdant. To drive on this kind of road must be a great fun when one has is not in hurry.
June 3, 2011 at 1:47 am |
I always get Tail of the Dragon and The Snake confused but I think you cleared it up for me. There are a couple of roads like Parson Branch in Blowing Rock and Boone. They’re fun to drive as long as there’s not a lost driver coming from the other direction. Great photo!
July 20, 2011 at 3:41 am |
[…] posted before that Betsy and I took a back-country road, Parson Branch Road, through the Smokies a couple of months ago. We enjoy the scenery off the beaten path, and we […]