Newfound Gap, Great Smoky Mountains. May 19, 2001.
This is my post for the Scenic Sunday meme, which shares beautiful scenes from around the world. To see more Scenic Sunday posts, or to join and show your own pictures, click HERE.
As I mentioned the other day, Betsy and I visited with friends at Cades Cove in the Smokies on Thursday. That visit got me looking at other pictures we’ve taken in the park, and I decided to share these pictures with you.
The picture above was taken in 2001 at Newfound Gap. As southerners know, a gap is a low point in a mountain ridge. New Englanders call such places “notches” while westerners refer to them as mountain “passes.” At an elevation of 5,046 feet Newfound Gap is the lowest drivable pass through the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
The old road over the Smoky Mountains crossed at Indian Gap, located about 1.5 miles west of the current site. In 1872 a Swiss geographer, Arnold Henry Guyot, discovered Newfound Gap was lower than Indian Gap. When the lower, easier crossing was discovered, it became known as the “newfound” gap. A new road followed, and it became the forerunner of Newfound Gap Road, which can be seen in the distance in the picture above.
But as scenic as the picture above may be, the following picture is even more scenic. That’s because it shows my beautiful bride at that same location on the same day.
Betsy at Newfound Gap, GSMNP. May 19, 2001.
Senior Moments 