We woke up early this morning to drive Parson's Branch Road. Parson's Branch is a one-way primitive road accessed from Cades Cove. It has been dry for the last week and it didn't seem that it would be too much of a challenge for our little CRV. Just in case we got stuck I stocked the car with lots of water and snacks.
The ride around the cove was non-eventful. The sunlight was harsh by 8:30 a,m. and the crowds heavy. We took a few photos and left the loop right beyond the visitors' center, traveling along the road to Parsons Branch. We played with shooting starbursts and trying for a painterly effect with the foggy trees.
We encountered two other vehicles on the entire six mile route. The heavily treed road was shaded for much of the way. Trees were showing nice fall color but there were no vistas or good photo ops for most of the trip. As we neared the end of the road the stream got larger and there were several good spots to photograph small waterfalls and pools.
While we were photographing the waterfalls we could hear the roar of motorcycles. I kept looking fearfully over my shoulder as I stood on the narrow little bridge to photograph, sure they would come racing down the mountain and knock me off the bridge. It wasn't until we drove a little farther that we realized we were near the end of the road where it would intersect with the Highway 129, the Dragon. Hundreds of motorcycles careened around the curves of this fabled road. Every possible pullover was taken up by photographers with tents, set up to photograph cars and motorcycles as they negotiated the steep curves. Breland reminded me AGAIN about the time I took him over this road in the dark.
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