Harrah for North Carolina

Aw yeah...

So, I'm happy to report that fall foliage has officially hit the upper elevations of western North Carolina. Today, Kathy and I left the 87 degree weather of Savannah and drove northwest through South Carolina and into North Carolina. In North Carolina, we drove on the stunning Blue Ridge Parkway, which is just full of cool views like this one. We would basically drive for a couple minutes, then pull over to the side of the road to gawk, then drive for a couple minutes, then pull over and gawk, etc. This sort of hampered our forward progress for awhile, but hey, what can you do.

We stopped for the night here in Cherokee, North Carolina, which is part of a big Indian reservation (specifically the, um, Cherokee Indians). This town is just outside of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, which we plan to explore tomorrow. Interestingly enough, the main draw of this area seems to be not the Great Smoky Mountains, nor the Blue Ridge Parkway, but the humungoid Harrah's Casino. All the hotels and billboards here refer to the casino even though the National Park is just a few miles away. "Quality Inn -- just two blocks from the Casino!" "Holiday Inn Express -- within walking distance of the Casino!" Our hotel has a regular shuttle that goes to and from the casino, but if you want a ride into the park, you're outta luck.

I'm slightly embarassed to report that we did spend about an hour in the casino tonight. It was huge, and totally packed to the gills. We lost a chunk of money, but we prefer to think of it as a donation to the Native American people. Cherokees, you're welcome.