Autumn and /or spring in the Appalachians can turn your senses upside down. As the seasons change from warm to cool (autumn) or from cool to warm (spring) – before the atmosphere gets thoroughly mixed we often experience temperature inversion, where the cool, heavier air settles in the valleys and lowlands.
A couple of mornings last week when the girls and I left our home (around 3,500 feet) for school the temp was in the mid 40s – by the time we arrived at school in Waynesville those temps had dipped to mid 30s.
Anywhere you get mountain vistas during these inversions you are apt to get spectacular, surreal imagery of mountain peaks in an ocean of clouds. The Blue Ridge Parkway abounds with these opportunities. Another spot is as you top Cowee Mountain on US 441 – headed towards Franklin, in Macon County.