Travel Tuesday - The Great Smoky Mountains

Swinging Bridge, Great Smoky Mountains National Park

Summer is here.  The 100+ degree temperatures leave no doubt about the season of year.  Besides warmer temperatures, summer also ushers in the season of vacations.  Just where did my ancestors and family members vacation?  Turns out they went a lot of places and collected a lot of postcards. (Lucky me!)

These 100 degree days also leave one longing for the cooler temperatures of the NC  mountains.  The mountains were a popular spot for the vacationers in my family.

The Smoky Mountain National Park straddles the NC and TN border close to Gatlinburg, TN and Cherokee, NC.  The Smoky Mountains continues to be a popular vacation spot.  With gorgeous scenery, hiking, wildlife viewing,... there is something for everyone.

Fairy Cave - Tuckaleechee Caverns - "In The Smokies"

These postcards are from the 1950's.  I love the colors from the older postcards.

Stopped for Inspection by Native Black Bears, Great Smoky Mountains National Park

I have seen a bear in the Smoky National Park, fortunately, not this close.  The black bear I saw was up in a tree.  Once he started down, all the tourists left!