We've been meaning to go up to Roan Mountain for a while, and decided yesterday was a nice day for a driveabout. We hoped the rhododendrons would be in bloom, but expected we might be a week or so early and we were right. But there were a few stray blossoms here and there.

(The annual Roan Mountain Rhododendron Festival starts next Saturday. You can call the Roan Mountain State Park ranger's office for updates on the rhododendron bloom. Judging from the abundance of buds, it looks like it will be a good year.)

More photos after the jump...

On the way (actually a little out of the way) we stopped at the famous Ridgewood Barbecue for lunch. We highly recommend it. We drove back down through Elizabethton, and the Mrs. wanted to go see the covered bridge over the Doe River in downtown Elizabethton (click images for larger view):

Another view of the bridge:

There's a nice park there, and they were having a "Covered Bridge Days" celebration. That's the Johnson City Community Band playing under the tent. They were pretty good:

A famous attorney has an office there, too. No extra fee for bear killing. (I don't know if he's a descendant, but I'm guessing he is):

We made our way up to Roan Mountain State Park, and way on up to the top the mountain to the Rhododendron Garden. Here's the overlook (with a reluctant family member who didn't have much confidence in the structure):

Here's the view from the overlook. In a week or so, all that green foliage you see in the foreground will be bursting with color from rhododendron blossoms:

Under the forest canopy, the ground is covered with beautiful moss and ferns:

Just down the mountain a little ways on the North Carolina border, the Carver's Gap trail winds up the side of a mountain through a grassy bald dotted with rhododendrons. The views are spectacular, but we didn't go all the way to the top because it was a little too hazy for scenic photos:

Flowing grass in a shady spot along the trail:

There were a few rhododendrons blossoming here and there. Here's a preview of what mountain will look like in a week or so:

As we were leaving, we spotted this Hippie RV. The occupants looked like they had been on a long hike and they were having a great time:

Roan Mountain is a wonderful daytrip from Knoxville. It's about 320 miles round trip, if you include a stop at Ridgewood Barbecue. We'll probably go back in a week or ten days to try to catch the rhododendrons in full bloom. I have no doubt it will be worth it, especially if we can catch a clear day. (Bonus, it's about 20 degrees cooler on top of Roan Mountain -- 70 degrees yesterday v. 90+ down in the Valley.)

P.S. Another great thing about Roan Mountain State Park is that pets are allowed on the trails as long as they are on a leash, as is the the case for most Tennessee state parks. The national forest parks and trails in the Roan Mt. area also allow pets. If you take pets, please be considerate and clean up after them so the parks will continue this policy.