Great Smoky Mountain Railroad North Carolina

March 22, 2008 I am in North Carolina. Wow, what a blast this morning was. I dragged my butt up early enough to drive 1.5 hours to the Great Smoky Mountains. I boarded the Great Smoky Mountain Railroad train. I bought seats in the open car which means there was no glass and big huge open windows, perfect for getting some refreshing 48 degree weather and for taking great photos with no glass in the way. Not too many people were on that car, so I had the freedom to roam around to both sides of the train. The ride was 4.5 hours and included a stop at the Outdoor Center where they were having Olympic qualifying kayaking salaam trials. What’s that mean? That means they have “gates” in the middle of the roaring rapids river that the kayakers must go thru in order for the run to qualify. We went over the Horseshoe Curve, Fontana Lake Trestle, Little Tennessee River and the Nantahala River Gorge. http://www.gsmr.com/