The Roan Highlands Collection

Emiline and I took a trip to the Roan Highlands to seek out the Rhododendron Bloom. We weren’t disappointed. Nor were we disappointed to find the Azalea Bloom. Nor were we disappointed in the grandeur of the Roan Highlands in general. Emiline had never been. I have been quite a few times- most recently just a few weeks ago when I hiked through on my High Country Loop adventure. I hiked across the balds on the Appalachian Trail on the Saturday of Memorial Day Weekend. It was a zoo. I talked to the ATC appointed Ridge Runner and he said he had already met 300 people for the day.

Last week we saw just a handful of people up at the Rhododendron Gardens on Roan Mountain and even less once we crossed the road at Carvers Gap and headed up to the balds on the AT. There was thunder overhead when we first got there, but thankfully the rain held off and the clouds pushed out, leaving us with a gorgeous summer sunset!