Halloween Discussion Forums, Costumes, Horror!

Well, you need to go. The water is amazingly blue, like I've never seen. Only I do recall that driving around that rim road was absolutely terrifying to me. No guard rails!

There is a notable dearth of guard rails in most of the state, a detail nervously pointed out by visiting relatives throughout the years.

I couldn't even drive it. I made my son do it. And you can drive completely around the circle, but we didn't. We drove along the part we had to to get to the visitors' center, then exited a different way. But we did do a little hiking.

I'm used to it.

Even when I lived in California it was on the coast with a commute up and over the Santa Cruz mountains, and even there rails are nonexistent.

What is it with West Coasters and disdain for guard rails? Are y'all trying to prove how brave you are? Is it a coolness factor?

We are cheap.

Those things cost money.

Lol. Well, we don't need that many in this part of the state, but where we need them, we have them. I can't speak for the Smokies, because, like you, I haven't visited the national park that is two or three hours away from me. However, I've driven outside the park in East Tennessee and North Carolina (vacationed in 2019 at the Rumbling Bald resort near Ashville, which was pretty much swept away this fall). I don't recall feeling vulnerable to sailing off the mountain roads over there.