Wherein Moominmama heads south for some hiking in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and gets to see some unusual bridges...

The route south to the Great Smoky Mountains crossed through West Virginia and when signs appeared warning me of a closure for "Bridge Day" on Oct. 15, it suddenly dawned on me that I was approaching the New River Gorge Bridge.

One day of the year in the fall, the bridge closes to vehicular traffic and opens to pedestrians -- and to base jumpers. This has been going on for years and was stuck in my memory because my ex-husband had come to the bridge to base jump many years ago. I'd seen video, and we had a lovely photo of his parachute against the huge arch of the bridge hanging prominently wherever we lived.

He had told so many stories about this place that I immediately knew I had to pull over and see the bridge for myself. Fortunately, it's part of a national park with a visitor center on the gorge.

The bridge deck is just over 3,000 feet long and from the river to the top of the arch is 876 feet. Base jumpers put a platform sticking out over the deck of the bridge, which brings the height to about 900 feet, and people take turns jumping off. Parachutes are either specific for base jumping or adjusted for quick deployment. No one jumps without approved gear or experience. Once the chute opens, they fly in and land on the side of the water, with a boat nearby to help anyone who ends up in the river. It's hard to give you a sense of scale but here's a view downriver. Keep in mind, that's river down there, not a creek

I was a couple days shy of the actual Bridge Day, which means I couldn't walk out to see the view from the bridge. But I was able to walk down from the visitor center to a viewing deck.

The leaves here are in fine form so it made for beautiful view. And I promptly texted a photo to the ex, who responded "best $37 million ever spent." Because of course, the bridge was quite a project, completed in 1977, turning a 45-minute drive to cross the New River into a 45-second one. It is the longest single-span arch bridge in the world according to the Park Service.

A day later I was crossing a much smaller bridge, a split log with a rail attached at one side as I made my first entry into the Great Smoky Mountains. At lower elevation, trails wind between woody rhododendrons and hemlock, creating green walls with a stained glass dome as light filters through colored leaves.

Getting here, I had also crossed yet another style of bridge in Robert Treman State Park outside Ithaca, a much anticipated day hike on my first day heading south. The gorge trail is one of my favorites and has beautiful stonework dating back to the Civilian Conservation Corps. This photo is an older one I took hiking with my youngest.

Starting at the lower end of the gorge, I walked to the upper parking lot then took the Rim trail back down. For the first time, I discovered the old mill building at the top was open to the public. And it had exhibits not just on how the mill worked but on the CCC camp and the town of Enfield Falls, which dissolved and was absorbed into the park. Little remains besides the mill.

New York was once a major grain-producing region thus the need for many mills. But farmers (after fighting to clear all the rocks!) wore out the soil, and grain-growing moved to the midwest.

It was fascinating to see the equipment and read explanations of how it worked, including how they separated out the "middlings," which they used to grind a whiter, and thus more desirable, flour. At the time, white flour was assumed to be healthier than darker or grainier flours.

The four-story building used a grain elevator to bring wheat, corn or other grains to the top floor, where it was cleaned. The production process then used chutes and gravity to move grains down to lower floors where the grinding stones did the work. Built in 1839, it operated as a water-powered grist mill until 1917.

In the 1930s, the area was home to a Civilian Conservation Corps camp, which improved on the trails and added much of the beautiful stone work. An exhibit on this era included a copy of the daily schedule and also taught me that many corps members learned to read and write in these camps, as education was one of the requirements of the program.

Having completed the route south, I am now in the foothills of the Smokies, where the split log bridges with a single rail are common. I did a hike to Hen Wallow Falls (hens wallow?) And a hike to Buzzard Roost (!) as well as up to a fire tower in the Cherokee National Forest. 

Today, I head to a campground inside the Smoky Mountains National Park, where I will stay for several days and will aim to do some classic hikes while I'm there. Plus I've set my sights on a visit to the Museum of the Cherokee Indian. Much to look forward to! 

I leave you with a shot from Buzzard Roost over looking the Cherokee National Forest. The haze you see -- moisture not smoke -- is part of the reason this region is known as the Smokies!