Good evening, Kibitzers! Today we have a few more pictures I took on my eclipse trip to Tennessee, ones from the next day, when we drove into Great Smoky Mountains National Park. My aunt had decided we would head for the Clingman’s Dome viewing tower. As it turned out, we didn’t get all the way up there; the tiny road got more and more packed as we approached it, and when it got so that cars (read “giant-ass SUVs”) were parked, badly, along both sides of the narrow, almost shoulderless road, my uncle had had enough and miraculously found a place to turn around.
We speculated that this was everyone else who’d come to Tennessee to see the eclipse, but we later learned that it was also the last day the viewing tower would be open for the year, as it was closing for renovations. I was disappointed not to see the view (pictured on its linked website above — scroll down past the “closed for renovations” notice), but there really was just no way we were ever going to reach it, let alone find a place to park. Maybe another time.
But there were some pullout spots on the steep road that weren’t too crowded to stop in, so I got a few pictures, which I post below for your entertainment. (Note to westerners: yes, I know that the Great Smoky Mountains are shorter than your mountains; Google tells me they rise to only about 6.5K. Nonetheless, “mountains” is what they are called. If this makes you feel indignant, write to Scott Pruitt and he’ll probably be glad to have them bulldozed by way of resolving your complaint.)
DK ACT BLUE (and other) DISASTER RELIEF DONATION LINKS:
No DK Act Blue for Maria as far as I know, but here’s a link from Bill McKibben for an org to help Puerto Rico:
Another choice, from Denise Oliver Velez:
- Unidos Fund, from the Hispanic Federation (After you click the orange DONATE button on the Unidos page, you’ll see a dropdown below your name & address. You can choose to donate to hurricane relief for PR, and also to Mexican earthquake relief.)
And of course, h/t TexMex:
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Kitchen Table Kibitzing is a community series for those who wish to share part of the evening around a virtual kitchen table with readers of Daily Kos who aren’t throwing pies at one another. Drop by and tell us about your weather, your garden, or what you cooked for supper. Newcomers may notice that many who post diaries and comments in this series already know one another to some degree, but we welcome guests at our kitchen table, and hope to make some new friends as well. |