Mount Sterling’s 60’ fire tower (5,842 ft elevation) gives some spectacular panoramic views. But I only used my 50mm lens so don’t ask to see any panoramic pictures right now. Supposedly this is the highest elevation of any fire tower remaining in the eastern USA.

 

At first it looked like the clouds were coming in to make it a miserable flop of a sunset. It looked like all that driving into North Carolina on some curvy switchbacky gravel road to get to some remote part of the Smokies was going to amount to just some good exercise.

 

But then the sun peeked back out a bit!

 

This was definitely not the sunset I had pictured in my mind when I’d climbed up all those stairs to the top of the tower. The stairs really weren’t that bad, they were in good shape. The wooden steps weren’t rotted there were railings on both sides and the whole tower didn’t really wiggle in the wind.

 

 

 

It’s a good thing life doesn’t go just as I’d planned ‘Cause I’d miss all those pleasant surprises.

 

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