Laurel Creek as viewed from the creek trail near Laurel Bloomery, Tennessee in the Cherokee National Forest. The Laurel Creek Trail follows the old railbed from the Pea Vine Railroad that ran from Damascus, Virginia to Mountain City, Tennessee. That narrow gauge railroad ran from 1905 to 1919. The 3 mile trail runs from the Virginia / Tennesse state lines to the town of Laurel Bloomery.
Rosebay Rhododendrons (Rhododendron maximum) in full bloom frame the cool, rushing waters of Whitetop River in the Mt. Rogers National Recreation Area just west of Damascus, Virginia. Rosebays are a species of Rhododendrons native to the Appalachians of eastern North America, from Alabama north to Nova Scotia.
