This trail, in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, is a 3.5-mile round trip trail to the top of Andrews Bald, a peak near Clingman's Dome. Clingman's Dome is the highest point in the Smokies, but Andrews Bald, at a highest point of about 6300 feet, provides a wonderful view of the Smoky Mountains, and is a moderate hike.
On the way to the trail head, we passed by Chimney Tops, which provided great initial views of the mountains. 
These red flowers, called Bee Balm (Monarda didyma), were all over the trail. 
The beginning of the trail was very well structured. It doesn't last the entire trail, though, only about the first quarter of the way up. After that, it gets more rugged. 
I got a brief opportunity to catch one of the butterflies that were flying throughout the wildflowers along the trail. 
As expected, since I was with the Queen of Fungi, we saw many fascinating mycological specimens. 
The texture and color of this dead tree, with the light behind it, was a pretty shot. 
Here we have another example of the local fungi. 
The bright green color of these leaves stood out in strong contrast to the surrounding darker shades. 
Here we are at the top of the trail, and you can see that clouds were rolling in over the blue mountains. 
The blue of the mountains came out strongly as the rain started to approach. 
These flowers were just starting to bloom as we reached the top of the trail. 
As a bonus, leaving the park, we saw a herd of elk by the side of the road.
