A weathered barn stands on a roadside in rural Wears Valley, Tenn., Saturday, July 20, 2013.

Last week, I was able to spend some much needed vacation time road tripping through the Great Smoky Mountains region of Tennessee, North Carolina, and Virgina. It’s an area of the United States I’ve never visited, and not hearing a whole lot about it, I didn’t expect much. I was pleasantly surprised with landscapes that took my breath away, rivaling ones I’ve enjoyed while visiting the desert southwest. I can’t recall ever seeing three rainbows in just as many days, but “The Smokies” offer these kinds of visuals as common fare, so long as you’re willing to venture away from the tourist-clogged city areas and explore.

If challenging and exciting drives in your car sound like a good time, you’ll appreciate some of the narrow, one lane roads that wind to over 6,000 feet in elevation in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, snaking their way through tunnels and around steep mountain ridges as they go. If you’ve ever wondered what the “2” and “1” gear settings are for on your automatic transmission, these are the roads where you’ll finally put them to good use!

Dotting the beautiful landscapes of sweeping mountain vistas and valleys choked with evergreen trees are countless weathered buildings