This picture is from my 2022 Hiwassee Loop trip. Railroad loops allow elevation changes in less space than switchbacks and without the need to reverse direction. The Tennessee Valley Railroad‘s Hiwassee Loop was completed in 1890. Riding the train through the loop was the whole purpose of this trip, but I drove the Tail of the Dragon, the Cherohala Skyway, and a little Dixie Highway getting there, then some US-127 and more Dixie Highway getting home. It was a three-day trip with both overnights spent in historic digs.

Trip Peeks are short articles published when my world is too busy or too boring for a current events piece to be completed in time for the Sunday posting. In addition to a photo thumbnail from a completed road trip, each Peek includes a brief description of that photo plus links to the full-sized photo and the associated trip journal.