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The humidity is already beginning to settle on the city like a blanket. It will be cooler

in the mountains, which is one reason you've decided to head up there this morning.

The drive isn't too long. In fact, it takes just the right amount of time to make you

feel like you've really entered the country, but are too far away to return home the following day.

You'll spend the night at a cozy cabin tucked away in the woods.

You make your way through the congestion of the city in your car.

There's a little bit of traffic because all the folks heading out of town for the weekend.

Like them, you long for fewer people and more nature, and you're eager to lose yourself in the

secluded spaces you can find in the countryside. The Blue Ridge Mountains comprise part of the

larger range that is the Appalachian Mountains. At over one billion years old, they are among

the oldest in the world. The Rockies and the Himalayan are young by comparison.

In places, they overlap the great smoking mountains, but their fluid boundaries don't diminish

their beauty. All together, they offer some of the most exquisite sights in the world.

At times, the peaks are shrouded in fog, lending a mysterious air.

In the autumn, their slopes are covered in a breathtaking cloak of red, yellow, orange and gold.

Winter brings snow to their hidden hollows, and in summer, they offer lush green forests and

babbling brooks. One of the most beautiful sections lies were the states of Georgia, North Carolina,

...