"The most visited of all the natural national parks is located in the mountains of western North Carolina and eastern Tennessee.  It contains thousands of acres of old growth forest, nearly as many varieties of trees than in all of Europe.  The blue haze that gave the mountains their name hides beautiful valleys that have served as sanctuary for people over the years: Cherokee avoiding removal to Oklahoma, Confederate deserters and Northern sympathizers during the Civil War, runaway slaves, and others on the run from civilization."