Great Smoky Mt Railroad

I thought it would be fun to take the train up the Nantahala Gorge, winding along several rivers with magnificent views. At least that was the ad. I did check Trip Advisor and knew there were mixed reviews, but went anyway. It was a pleasant trip and I did see fine amazing scenery; however, along the rails the predominant vegetation is kudzu. This is an invasive species brought over from Japan for erosion control. Well it does a great job of that but takes over many roadsides or disturbed areas growing like a weed. It smothers trees and other vegetation and some say is “swallowing up the southeast”.