Making a weekend trip - Collecting Oppty's near Asheville, NC
 

I'm making a trip to visit my parents and some relatives who live in
the beautiful NC mountains. Their elevation is about 3K feet. I live
in Nashville, TN where my elevation is about 600 feet i think.
Anyway, what species would you recommend trying to collect ... and
what should i avoid that won't be able to take the heat of Nashville?
I'd really love to get a mountain laurel.
I'm very new to this ... can you tell ?