  Using the Submillimeter Array we have detected the J=3-2 and 2-1 rotational
transitions from within the first vibrationally excited state of CO toward the
extreme carbon star IRC+10216 (CW Leo). The emission remains spatially
unresolved with an angular resolution of ~2" and, given that the lines
originate from energy levels that are ~3100 K above the ground state, almost
certainly originates from a much smaller (~10^{14} cm) sized region close to
the stellar photosphere. Thermal excitation of the lines requires a gas density
of ~10^{9} cm^{-3}, about an order of magnitude higher than the expected gas
density based previous infrared observations and models of the inner dust shell
of IRC+10216.
