Pink Promise Rose, Fairfield Glade, Tennessee. October 30, 2009.
One nice thing about living in Tennessee is that the growing season lasts longer than it does in Ohio. Even though it is the end of October we still have roses in bloom at the house.
I took the picture of this beauty, Pink Promise, yesterday (Friday). We have buds and blossoms on several other roses as well. I hope we can enjoy them before we get our first frost.
A beautiful autumn sky, Cherohala Skyway, Tennessee. October 25, 2009.
This is my post for Skywatch Friday, a meme for sharing views of the sky from all over the world. To see more, or to join and share your own photos of the sky, click HERE.
Because of the rockslide on I-40, Betsy and i came home by coming from North Carolina to Tennessee on the Cherohala Skyway. The scenery along the skyway is beautiful any time, but this particular day the autumn colors were stunning, especially along the middle elevations.
The picture above has just about everything you could ask for on a beautiful autumn afternoon: bright colored leaves, a clear blue sky, and, if you look closely (the picture can be enlarged), a beautiful moon in that blue sky.
Autumn color in the Glade. October 29, 2009.
Yesterday (Wednesday) was a busy day for us. We made our weekly trip to town to do the grocery shopping and to help rescue the economy. It was cloudy while we were in town.
On the way back home we noticed blue sky peeking between the clouds. By afternoon, when I was out stacking wood, the sky was clear. I noticed the sunlight on the trees behind our house and had to go get my camera.
At this rate it may take longer than planned to get that wood stacked!
Becky Branch Falls, Clayton, Georgia. October 13, 2009.
This is my post for Watery Wednesday. To see more of our beautiful watery world, or to join and post your own pictures to share, click HERE.
Earlier this month Betsy and I went back to northern Georgia to revisit the waterfalls in Tallulah Gorge and to visit some new ones for the first time. One of our new waterfalls was Becky Branch Falls, near Clayton, Georgia.
Becky Branch Falls is near the Warwoman Dell Recreation Area east of Clayton. The falls is reached by a steep, but short, trail from the parking area. When we reached the falls we decided that the hike was definitely worth it.
The view from the Blue Ridge Parkway near Maggie Valley, North Carolina. October 25, 2009.
This is my post for the My World meme. It is hosted by Klaus, Ivar, Sandy, Wren, Louise and Fishing Guy. To learn more about our world or to join and share your part of the world, click HERE.
Since the direct route home from Maggie Valley was closed because of the rock slide on I-40, Betsy and I decided to get home by going south on the Blue Ridge Parkway and then west on the Cherohala Skyway. We were hoping that we could find some autumn color while avoiding the masses of traffic around Gatlinburg and in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
It was a beautiful day with a clear blue sky. Most of the color was gone from the higher elevations as you can see from the picture above. But there was more color at the lower elevations.
Woodfin Cascades, North Carolina. October 25, 2009.
No trip would be complete for Betsy and me if we didn’t find a waterfall. We had to view Woodfin Cascades from across a valley, but it was still a nice addition to our collection.
The Cherohala Skyway is a 36-mile road from Robbinsville, North Carolina, to Tellico Plains, Tennessee. Along the way it crosses the 5400 foot mountains on the border of the two states. There are very few signs of civilization along most of the skyway. Construction of the skyway began in 1960 and it finally opened in 1994.
Color along the Cherohala Skyway, North Carolina. October 25, 2009.
We probably saw the most vibrant colors of the trip on the skyway. The picture above is only a small sample of what we enjoyed along the way.
The rock slide on I-40, October 25, 2009. Photo by wpsa.com
Yesterday (Sunday) started at an early hour for me. I knew Betsy had to check out of the cabin in Maggie Valley at 9 o’clock (ignoring the time change). I also know that it took three hours to get from Maggie Valley to the house on Tuesday. So I set the alarm for 4 o’clock and was on the road before five. I would get there to Maggie Valley with an hour to spare.
Everything went well until about 7 o’clock , as I was approaching Newport, Tennessee. Flashing lights, a police car and a fire truck announced that there was a problem up ahead. It turns out that there had been a major rock slide on I-40 at about 2 o’clock Sunday morning. The rock slide caused about 30 miles of the interstate to be closed. The closed section runs through the Pigeon River Gorge and is just about the only way to get through that part of the mountains.
There were volunteers giving directions, but unfortunately they didn’t agree on the way to get from where I was to Maggie Valley. Following one set of directions took me in a circle and brought me back to the exit where I had to get off. Our GPS can select a route by the shortest distance or by the faster time. Both routes used the closed section of the interstate. I finally gave up and took a route that I knew would get me there — eventually. To make a long story (and trip) short, I finally got to the cabin just before 11 o’clock. That three hour trip took six hours.
Fortunately Betsy hadn’t given up on me and I got reunited with my Beautiful Bride. Since the interstate was closed we decided to go back home over the Cherohala Parkway. The autumn colors were gorgeous, but I’ll save that for tomorrow.
Sunday night they were reporting that the interstate will be closed for at least two months. We might not be traveling east for the next couple of months.
Maggie Valley, North Carolina. October 20, 2009.
This is my post for the Scenic Sunday meme, which shares beautiful scenes from around the world. To see more Scenic Sunday posts, or to join and show your own pictures, click HERE.
Betsy has been in Maggie Valley, North Carolina, since Tuesday. She said that the colors had just exploded over the past couple of days, but I thought the scenery was pretty good on Tuesday. The picture above was taken on the deck of the cabin they’ve rented. I’m looking forward to seeing the view when I pick Betsy up today.
Our side yard, Fairfield Glade. October 23, 2009.
I’ve always felt that I was pretty good at handling life’s little setbacks and disappointments. I thought I could handle any adversity, but I’m beginning to have second thoughts.
As you know, Betsy is in Maggie Valley, North Carolina, with her childhood girlfriends. She didn’t want me to be bored while she was gone, so she left me with a fairly extensive ‘honey-do’ list. The two biggest items on the list were mowing the lawn (and picking up the leaves) and stacking the firewood that we were expecting to be delivered.
I finished the lawn on Thursday and it looked pretty good, if I do say so myself. And just before it got dark on Thursday, the firewood was delivered and dumped in the side yard.
Unfortunately wood wasn’t the only thing that came Thursday. Thursday night brought high winds and rain which continued off and on until Friday afternoon. When the rain finally ended I went out, picked up the many branches that had fallen during the storm, and faced my dilemma.
As you can see from the picture above there is a lot of wood to be stacked, and there also a lot of leaves on the ground. There’s more wood than I can stack in a single day and the leaves are wet, so it’s going to take more than a day to clean them all up.
So the question — is do I have the necessary courage to face Betsy with an incomplete ‘honey-do list’? What do you think her reaction will be? Do you think I’ll end up in the dog house? Would it do any good to ask Betsy to extend her vacation so I have more time to finish the list?
Western North Carolina mountains and sky. July 11, 2009.
This is my post for Skywatch Friday, a meme for sharing views of the sky from all over the world. To see more, or to join and share your own photos of the sky, click HERE.
Since Betsy is away in the mountains of North Carolina, I thought I would share this picture of the sky and mountains taken earlier this year. Betsy is in Maggie Valley and this picture was taken north of Asheville, but the sky and mountains are majestic in both places.
Betsy at Stone Mountain Park, Atlanta, Georgia. June 2, 2001.
Since my bride is away for most of this week, I’ve been looking over some pictures of our life together. (Can you tell that I miss her?)
Three weeks before we were married in June, 2001, Betsy and I were invited to the wedding of the son of Betsy’s friend, Susan. Susan is one of the Get-Away Gang that is with Betsy in Maggie Valley this week, and she and Betsy have been friends since grade school. The wedding was in Atlanta and we were invited to the rehearsal dinner Friday night as well as the wedding on Saturday.
Since we were free for most of the day on Saturday, Betsy and I took advantage of the opportunity to visit Stone Mountain Park near Atlanta, which is where the picture above was taken. In addition to admiring the carving on the mountain and the covered bridge, we took the tram to the top of the mountain. (That was before we got serious about hiking — I’m sure Betsy would insist on hiking to the top nowadays.)
If you would like to see more of our weekend in Atlanta click HERE.
Senior Moments 