Archive for January, 2012

Remembering Happy Days

January 30, 2012

Dad, Virginia Smith and Mom, Boonville, Indiana. October 5, 2006.

(Note:  All pictures may be enlarged by clicking on them once or twice.)

One advantage of cold, wet winter days is that I have more time to work at my computer.

I recently came across some pictures that I took back in October, 2006.  Betsy and I had driven Mom and Dad up to Mom’s hometown of Winslow, Indiana.  On the way we stopped in Boonville, Indiana, to visit their friend, Virginia Smith.

Virginia was Mom’s best friend in school.  When they were seniors, Virginia started dating Leonard Smith, who was Dad’s best friend in the CCC.  Dad and Leonard were stationed at a CCC camp outside Winslow, working on what would become a state park.  Needless to say, it wasn’t long before Virginia and Leonard and Mom and Dad were double dating.

Virginia and Leonard got married shortly after Virginia graduated from high school, but my grandmother made Mom wait until she was twenty before she married.  Mom was a good daughter and didn’t get married until three days after she turned twenty.

Mom and Dad and the Smiths remained friends through the years.  Leonard died in the mid 1980s, but Mom, Dad and Virginia remained in touch and visited whenever possible.

Virginia died in 2010, and Mom died last year.  Now Dad — 99 years young — is the only one left.  But it was a blessing back in 2006 for Betsy and me to be there as these three remembered the happy days gone by.

SkyWatch Friday: Icy Trees, Blue Skies

January 27, 2012

Icy tree branches on a beautiful winter day, Fairfield Glade, Tennessee. January 31, 2010.

(Note:  All pictures may be enlarged by clicking on them once or twice.)

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.

We’ve had a mild winter so far this year, and I’m not complaining,  But I will admit that snow — and even ice — can be beautiful as long as I don’t have to drive in it.  I took this picture in our yard a couple of years ago, and thing the icy branches look good against the blue sky.

Watery Wednesday: Rutledge Falls

January 25, 2012

Rutledge Falls, Tullahoma, Tennessee. January 19, 2012.

(Note:  All pictures may be enlarged by clicking on them once or twice.)

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.

After visiting Dad last week in Tullahoma, Betsy and I decided to swing by Rutledge Falls on our way home.  We had been there a couple of years ago, but thought since we’ve had a pretty wet year that there might be more water this time.  We were right.

Rutledge Falls is on private property, but the owners have made it accessible to the public.  We are thankful that they are willing to share this beauty with us.

Our World: Natural Bridge at Yahoo Falls

January 24, 2012

The natural bridge at Yahoo Falls, Boone National Forest, Kentucky. September 30, 2006.

(Note:  All pictures may be enlarged by clicking on them.
This is my post for the Our World meme.  This meme is a second generation of My World Tuesday created by Klaus Peter and is hosted by five wonderful ladies.  To learn more about our world or to join and share your part of the world, click HERE.

Betsy and I plan most of our hikes to visit waterfalls, but we occasionally find a bonus attraction.  This was the case in September, 2006, when we hiked to Yahoo Falls in Kentucky.  We were hiking a loop trail, and after seeing the falls we came to a junction with a trail leading to a natural bridge.

It was a pretty day, so we hiked the extra mile to see the natural bridge.  It was low, but it definitely was a bridge.  It was also fairly wide.

Under the natural bridge at Yahoo Falls. September 30, 2006.

I scrambled under the bridge and got this picture of of the underside.  I had to use a flash to get any thing at all.

Looking through the natural bridge at Yahoo Falls, Kentucky. September 30, 2006.

I went through the smaller (upper) opening and then shot through the bridge to get this picture.  You can see the trail leading to the bridge.  This was a nice bonus to our waterfall visit.

SkyWatch Friday: Remembering Summer Skies

January 20, 2012

Summer skies on the Cumberland Plateau, Hebbertsburg, Tennessee.  June 27, 2010.

(Note:  All pictures may be enlarged by clicking on them once or twice.)

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.

Even though it’s January with cold temperatures and gray skies, it’s nice to remember the blue skies and white clouds of summer.  This picture was taken in June here on the Cumberland Plateau not far from our house.

Watery Wednesday: Bald River Hike (Part II)

January 18, 2012

Bald River Falls, Tellico Plains, Tennessee. June 18, 2010.

(Note:  All pictures may be enlarged by clicking on them once or twice.)

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.

As I mentioned in last week’s Watery Wednesday post, while Betsy, who was recovering from knee surgery, enjoyed Bald River Falls, I hiked along the river above the falls and found three other waterfalls and a cascade.  I told about the first waterfall and the cascade in that previous post.

The trail (Bald River Trail #88) got more difficult once I got above Bald River Cascades.  I did find two more waterfalls, but was not able to get real good views of either.

Suislide Falls, Tellico Plains, Tennessee. June 18, 2010.

I could only view Suislide Falls from the top of the falls.  Suislide (I have no idea how it got that name) Falls drops approximately 30 feet.  If I get back there I would like to see if I can bushwhack to the base of the falls, but I didn’t have time to try anything like that on this visit.

Shallow Falls, Tellico Plains, Tennessee. June 18, 2011.

Shallow Falls is immediately upstream from Suislide Falls.  It drops from 15 to 20 feet, and I was able to get a pretty good shot of it with my telephoto lens.  I would like to do some bushwhacking around this waterfall as well, but that, too, will have to wait for another time.

I was a little over half a mile from Bald River Falls when I spotted Shallow Falls, and it was time to head back to my Beautiful Bride.

Our World: Rural Tennessee

January 17, 2012

Farm and mountains in Grassy Cove, Tennessee. July 18, 2010.

(Note:  All pictures may be enlarged by clicking on them.)

This is my post for the Our World meme.  This meme is a second generation of My World Tuesday created by Klaus Peter and is hosted by five wonderful ladies.  To learn more about our world or to join and share your part of the world, click HERE.

With all the technology we have in our lives — computers, smart phones, the world wide web, satellite television — it sometimes feels as if we are all living at a fast pace in a large city.  But of course, that’s not true.

Some of us are fortunate enough to live a slower-paced life in a rural area.  The Plateau of Tennessee is one of those places.  One of our favorite areas up here is Grassy Cove south of Crossville.  Driving some of the back roads is almost like going back in time.

A barn in Grassy Cove, Tennessee. July 18, 2010.

These pictures were taken back in July.  Green grass, blue skies, mountains, and a red barn.  Life can’t get much better than this.

SkyWatch Friday: Moon Over the Glade

January 13, 2012

The moon over Fairfield Glade, Tennessee. June 22, 2010.

(Note:  All pictures may be enlarged by clicking on them once or twice.)

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.

I was going through some of my archived photos when I came across this picture of the moon taken back in June, 2010.  Looking more closely at the photo, I noticed craters and ridges on the lower left side of the moon.  This may be the best picture of the moon I have taken that shows these features.  I’m posting a photo that is large and can be enlarged twice.  That’s the best way to see the craters and ridges.  I hope you find the photo as interesting as I do.

Watery Wednesday: Bald River Hike

January 11, 2012

Bald River Falls, Tellico Plains, Tennessee. June 18, 2010.

(Note:  All pictures may be enlarged by clicking on them once or twice.)

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.

Betsy and I have been to Bald River Falls, near Tellico Plains, Tennessee, several times.  The waterfall is pretty and can be seen from the road.  We went to see Bald River Falls in June, 2010, while Betsy was recovering from knee surgery since she could enjoy the waterfall without doing much walking.

We had known that there was a hiking trail (Bald River Trail #88) along the river above the falls, but we had never hiked it.  So while Betsy was enjoying Bald River Falls, I took a quick hike along the trail to see what I could find.

Kahuna Falls, Tellico Plains, Tennessee. June 18, 2011.

What I found was three additional waterfalls and a cascade along Bald River above the main falls.  The first new water fall I came upon was Kahuna Falls, which is just a short distance above Bald River Falls.  Kahuna Falls is 10 – 15 feet high.

Bald River Cascades, Tellico Plains, Tennessee. June 18, 2011.

Continuing upstream, I came upon Bald River Cascades.  The river tumbles down a series of steps, with a total drop about equal to the drop of Kahuna Falls.

I’ll share the last two waterfalls in a later post.

Scenic Sunday: Evening in the Mountains

January 8, 2012

Evening in the western North Carolina Mountains, Otto, North Carolina. August 15, 2006.

(Note:  All pictures may be enlarged by clicking on them once or twice.)

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.

Evenings in the mountains can be magical times.  We were visiting our friends Judy and Charlie at their cabin near Otto, North Carolina, when I snapped this picture.  The sun was starting to drop behind the mountains, and mist was rising in the valleys.  The dead tree seemed to add a sense of mystery to the scene.