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For several years Betsy and I would take a ‘leaf peeking’ trip in mid-October to enjoy the autumn colors in the mountains of east Tennessee and western North Carolina. We would usually make a loop of our trip, taking in both the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and the Cherohala Skyway. We almost always stop at Indian Boundary, which is off the Cherohala. This is the view we enjoyed last year.
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We’ve had our first freeze warning of the season, but before Old Man Winter comes for a prolonged visit I thought I would get in at least one more autumn photo. The vacant lot adjacent to our house has some sumac bushes along the road, and I got this picture of the leaves a few years ago. I think the color of the leaves is beautiful and speaks of the glory of autumn here on the Plateau.
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One of the nice things about living in eastern Tennessee is that autumn in the mountains can be spectacular. There’s no guarantee of course — Mother Nature is going to do what she wants when she wants to do it. There have been years when the autumn colors are muted and quite frankly, drab. But there are other years during which the colors on the mountains take your breath away.
My Beautiful Bride and I try to go on a ‘leaf-hunting’ trip every year. We usually make a loop — going through the Smokies over Newfound Gap, and coming the other way over the Cherohala Parkway.
The picture above was taken along the Cherohala Parkway connecting North Carolina and Tennessee several years ago. We hope we are as fortunate this year.
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In October of this past year Betsy and I headed to North Carolina in search of some autumn colors. Along the way we decided to stop by Bald River Falls near Tellico Plains, Tennessee. This is a beautiful waterfall we have visited several times, and we’ve never tired of seeing it.
The curtain of water falling over the rocks made beautiful patterns along the face of the falls.
Betsy added to the beauty of the falls by standing on the bridge over Bald River with the falls and vibrant autumn colors in the background.
The Tellico River was also a gorgeous sight as it flowed past its conjunction with Bald River.
A panorama of the Smoky Mountains as seen from the Foothills Parkway in Tennessee. October 23, 2012.
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Last week Betsy and I drove along the Foothills Parkway, which is just west of the Smoky Mountains. We were able to enjoy the autumn colors and beautiful views without getting caught in all the traffic of the Smoky Mountains National Park.
The views were spectacular, and I was inspired to try to get a panorama of the scene. The picture above is my first effort, created by merging three photos in Photoshop. I don’t think it looks too shabby, if I do say so myself.
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Betsy and I love driving through the mountains just about any time of the year, provided there are places where we can turn off and enjoy the view. One of our favorite drives is the Cherohala Skyway between Robbinsville, North Carolina, and Tellico Plains, Tennessee.
We made this drive from east to west in October, 2009, when the autumn colors were very near their peak. The collage above gives a sample of the beauty we enjoyed, but no photograph can capture the splendor of those mountains in their multi-colored glory. If you get the opportunity to make this drive during autumn, I encourage you to do so.
To see larger versions of these pictures and others, click HERE.
Autumn color on the Cherohala Skyway between North Carolina and Tennessee. October 25, 2009.
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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.
Autumn in the mountains of eastern Tennessee and western North Carolina can be absolutely beautiful. This time of the year Betsy and I thoroughly enjoy driving the Blue Ridge Parkway or the Cherohala Skyway. We don’t make great time on our drives because we stop at every opportunity to enjoy the color, but we wouldn’t have it any other way.
Red and gold leaves of autumn. October 25, 2009.
These pictures, taken from my archives, show what autumn looks like along the Cherohala Skyway.
Lake Glastowbury, Fairfield Glade, Tennessee. October 14, 2010.
Last Thursday Betsy and I drove to the Foothills Parkway on the edge of the Smokies looking for autumn color. But we found some pretty autumn color even before leaving the Glade.
We decided to take the back way from home to avoid some of the traffic and crossed the dam forming Lake Glastowbury, which is about two miles from our house.
Lake Glastowbury is one of eleven man-made lakes in Fairfield Glade. While Glastowbury is not the largest, it is a pretty lake. Most of the homes along the lake are on wooded lots, so it’s easy to imagine being out in the country.
The view as we crossed the dam was so pretty that we took advantage of a pullout and stopped to get some pictures.
Autumn colors on Lake Glastowbury, Fairfield Glade, Tennessee. October 14, 2010.
It’s really nice to have such wonderful autumn color in our ‘hometown’.
Betsy along Little River in the Smokies. October, 2002.
Most of the leaves have fallen from the trees around our house, so in many ways the pretty part of autumn is just about over for us. But I’m not sure which season is going to follow — the temperatures were in the mid-70s Sunday. That’s entirely too warm to be raking leaves! Some of our blogger friends have been complaining about the temperatures in Florida. I think they must have sent that warm weather our way. I’m going to try to send it back!
Although most of our leaves are gone, we still have many memories of of beautiful autumn colors from years past. In October of 2002 Betsy and I spent a long weekend in the Smokies. Of course we checked out some waterfalls, but we also enjoyed some wonderful autumn colors.
In the picture above my favorite tree hugger is making a tree along Little River very happy. To see more of autumn in the Smokies click HERE.
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!
Senior Moments 