Our World: Grandfather Mountain

December 17, 2012

The view from Grandfather Mountain, North Carolina. November 8, 2012.

 

 

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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.

Grandfather Mountain in North Carolina is the highest peak in the Blue Ridge Mountain range.  It is also the only private park in the world designated by UNESCO as an International Biosphere Reserve.  Grandfather Mountain received this designation because of the sixteen different habitat communities that can be found on the mountain.  The vegetation on some parts of the mountain has more in common with northern Canada than North Carolina.

We visited Grandfather Mountain on a beautiful but cold and windy day in November.  The picture above shows the view from the first overlook on the road leading to the summit and the Mile High Swinging Bridge.

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Skywatch Friday: Tennessee Sky

December 7, 2012

Looking toward the Smoky Mountains from the Foothills Parkway near Townsend, Tennessee. October 23, 2012.

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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.

Some people come to East Tennessee to enjoy the glorious autumn colors.  Other come to see our majestic mountains.  When both are present under a beautiful Tennessee sky, there’s not a better place to be.

This picture was taken on the Foothills Parkway looking toward the Smoky Mountains in October of this year.

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Micro Moon

December 5, 2012
Full Moon over Fairfield Glade, Tennessee. November 28, 2012.

Full Moon over Fairfield Glade, Tennessee. November 28, 2012.

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Did you see last week’s full moon?  It turns out that it was really a Micro Moon.  On November 28, 2012 the smallest Full Moon of 2012 reached its full phase only about 4 hours before its apogee, the most distant point from Earth in the Moon’s elliptical orbit.

We’ll have to wait until January 16, 2014, to see the next Micro Moon.  On that date the moon will reach its full phase within about three hours of apogee.

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Our World: Cox Covered Bridge

December 3, 2012

Cox Covered Bridge, Vinton County, Ohio. October 18, 2012.

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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 enjoy traveling back roads whenever possible.  It may take us a little longer to get somewhere, but that’s usually not a problem.  Besides, we often come across some very interesting sights.

On our way home from our visit to Hocking Hills State Park in Ohio, our GPS took us along two-lane Ohio 93.  We were enjoying the autumn color when Betsy spotted a covered bridge.  Of course we stopped to investigate.

The Cox Covered Bridge was built in 1884, and served as the road bridge over Brushy Creek in Vinton County, Ohio, until 1992.  That year the bridge was moved 20 feet north to rest on a concrete foundation.  The bridge no longer carries traffic, but it can be walked across.

Autumn color as seen looking through the Cox Covered Bridge. October 18, 2012.

We got a great view of a beautiful orange tree looking through the bridge.

Satellite image of Cox Covered Bridge, Vinton County, Ohio.

The above image from Google Earth shows the location of the bridge.  There were no nearby towns, but the Vinton County Airport is off to the southeast.  The red dot shows our position in front of the bridge.

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Family Time

November 30, 2012

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It’s always a special time for Betsy when her middle son from Texas visits east Tennessee with his wife and two daughters.  They have many people to see in a short time, but we were able to spend the afternoon of Friday following Thanksgiving with them at Fall Creek Falls State Park.  We had a delicious lunch and  visit in the park lodge and then went to the Fall Creek Falls overlook to see the waterfall and take some pictures.

Judging from the smiles, it’s safe to say that everyone enjoyed themselves.

 

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Fall Creek Falls

November 28, 2012

Fall Creek Falls, Fall Creek Falls State Park, Tennessee. November 23, 2012.

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Betsy and I went to one of our very favorites places — Fall Creek Falls State Park here in Tennessee — on the Friday after Thanksgiving to meet one of her Texas sons and family for lunch and a visit.

After a delicious lunch and much conversation we all went to the overlook to see Fall Creek Falls.  There wasn’t a great deal of water going over the falls, and the sun was in the worst possible position for pictures, but I tried to get one anyway.  I was shooting into the sun, so the falls and its bowl were in shadow.  But the iron in the water gave the rocks of the waterfall a neat color that I just had to try and capture.

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Our World: Another Smokies Panorama

November 26, 2012

Looking toward the Smoky Mountains from the Foothills Parkway, Tennessee. October 23, 2012.

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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.

This is another panorama I put together after Betsy and I traveled the Foothills Parkway in late October.  We stopped at several overlooks along the way, and at several of them I took photos which I hoped I could merge into a single panorama image.  This picture was taken looking toward the Smokies.  I like both the autumn color in the foreground and the blue sky above the mountains.

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Our World: Ohio Autumn

November 19, 2012

Autumn scenes from Ohio, October 15-16, 2012.

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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.

In mid-October Betsy and I went up to Ohio to meet our friends Patti and Neal at Hocking Hills State Park.  We had two wonderful days of fellowship, hiking, and beautiful autumn colors.

Two of the pictures in the collage were taken at a rest area on our way to Hocking Hills (I even managed to get Betsy in one of the photos).  The whimsical sculpture was almost as colorful as the trees.  The other two pictures were taken during a hike to a natural bridge in Rockbridge State Nature Preserve near Logan, Ohio.

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Skywatch Friday: Betsy’s Sky Pictures (2)

November 16, 2012

Sunset on the Cumberland Plateau. October 23, 2012.    (Photo by Betsy)

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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.

Betsy and I drove the Foothills Parkway in October so we could enjoy some of the Smokies’ autumn color.  As we drove home in, Betsy was able to get some pictures of the evening sky as we drove up onto the Plateau.  As you can see from the photo above, the sunset was spectacular.

Evening sky on the Cumberland Plateau. October 23, 2012. (Photo by Betsy)

Even after the sun dropped below the Plateau on the west, the sky continued to put on a show.

Evening sky on the Cumberland Plateau. October 23, 2012. (Photo by Betsy)

The variety of cloud forms and colors was amazing.

Evening sky on the Cumberland Plateau. October 23, 2012. (Photo by Betsy)

Each passing moment seemed to bring new color and forms — even the trail of a passing jet.

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Mother of the Groom

November 14, 2012

Betsy and son Jeff’s wedding, Dalton, Georgia. October 6, 2012.

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Betsy’s son Jeff got married last month, and while the bride was beautiful, there is no doubt in my mind that the prettiest woman at the church was the Mother of the Groom.

Betsy and son Jeff’s wedding, Dalton, Georgia. October 6, 2012.

In the past Betsy has been self-conscious about her weight, and I often had trouble getting her to let me take her picture.  But now that she’s close to what she weighed in high school, I think she rather enjoys having her picture taken.

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Posted in Betsy | 23 Comments »

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