Scenic Sunday #121: Cataloochie Valley

November 7, 2010

Mist in the Cataloochee Valley, North Carolina. October 20, 2010.

 

 

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.

I posted about the elk we saw in the Cataloochee Valley of the Smoky Mountains a couple of weeks ago.  But our visit to the valley was scenic for more reasons than the elk.  The morning of our visit was foggy and misty, which showed one explanation for the name of the mountains surrounding the valley.

The picture above was taken at the meadow along Ranger Station Road where we saw the largest herd of elk.  The picture is looking east past the meadow.

This second photo is taken from another meadow on the same road.  This meadow is past the Caldwell House and this photo looks northeast.

The southwest view from the same meadow gave this picture of the mountains amid mist and clouds .

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Skywatch Friday: Autumn Skies

November 5, 2010

The view from Balsam Mountain, North Carolina. October 19, 2010.

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.

Last month Betsy and I went to the mountains to see the autumn colors, but the autumn skies were also pretty impressive.  Autumn skies are often a beautiful blue, and that was the case during the three days we were gone.  The picture above was taken on Balsam Mountain; it was a clear day and the mountains seemed to go on forever.

The view from the Blue Ridge Parkway near Mt. Pisgah, North Carolina. October 20, 2010.

This picture was taken the next day on the Blue Ridge Parkway near Mt. Pisgah, North Carolina.

Morning in Maggie Valley, North Carolina. October 21, 2010.

We had an early breakfast on our third morning.  When we came out of the restaurant it was still in shadows, but sunlight was touching the top of the ridge on the other side of the gap.

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Down Memory Lane: The Great Wall (1990)

November 4, 2010

I went to China for the second time in 1990.  Our hosts took us to some of the places I had seen in 1987, including the Great Wall at Badaling near Beijing.

I don’t think it is possible to visit the Great Wall too many times and I found it to be as inspiring the second time as it was the first.  But this time, instead of following the tour groups, I headed in the opposite direction and climbed a part of the wall that I had not been been on before.

I did notice some differences in the three years since I had been there before.  There were more Chinese families visiting the Wall, and they were younger than the visitors I had seen before.  They were also more colorfully dressed than previously.

After getting over the ridge I came to a portion of the Wall that was out of sight for most tourists.  This part of the Wall had not been reconstructed; watchtowers were in ruins and parts of the wall had disappeared.  In many ways, this part of the Great Wall was even more impressive than the restored parts.  The great age of the wall was obvious among the ruins, as was all the effort and suffering that went into its building.

I would definitely go back to visit the Great Wall again!

To see these pictures and others, click HERE.

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Watery Wednesday #112: Middle DeSoto Falls

November 3, 2010

Middle DeSoto Falls, Turner's Corner, Georgia. August 2, 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.

Although Betsy and I ‘collect’ waterfalls, we enjoy the hikes almost as much as the waterfalls themselves.  Last August we enjoyed a hike through a Georgia pine forest to Middle DeSoto Falls.  There wasn’t a lot of water going over the falls, but the fall had an almost lacy quality to it.  We felt Middle DeSoto Falls was a nice addition to our collection.

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My World: The Second Time Around

November 2, 2010

South Sea Daylily, Fairfield Glade, Tennessee. October 2, 2010.

This is my post for the My World meme.  It is hosted by Klaus, Ivar, Sandy, Wren, and Fishing Guy.  To learn more about our world or to join and share your part of the world, click HERE.

We’re being threatened with freezing temperatures over the weekend, but in the meantime we’re enjoying some of our flowers that are blooming for the second time this year.  We have daylilies and irises that bloom in both Spring and Autumn.

Our South Sea daylily (pictured above) started blooming again in early October.

Hemstitched Iris, Fairfield Glade, Tennessee. October 23, 2010.

We currently  have two irises in bloom.  Hemstitched (I have no idea where that name came from) started blooming again about ten days ago.

Floor Show Iris, Fairfield Glade, Tennessee. October 27, 2010.

The other blooming iris is Floor Show.  I’m guessing that it got that name because it is quite showy.

Most of our roses are continuing to bloom as well.  You are welcome to stop by and enjoy the flowers in our yard, but it looks as if you need to get here before the weekend.

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Scenic Sunday #120: Autumn Reflections

November 1, 2010

Santeetlah Lake, Robbinsville, North Carolina. October 21, 2010.

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 and I came home from our stay in Maggie Valley, North Carolina, on the Cherohala Skyway which goes over the mountains from North Carolina to Tennessee.

The autumn colors were beautiful, but I also had the chance to see those colors reflected in various bodies above.

The picture above was taken at Santeetlah Lake near Robbinsville, North Carolina, before we reached the skyway.

Tellico River, Tellico Plains, Tennessee. October 21, 2010.

As we neared the Tennessee end of the skyway, we turned off to go with Patti and Neal to Bald River Falls near Tellico Plains, Tennessee.  After visiting the falls, we drove along Tellico River Road as we headed toward home.  The sun was beginning to drop behind the mountains, putting parts of the river in shadow.  I found a pullout so I could stop and capture this second picture.

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Skywatch Friday: The Sequatchie Valley

October 29, 2010

The Cumberland Plateau enshrouded in clouds and the Sequatchie Valley. October 25, 2010.

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.

When Betsy and I went to Georgia this past Monday, we came off the Cumberland Plateau, drove through part of the Sequatichie Valley, and then drove over Signal Mountain to Chattanooga.  As we drove up the mountain I couldn’t resist the temptation to stop at an overlook and snap these pictures.

It was raining when we left home, although the weather started to clear as we drove along.  When we got to the overlook there was some blue in the sky, although the Plateau was still covered by clouds.

The clouds had lifted enough that we had a wonderful view of the valley.

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Cataloochee Valley Elk

October 28, 2010

A bull elk in Cataloochee Valley, North Carolina. October 20, 2010.

One of the high points of our visit to North Carolina was getting to see the elk in the Cataloochee Valley.  We got up early on a foggy Wednesday morning and drove to Cataloochee.

Elk once roamed the southern Appalachian Mountains, but they were eliminated from the region by over-hunting and loss of habitat.  The last elk in North Carolina was believed to have been killed in the late 1700s.

In February, 2001, there was an experimental release of 25 elk into the Cataloochee Valley of Great Smoky Mountains National Park.  In 2002, another 27 elk were introduced.

We first saw elk in a field along Ranger Station Road, the main road leading into the valley.  There were twenty of so elk in a field bordering the road.  The bull elk in the picture above was apparently the dominate male, and his bugling call could be clearly heard.
Elk grazing in a field in Cataloochee Valley. October 20, 2010.
The herd we saw consisted mostly of females and young elk, although there were one or two other males in the herd as well.

A bull elk relaxing in a field in Cataloochee Valley, North Carolina. October 20, 2010.

We then drove over to see the Palmer House on National Park Road.  As we pulled into the parking area, we saw two more bull elk in a field across the road.  The bull in the picture above was one of those bulls.

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Thankful for Blogging Friends

October 27, 2010

Mildred, John and Harriet on the porch of their home. October 25, 2010.

Betsy and I were fortunate to be able to enjoy an early Thanksgiving this past Monday.  We had planned to meet blog friend Mildred and her husband, John, at their home in northern Georgia.  What we didn’t know was that Mildred had a wonderful Thanksgiving lunch planned for us.  The lunch was delicious and was topped off with a new treat for me — pumpkin ice cream on pumpkin coffee cake.

One reason we went down to visit them was that John has been having some health problems and we have been thinking and praying for the two of them.

The picture above shows Mildred and John with Harriet, the third member of their family.

This scarecrow welcomed us to Mildred and John's home.

Mildred is very creative and talented (in addition to being a great cook) and had this welcome set up for us on their screened-in porch.

Betsy and Harriet. October 25, 2010.

We had a wonderful visit with Mildred and John.  And, as you can see, Betsy found a new best friend while we were there.

Both Betsy and I are very thankful for blogger friends.

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My World: Autumn in the Smokies

October 26, 2010

Chimney Tops overlook, Newfound Gap Road, Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Tennessee. October 19, 2010.

This is my post for the My World meme.  It is hosted by Klaus, Ivar, Sandy, Wren, and Fishing Guy.  To learn more about our world or to join and share your part of the world, click HERE.

Last Tuesday Betsy and I drove Newfound Gap Road through the Smokies and part of the Blue Ridge Parkway in North Carolina.  We were on our way to Maggie Valley, North Carolina, but we took advantage of every opportunity to stop and enjoy the colors.

We had an absolutely gorgeous day, with bright sunshine and blue skies.  The colors may not have been at their peak, but they were close to it.  The picture above was taken at the Chimney Top overlook in Tennessee.

Webb Overlook, Newfound Gap Road, Great Smoky Mountains National Park, North Carolina. October 19, 2010.

As we headed down the mountain in North Carolina after passing Newfound Gap, we stopped at the Webb Overlook, where the trees were mostly yellow and orange.

Balsam Mountain, Great Smoky Mountains National Park, North Carolina. October 19, 2010.

Later in the afternoon we left the Blue Ridge Parkway to drive to Balsam Mountain, where we took a short hike to an overlook.  We found these beautiful colors along the trail.

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