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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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Betsy and I have been celebrating our anniversary at Pisgah Inn on the Blue Ridge Parkway in North Carolina. We keep going back because of the views of the mountains are amazing. We very much enjoy sitting on the balcony of our room and taking in the view.
We usually hope for clear, sunny days when we’re visiting the inn, but a cloudy, overcast day has a beauty of its own, as the picture above shows. In the early morning light we were able to look down on some of the clouds covering the valley and some of the mountain peaks.
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Betsy and I made our first trip out west back in 2011. The scenery we enjoyed as we traveled was definitely different from the landscape we have in eastern Tennessee. There were times when we felt we were driving through the set of a western movie or television show. When we saw this town (our GPS said it was Laguna, New Mexico) in the distance we just had to pull over and get a picture.
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Since we have had many more visits from deer into our yard over the past couple of years, we’ve had to shift many of our roses from the bed in front to containers on our deck. (So far the deer haven’t climbed onto the deck in search of their snacks!) Fortunately, the roses seem to be doing fairly well in their containers. This is Color Magic, one of our favorites.
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Looking Glass Falls is a beautiful waterfall near Brevard, North Carolina. Betsy and I have visited it many times over the years, and as we get older we appreciate it more and more. The waterfall is right by the roadside — no hiking required!
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I happen to think that roses are beautiful, but there is something about water droplets on the blossoms that makes them even more appealing. This is Elle in a picture taken after a shower last year.
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I’m guessing that the dark colors are responsible for the name of this iris — Hellfire. But in spite of the name, I think this is a beautiful iris, especially when the sun hits it just right. We’ve had this in our yard for several years now, and we always look forward to seeing it bloom.
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I captured this picture of the setting sun back in April while visiting Mark and Robin in Maryville, Tennessee. Sometimes I just get lucky!
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I captured this image as a slide when I visited the Great Wall for the first time in 1987. I had climbed along the wall above the gate at Badaling (near Beijing), and was rewarded with the sight of the wall winding along the ridges and mountain tops. It was truly an amazing sight!
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There are many beautiful scenic spots to enjoy in the Smokies, especially if you can be there before the tourist season begins in earnest. One place we enjoy visiting is The Sinks, which is along Little River Road in the park. I got this picture in March, when we went to Cades Cove to celebrate my birthday. March 9, 2023.
Senior Moments 