Posts Tagged ‘Blue Ridge Parkway’

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Rise and Shine

September 25, 2018

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

I imagine that most ‘normal’ people use a vacation as an opportunity to sleep in and take things easy. Fortunately (or unfortunately) My Beautiful Bride and I are not ‘normal’. We often get up earlier than we normally would just to enjoy the sunrise.

That was certainly the case when we visited the Pisgah Inn on the Blue Ridge Parkway in North Carolina in August. We couldn’t see the sun from the balcony of our room, but the sky was still beautiful at sunrise. The picture above was taken the first morning we were there.

The fog in the valleys looked like a blanket spread around the mountains below us.

Looking to the west also gave us a peaceful, serene view of the world from the mountains.

The sunrise on our last morning at Pisgah Inn gave us a lot of incentive to come back.

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Posted in Travels | 11 Comments »

Morning in the Mountains

January 30, 2018

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

Betsy and I traveled to the Pisgah Inn on the Blue Ridge Parkway of North Carolina in October to enjoy the autumn colors. We found colorful trees, although there was not as much as we had hoped there would be. Mother Nature, however, more than made up for any lack of color on the trees by providing gorgeous color in the morning skies.

We got up at dawn each day to enjoy the show. The morning started with a single star shining down as the horizon turned a brilliant orange and red.

As the light increased we could see fog in the valleys below and mountain tops in the distance peeking through the fog.

The eastern sky slowly filled with yellow, orange, and gold colors, silhouetting some trees along the ridge line.

Yes, we definitely found some gorgeous colors in the mountains of North Carolina!

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Grandfather Mountain

February 16, 2016

 

 

In November, 2012, Betsy and I spent a couple of days in the mountains of eastern Tennessee and western North Carolina.  One of the places we visited was Grandfather Mountain, not too far from Blowing Rock, North Carolina.

The day we visited Grandfather Mountain was beautiful, but cold.  The cold didn’t bother us too much as we started up the mountain, stopping at the Sphinx, Split Rock and the Wildlife Habitat on the way.  But by the time we reached the Mile High Swinging Bridge at the top, the wind was really blowing and it was cold, COLD, COLD!  The weather had been mlld previously, so we weren’t prepared for the cold.

We made it across the bridge nevertheless, although for some reason there weren’t a lot of people around.  After thawing out in the Visitor Center at the top, we headed back down the mountain for some warmer temperatures.

This slide show contains images taken that day during our visit to Grandfather Mountain.  We’ve been back since, but the weather was milder at that time.

If you would like to see these and other images taken during our visit to Grandfather Mountain, along with a caption for each image, click HERE.

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Posted in Travels | 10 Comments »

Our World: Tanbark Ridge Overlook

August 19, 2013
Betsy at Tanbark Ridge Overlook, Blue Ridge Parkway, North Carolina. June 26, 2013.

Betsy at Tanbark Ridge Overlook, Blue Ridge Parkway, North Carolina. June 26, 2013.

(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.

In late June Betsy and I traveled to North Carolina to meet my son Robert and his family.  We took advantage of the opportunity to drive along one of our favorite roads, the Blue Ridge Parkway.

We picked up the Parkway in Asheville, North Carolina, and headed north.  We stopped at the Tanbark Ridge Overlook to enjoy the view.

TanbarkRidgePanorama13062601

The mountains and the sky were both beautiful, and I tried to capture that beauty as best as I could in this panoramic shot.

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Posted in Our World | 19 Comments »

SkyWatch Friday: Hole in the Clouds

August 2, 2013
The view from Tanbark Ridge Overlook, Blue Ridge Parkway, North Carolina. June 26, 2013.

The view from Tanbark Ridge Overlook, Blue Ridge Parkway, North Carolina. June 26, 2013.

(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.

Betsy and I met up with my son and his family in North Carolina late last month, and we used that as an excuse to drive along the Blue Ridge Parkway.  The Blue Ridge Parkway is sometimes called America’s most beautiful roadway, and I’m not about to argue with that.

The photo above was taken at the Tanbark Ridge Overlook north of Asheville.  The hole in the clouds was what first attracted my attention, but the photo also shows why the mountains are called the Blue Ridge Mountains.

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Posted in SkyWatch Friday | 26 Comments »

SkyWatch Friday: A Cloudy Day on the Blue Ridge Parkway

May 17, 2013
Waterrock Knob, Blue Ridge Parkway, North Carolina. August 4, 2011.

Waterrock Knob, Blue Ridge Parkway, North Carolina.
August 4, 2011.

(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.

The view from Waterrock Knob. August 4, 2011.

The view from Waterrock Knob. August 4, 2011.

The Blue Ridge Parkway is beautiful in any season and in any weather.  Cloudy weather may mean you can’t see as far into the distance as on a sunny day, but on a cloudy day it sometimes seems you can reach up and touch the clouds.

Mountains and clouds at Waterrock Knob, Blue Ridge Parkway, North Carolina. August 4, 2011.

Mountains and clouds at Waterrock Knob, Blue Ridge Parkway, North Carolina. August 4, 2011.

These pictures, from my archives, were taken on a cloudy August day at Waterrock Knob on the Blue Ridge Parkway.  These photos were taken while hiking from the parking area to an overlook higher on the knob.

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Posted in SkyWatch Friday | 25 Comments »

SkyWatch Friday: Blue Ridge Sky and Mountains

January 4, 2013

The view from Craggy Gardens on the Blue Ridge Parkway near Asheville, North Carolina. November 22, 2010.

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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.

Do the mountains reaching up to touch the clouds bring out the beauty of the sky, or do the clouds heighten the peaks and folds of the mountains?  All I know is that this beautiful scene was captured at Craggy Gardens on the Blue Ridge Parkway in North Carolina.

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Posted in SkyWatch Friday | 22 Comments »

Our World: Morning on the Blue Ridge Parkway

July 2, 2012

Morning at the Grassy Ridge Mine overlook on the Blue Ridge Parkway, North Carolina. April 4, 2012.

(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.

In early April Betsy and I spent a couple of nights in the mountains of Western North Carolina.  Early one morning we went up to the Blue Ridge Parkway.  It was a beautiful day with a gorgeous blue sky, but we could see clouds blanketing the valleys below us.  The picture above was taken at the Grassy Ridge Mine Overlook on the parkway.

The view from Grassy Ridge Mine overlook on the Blue Ridge Parkway, North Carolina. April 4, 2012.

This picture was taken at the same overlook.  The leaves weren’t out yet on the trees, but the clouds in the sky above and the clouds in the valley below made this overlook an enchanting part of our world.

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I find it hard to believe, but this is the 1,000th post I’ve done on this blog.  When I started, I would never have imagined that it would go on this long.  But I do want to say ‘Thank you’ to all of the wonderful people I’ve met who have shared this adventure with me.

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Posted in Our World | 24 Comments »

Scenic Sunday: Headforemost Mountain

December 11, 2011

The view from Headforemost Mountain overlook, Blue Ridge Parkway, Virginia. November 21, 2001.

(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.

As I’ve mentioned earlier, we spent the night at Peaks of Otter Lodge on the Blue Ridge Parkway while on our Thanksgiving Trip.  Since we wanted to drive the Parkway and then Skyline Drive, we got an early start from the lodge.  We were driving north, which meant we were gaining altitude as we left Peaks of Otter.  We encountered patches of fog/mist as we drove along.

When we arrived at the Headforemost Mountain overlook, we were treated to the scene above.  Actually I caught a glimpse of what appeared to be a mountain floating above the clouds as we drove by, and I had to back up to get back to the overlook.

A closer view Headforemost Mountain, Virginia. November 21, 2011.

We spent several minutes just enjoying the view.  My telephoto lens gave us an almost surreal scene across the valley.

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Posted in Scenic Sunday | 14 Comments »

Scenic Sunday: Abbott Lake

November 27, 2011

A view of Abbott Lake from our room at Peaks of Otter Lodge, Virginia. November 21, 2011.

(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.

Betsy and I enjoy staying at the Peaks of Otter Lodge in Virginia when we are in that part of the company.  Last week we arrived after dark (driving the Parkway after dark can be quite adventure), but were treated to an early morning view of Abbott Lake from the balcony of our room.

Morning reflections in Abbott Lake, Peaks of Otter, Virginia. November 21, 2011.

Abbott Lake is man-made and is one of the attractions of the Peaks of Otter Park.  Fishing is permitted, but we just enjoy the beauty.

A small bridge on the path around Abbott Lake, Peaks of Otter, Virginia. November 21, 2011.

The park has several hiking trails.  One of the least strenuous is the trail around the lake.  It’s a great way to start the day.

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Posted in Scenic Sunday | 19 Comments »

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