Posts Tagged ‘Mountains’

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Scenic Sunday: Cades Cove

December 18, 2011

Cades Cove, Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Tennessee. December 11, 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.

One of the most popular sections of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in Tennessee is Cades Cove.  Cades Cove is a valley surrounded by mountains which contains white tail deer, wild turkeys, coyotes and black bears.  To travel the loop road through the cove is somewhat like traveling back in time.

Settlers first came to Cades Cove from Virginia in 1819.  By the 1850’s the population of Cades Cove was 685 people in 137 households, but by 1860 the population had dropped to 269 people.

Cades Cove is the largest open air museum in the entire Great Smoky Mountain National Park.  The cove today looks much like it did in the 1800’s and has original pioneer homesteads, barns, businesses, pasture and farmland.

Cades Cove is interesting and beautiful any time of the year.  The picture above was taken on a visit we made last week.

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Posted in Scenic Sunday | 16 Comments »

SkyWatch Friday: Morning in the Mountains

December 16, 2011

Early morning view from Hemlock Springs Overlook, Skyline Drive, Virginia. November 23, 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.

There are advantages to driving in the mountains early on a foggy, misty mountains.  We left Skyland Resort on such a morning to make our way home on our Thanksgiving trip.  We had to drive north along Skyline Drive to get to an exit from the Shenandoah National Forest.

We came upon this scene at the Hemlock Springs Overlook.  The fog had lifted in our immediate vicinity, but much of the valley below was still cloud-covered.  A few peaks were just beginning to show themselves above the clouds.

Early morning view from Hemlock Springs Overlook, Skyline Drive, Virginia. November 23, 2011.

I liked this picture so much that I wanted to see what it looked like as a black and white photo.  I like this version just as much and decided to share it with you as well.

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Posted in SkyWatch Friday | 14 Comments »

Down Memory Lane: Cherohala Skyway (2009)

December 2, 2011

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

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.

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Posted in Autumn | 17 Comments »

SkyWatch Friday: Mountains and Clouds

November 18, 2011

The view from the Oconaluftee Valley overlook, Great Smoky Mountains National Park, North Carolina. October 14, 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.

Betsy and I try to get to the Smokies several times a year to enjoy the mountains and the colors.  But the sky is almost always as beautiful as the mountains.  This was the case in mid-October.

We drove Newfound Gap Road from Gatlinburg, Tennessee, into North Carolina.  Once we got into North Carolina we stopped at the Oconaluftee Valley overlook.  There were still clouds left over from the overcast morning,  There was still a smoky appearance to the mountains, but what would you expect when visiting Great Smoky Mountains National Park?

The view from the Webb overlook, Great Smoky Mountains National Park, North Carolina. October 14, 2011.

By the time we got to the Webb overlook, the sky was much bluer.  The mountains seemed to stretch as far as the eye could see.

Webb overlook, Great Smoky Mountains National Park, North Carolina. October 14, 2011.

The skies were definitely beautiful that day, but then too, so were the mountains.

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On a personal note, Betsy and I are taking a few of days off for some much-needed R&R.  We hope you all will have a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday.  We’ll see you after Thanksgiving.

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Posted in SkyWatch Friday | 29 Comments »

Scenic Sunday: Autumn in the Smokies

October 16, 2011

Sun breaking through the clouds above Gatlinburg, Tennessee. October 14, 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.

Last Friday Betsy and I got up before dawn so we could visit the Smoky Mountains in search of some color.  Although we had had some rain and many clouds on Thursday, the weatherman said Friday would be beautiful with clearing skies.  So we took the chance and decided to make the drive.

I’m glad we did.  It was cloudy at daylight, but we were treated to the sight of the sun breaking through the clouds over Gatlinburg while at an overlook above the city.  What a great way to start the day!

The Smoky Mountains on the North Carolina side of the park along Newfound Gap Road. October 14, 2011.

We drove up the mountain to Newfound Gap on the Tennessee-North Carolina border, and then down the mountain into North Carolina.  A few miles past the Gap we stopped at an overlook to enjoy this fantastic view.

Autumn color and blue skies in the Smoky mountains in Tennessee. October 14, 2011.

When I lived in North Carolina we would say that God must have been a Tarheel because He made the sky Carolina Blue.  But Tennessee has some beautiful blue skies as well.  I captured this picture on the Tennessee side of Newfound Gap as we were heading back home.

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Posted in Scenic Sunday | 23 Comments »

SkyWatch Friday: Mt. Mitchell Clouds

September 2, 2011

In the clouds atop Mount Mitchell, North Carolina. August 5, 2011.

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.

While we were in Asheville, North Carolina, for Betsy’s birthday last month, we drove up to Mount Mitchell, the highest peak east of the Mississippi River.  We’ve been there before, and always enjoyed the view.

But things were a little different this time.  We weren’t above the clouds — we were IN the clouds, as you can see from the picture above, which Betsy took from the observation deck at the summit.

We saw mountain ridges through a break in the clouds. Mt. Mitchell, North Carolina. August 5, 2011.

As we stood on the observation deck a breeze picked up and we were able to make out some of the nearby mountain ridges.

Blue sky and clouds, Mount Mitchell, North Carolina. August 5, 2011.

The clouds soon moved back in, but not before we caught a glimpse of some blue sky.

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Posted in SkyWatch Friday | 25 Comments »

Scenic Sunday: Above the Clouds (Sometimes)

August 7, 2011

Looking down on clouds from View John Rock overlook on the Blue Ridge Parkway, North Carolina. August 4, 2011.

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 took Betsy to Asheville, North Carolina, to celebrate her birthday.  Fortunately we both love that part of the country and are happy for any excuse to go there.  As usual, we were in no hurry, so we took the scenic route by getting on the Blue Ridge Parkway near Maggie Valley and taking that to Asheville.  It took much longer than the interstate would have taken, but the scenery was much more enjoyable.

Thursday started out partly cloudy, but as the afternoon wore on the skies became more and more overcast.  We found it hard to get good pictures until we got near View John Rock overlook (Milepost 419).  There we found we could look down on clouds in the valleys below us, as you can see from the picture above.

The view from Cherry Cove overlook, Blue Ridge Parkway, North Carolina. August 4, 2011.

We stopped at the next several overlooks if we could see clouds below us.  This gave us a very pretty view, even if the day was cloudy.

Blue skies above low clouds in the valleys. August 4, 2011.

As we approached Mount Pisgah, breaks began to appear in the clouds overhead.  This allowed us to see blue skies and sun light above the clouds in the valley below.

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Posted in Scenic Sunday | 12 Comments »

Down Memory Lane: The Blue Ridge Parkway

May 26, 2011

In October, 2009, Betsy and I took the scenic route home from Maggie Valley, North Carolina, by taking the Blue Ridge Parkway from Maggie Valley to its southern terminus in the Smokies.  Although we were a little late to see the best of the autumn colors, the mountains were still a glorious sight, which we thoroughly enjoyed, stopping at just about every overlook on our way.

To see larger versions of these pictures and others, click HERE.

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Posted in Travels | 22 Comments »

Skywatch Friday: A Cloudy Mountain Morning

March 18, 2011

A morning view from the lodge at Amicalola Falls State Park, Georgia. March 10, 2011.

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 surprised me with a birthday trip to Amicalola State Park in Georgia last week, we had a room at the mountain top lodge with a view of the mountains.  This picture was taken through the window last Thursday (March 10).  The clouds were threatening, but had lifted enough the at we could see across the valley to the mountains on the other side.

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Posted in SkyWatch Friday | 18 Comments »

Blue Ridge Mountains

February 17, 2011

Blue Ridge Mountains in North Carolina. November 22, 2010.

In late November Betsy and I went to Asheville, North Carolina, for a couple of days.  While there we took a drive up the Blue Ridge Parkway towards Mount Mitchell.  Most of the leaves were gone from the trees by that time, but that simply meant we could see more of those beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains.  This was the view from near Craggy Gardens.

The red dot on the map above shows where we were when the picture was taken.

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Posted in Travels | 19 Comments »

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