Posts Tagged ‘My World’

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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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My World: Is Dry

October 19, 2010

Cane Creek below Cane Creek Falls, Fall Creek Falls State Park, Tennessee. October 17, 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.

Sunday Betsy and I went to Fall Creek Falls State Park to have lunch with two of Betsy’s cousins who are here visiting friends.  We had a wonderful (and delicious) meal at the lodge and enjoyed lots of laughs and conversation.

Of course, Betsy and I couldn’t go to Fall Creek Falls without checking in to see the waterfalls.  We were shocked to see how little water there was.  There was no discernible water going over Cane Creek Falls, and the creek bed below the falls was essentially dry, as you can see from the picture above (those are shadows of trees across the creek bed).

Cane Creek Cascade, Fall Creek Falls, Tennessee. October 17, 2010.

Cane Creek Cascade, which is further upstream, brought even a greater shock.  This is all the water I could see flowing over the ledge.  The picture below shows Cane Creek Cascade as it looked when we were there in April.

Cane Creek Cascade, Fall Creek Falls, Tennessee. April 21, 2010.

We could really use some rain here on the Plateau.  If you have any rain to spare, please send it our way.

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Betsy and I are taking a blog break for a few days.  I’ll visit when I can, but probably won’t post for several days.

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My World: Deer at Noon

October 12, 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 often see deer on the golf course behind our house in the late afternoon, but on Sunday we saw a mother and three fawns out at noon, which is very unusual.
Both Betsy and I went out to the deck to take some pictures.  Mama Deer kept an eye on us, as you can see from the picture above.

The two largest fawns were enjoying the grass not too far away.


The smallest fawn stayed close to Mama.  All we could see of it here was its legs and ears.


All three fawns decided they needed some liquid refreshment after their grass lunch.  Mama doesn’t look too thrilled at the prospect.


I got a final family portrait before all of the deer disappeared between two houses further up the course.

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My World: High School Football

October 5, 2010

Waiting for the team to take the field, Bearden High School, Knoxville, Tennessee. September 30, 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.

This past Thursday Betsy and I drove to Knoxville to see a high school football game.  Actually we went to see the band which was performing at the game, since Betsy’s grandson, Landon, is a member of the band.

This game was somewhat unique for me since I got to sit and watch the entire game.  Now don’t get me wrong — I’ve been to many high school football games.  But both of my children were in the marching band at their school, so much of my time at games was spent in Band Parents’ concession stands.

Half-time show, Bearden High School, Knoxville, Tennessee. September 30, 2010.

Since Landon is in the band, we have many more pictures of the band than we do of the football team.  The above picture shows much of the band during their half-time show.

Landon, September 30, 2010.

The handsome young man on the left is Landon.  He’s a percussionist and, as a freshman, is not marching this year, although he expects to next year.

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As many of you know, I have been using a geotagger with my camera to record our location when we take pictures.  Using the information on the above pictures I found this picture of the stadium on Google Earth.  We were in the nose-bleed section of the stands near the press box.

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My World: Hensley Settlement

September 28, 2010

Sign at the entrance to Hensley Settlement on Brush Mountain, Cumberland Gap Historical National Park. September 23, 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 week Betsy and I went to Kentucky to visit some places we’ve long talked about.  On Thursday we went to Cumberland Gap National Historical Park in the mountains where Kentucky, Virginia, and Tennessee come together.

The first thing we did was take a tour of Hensley Settlement, a community that existed from 1903 – 1951 atop Brush Mountain.  We were driven to the settlement in a Park Service van along some ‘interesting’ mountain roads.  Once we got to the settlement, we had a walking tour through the community and into some of the buildings.

Our guide through Hensley Settlement, Ronny Oplinger, the grandson of one of the founders of the settlement. September 23, 2010.

The guide on the day we were there was the grandson of one of the founders of the community.  It was definitely interesting to hear his family stories as we walked through the community.

The Lige Gibbons Farm, Hensley Settlement. September 23, 2010.

The Lige Gibbons Farm is one of the preserved homesteads on the mountain.  This farm is in a pretty little hollow on the mountain top.

Ruins of the Willie Gibbons House, Hensley Settlement. September 23, 2010.

Unfortunately, preserved doesn’t always mean protected.  This is the ruins of the Willie Gibbons house.  It was built in 1904 and was the most unique cabin on the mountaintop.  It was larger than most and had a double fireplace.  Sadly, it was destroyed by fire in 2000 and there are no longer any American Chestnut logs big enough to rebuild it as it was.

There are many more things to see in Hensley Settlement and I will post more after I get through some of the pictures we took.  The map above of our visit to Hensley Settlement was created on Google Earth using data from our geotagger.  The yellow line is our track, and I’ve noted some of the main features of the settlement.  If you ever get the chance to visit this site, I urge you to do so.  I think you will enjoy it.

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My World: Hints of Autumn

September 21, 2010

Berries on our dogwood tree, Fairfield Glade, Tennessee. September 15, 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.

This has been an exceptionally hot summer here on the Plateau.  The record number of summer days with temperatures over 90° is 78, and we stand at 77 with two more days of summer left and highs around 90 predicted for both days.

But there is hope.  The dogwood tree in our front yard is now sporting berries, a sure sign the autumn is on the way.  The berries are a bright red, and although the leaves are trying to turn, there is now only a hint of color.

Leaves starting to show some color. September 20, 2010.

But hopefully they will turn and give us more color.  And hopefully we will also get some cooler weather in our part of the world.

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My World: Rich Mountain Road

September 14, 2010

The sign at Rich Mountain Road in Cades Cove, Grreat Smoky Mountains, Tennessee. September 9, 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.

As I mentioned yesterday, last week Betsy and I went to the Smokies to drive the Rich Mountain Road.  We enjoy exploring new parts of the Smokies, and this seemed like a great time to go.  The entrance to Rich Mountain Road is in Cades Cove, and we’re always happy to find an excuse to visit that pretty place.

Rich Mountain Road, Smoky Mountains. September 9, 2010.

The road is gravel and closed during the winter, but we had no trouble getting through, other than having to dodge some pot holes.  And although there were no particularly steep grades, we did have quite a few switchbacks, as you can see from the picture above.

Cades Cove, Great Smoky Mountains, Tennessee. September 9, 2010.

One reason for taking this road is that we were told that there were some nice overlooks from which Cades Cove could be seen.  We found one at roadside and stopped to get some pictures.  If you look carefully in the lower left of the picture above, you can almost make out the Methodist Church in Cades Cove, which Betsy blogged about yesterday.

We saw several trail heads along the road, so we’ll get some trail maps before we go back.  Perhaps we’ll find another overlook along one of the trails.  We’ll definitely go back to Rich Mountain Road.

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My World: Cable Mill

September 7, 2010

The Cable grist mill in Cades Cove, Great Smoky Mountains, Tennessee. August 27, 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.

When we visited Cades Cove in the Smokies a couple of weeks ago, we stopped at the Cable Mill area in the southwest corner of the cove.  Although there are several buildings (and a visitor center) here, it was the mill that most interested us.

John F. Cable bought land in the cove in the late 1860s and built a water-powered grist mill and sawmill in about 1870.  The same  wheel provided power for both mills.  The sawmill no longer exists, but the restored grist mill still grinds away.  It’s possible to see corn being ground most days, but we couldn’t get a decent picture of the inside of the mill.

Cable Mill water wheel, Cades Cove, Tennessee. August 27, 2010.

The docent in the mill said that a water wheel lasts for about 25 years and then needs to be replaced.  She wasn’t sure how old the current wheel is.

The Cable Mill flume, Cades Cove, Tennessee. August 27, 2010.

The mill flume is quite long, but does a good job of holding the water as it makes its way from the mill pond to the water wheel.  The flume also holds quite a few coins, as you may be able to see if you enlarge the picture.

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My World: We’ve Made Some Changes

August 24, 2010

Our new house in Fairfield Glade, Tennessee. September, 2002.

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.

The picture above was taken on the day we closed on our house back in 2002.  We fell in love with the house the first time we saw it.  We still love it.

The front of our house. August 23, 2010.

But we’ve made some changes in the yard, as you may be able to see from this second picture.  We’ve added the flag pole (at the extreme right of the picture), the flower beds around the lamp post and the dogwood tree (there’s one more around a redbud tree to the right of the picture), and the three rose beds — two on each side of the driveway and one near the road.  We’ve also added the roses in the containers along the driveway.

This time of the year you are more likely to find us out in the yard or on the deck in back, than in the house itself.  But  that’s the way it is in our world.

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My World: New Roses in Our Yard

August 17, 2010

John F Kennedy Rose. May 27, 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’ve had a very hot, dry summer here on the Plateau, which means we’ve spent a fair amount of time watering our roses.  Happily I’m still able to bring in a rose for Betsy just about every  day.

These are some of the roses that are new to our yard this year.  Most of them are in the new flower bed we built along the road.

Two of our new roses honor presidents.  The very fragrant white rose above is the John F. Kennedy rose.

Ronald Reagan Rose. June 4, 2010.

The Ronald Reagan rose is not as fragrant, but is a beautiful red-and-white bicolor.

Southern Belle Rose. May 13, 2010.

This cheery yellow is called Southern Belle.  Since Betsy is a Virginia girl, I just knew we had to add this to our collection.

Sedona Rose. May 26, 2010.

Sedona is a magnificent red-orange blend that is Rose of the Year (2010) from Jackson & Perkins Company.

We have a few other new roses, but I’ll save those for another occasion.

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