Morning Light at Cades Cove

Times like this is when I can feel God all around me.

These were taken within 5 minutes of each other in the picnic

area of Cades Cove, October 29, 2009.

I have already made them into greeting cards,

you can check the greeting cards out by clicking here and here.

Newfound Gap - Fall 2008

These fall color photographs were taken October 2008.

This year I returned to Newfound Gap, one year and one day later. The leaves were gone. The bright colored tree above had no leaves. The Gap had snow about 8 - 10 days earlier, and my speculation is that the snow brought the leaves down. Two weeks later I was at Campbell Overlook (a mile or so down the mountain toward Gatlinburg) and the leaves were the prettiest I have ever seen there. Kind of supports my snow theory for the top.

These were taken at sunrise. When I go for the fall colors, I want to be there when the sun comes up, sometimes arriving while it is still pitch black.

I hate that the Gap didn't show these gorgeous colors again this year,

but there is always next year.

Streams with fall colors in the GSMNP

Jimmy and I took 2 days off to go to the mountains to see the fall colors, the previous post is the beginning of the photographs I took. The first day we went to Cades Cove, which I have not begun to go through those photographs yet. To get to Cades Cove from our house we go through Wears Valley to Townsend and onto Cades Cove. The 2nd day we also went through Wears Valley, but then we went across the Foothills Parkway to 129. 129 is known as the Tail of the Dragon, which we traveled to Deal's Gap, and onto Fontana and Cherokee. Normally we would have gone to I40 to head home, but with the landslide totally blocking I40 we cut back across the mountain through the Great Smoky Mountain National Park.

If we had gone our usual route we would not have seen this beautiful setting.

We saw 2 tractor trailers and a tractor without the trailer that thought they would also cut through the park to avoid going the detour route. The park rangers had them all stopped. A person cannot miss the signs about no commercial vehicles in the park, and you know a truck driver would not have missed them. Guess they thought they would just sneak through, like nobody would notice the only tractor trailers to ever be in the park in the 75 years of it's existence.

Fontana North Carolina fall colors

Jimmy and I were able to take off Thursday and Friday and we went to the mountains. They are so close to us we came home both nights. We had a great time and I got some fall color photographs.The first 2 shots are on the road to Fontana Village, a sharp turn in the road and this water cove caught my eye. The sign said we were at Tapoco, part of Alcoa Power.

The red trees were in Fontana Village, hopped out at a stop sign and snapped this one.

The view from the top of Fontana Dam.

A shot taken from inside the moving car, through my dirty windshield. (Jimmy was driving.)

My favorite of these is the 2nd photograph. I haven't been through everything I took in those 2 days, but so far I have only seen one I liked better. I will post it in a few days. I have to get to sleep so I can go to knitting class before I go to work Tuesday afternoon.

Canadian Geese at Veterans Park - Watts Bar Lake

As you can tell these Canadian Geese photos at Veterans Park were taken in the fall.

I have been posting duck photos from our recent trip to Florida. Thought I should drop back and post some from East Tennessee.

I was spending a lot of time at Veteran's Park until we bought our house in Rockwood.

Now I don't live in a motel half of the week (Woo-Hoo!), instead live in Rockwood half the week. The motel was very close to Veterans Park in Spring City, Tennessee, so I usually spent my mornings at the park.

Since Rockwood is 10 miles closer to my work than Spring City I am not sure how much I will go to Veterans Park. I have not been there since we were in the motel.

Splash of color on this rainy day

I know it will be a while before we get back around to this season, but I just had to post some color on this rainy, dreary, cold winter day. The top 2 photos were taken at Newfound Gap. All 3 photos are in the Great Smoky Mountain National Park.

Love the 'smokies' appearance, it makes me feel like I am at home.

The last photo is along the road somewhere in the park. I can go right to it, but don't know what that are is called.

I am suppose to be working on disk for the photo assignment job I went on yesterday.

Guess I better get to it.

Fall in the Smoky Mountains

Fall in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park is always beautiful no matter what part you are visiting.

The top 2 photographs were taken from Newfound Gap close to sunrise.

Notice those 'Blue Ridges' in the 2nd photo.

The last photo is along one of the many roads in the park.

A reminder of nicer weather than we are experiencing right now.

Fall Colors, going, going, gone

This photograph of Watts Bar Lake was taken 2 weeks ago close to the Caney Creek Marina. This marina is between Kingston and Rockwood. The leaves were still hanging on, but not much color. The leaves are like this all over East Tennessee this year. When the rain starts everybody says there goes the last of the leaves. It rained all day on Monday, then on Tuesday I noticed a line of trees still covered in leaves, even with a hint of bright yellow scattered throughout it. Everybody is saying when the leaves hang on like this the winter is going to be a COLD winter. This doesn't predict the snows, that is by the fogs in August. A cold hard winter is also predicted by the mast crop, well in our area the mast crop is huge this year. I don't like cold weather. Wish I could go to Florida for the winter, but that does not pay the bills.

Newfound Gap - Skywatch Friday November 21

These photographs were taken on October 22, 2008 at Newfound Gap in the

Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

At the same location as my Sky Watch photos last week, just an hour later.

Can still see why they are called the GSMNP the blue ridge mountains.

Please click the Sky Watch icon at the top of the post to see wonderful sky photographs from around the world.

Watts Bar Lake is looking kind of dreary now days.

The water is very low from Veterans Park. Hard to find my favorite Great Blue Heron as often I was earlier in the year.

These were taken on Veterans Day, at Veterans Park. The last of the fall colors.

This last photograph was actually taken on the highway going to Cumberland Mtn State Park, a week earlier than the other photos posted here.

Please click on the icon above to visit Watery Wednesday photographs from all over the world.

The road leaving Metcalfe Bottoms Schoolhouse

This is the road as I was leaving the Metcalfe Bottoms Schoolhouse. Notice in the top photo, you can see the fence that surrounds the cemetary up the hill from the schoolhouse.

These are the last of the photos from this visit to Metcalfe Bottoms in the Great Smoky Mountain National Park. I am sure I will be returning, maybe when it snows.

Little Greenbriar School at Metcalfe Bottoms with split rail fence

Another view of the Little Greenbriar School at Metcalfe Bottoms. This one with the split rail fence showing.

Then the same photo in Black and White and then Sepia.