The Barn Series - Day 6 - See Rock City

Today I am sharing a vintage barn featuring the SEE ROCK CITY logos. You can find these logo barns all over the South. You can find this barn outside the gate entrance to Maker's Mark. While we are in Kentucky, I wanted to share a little bit about Rock City which is situated atop Lookout Mountain, in Chattanooga, Tennessee, and features massive ancient rock formations, beautiful gardens, a waterfall and caverns. You can walk on the Swing Along Bridge or hike the Enchanted Trail, or if you fancy it, visit Mother Goose Village to shop and dine. It's an experience to see the least!

If you take the state road from Loretto to Louisville, in Kentucky, just pat Bardstown sits another Rock City logo barn. I admit I have never been to Rock City. It is on my list of places to visit in Tennessee, I would love to photograph the waterfall and take a few snaps of the overlook on top of Lookout Mountain where you can see 7 states in that one spot. Impressive!

Stop back by tomorrow for another barn in our Barn Series. You never know where we might end up. And I love having you along for the ride, as much as I love reminiscing about these old barns I photographed over the years. Have a wonderful evening. ENJOY!

Blue Smoke Across the Mountains

As I looked out across the Great Smoky Mountains National Park last week a sense of nostalgia overtook me. I saw the unmistakable blue smoke that is the trademark of the Smokies. That mist lingers above the mountain range from the rain forest. It still seems odd to me, even now, to think of the Smokies as a rain forest, but in fact, it is.

Most of the color has gone from the trees, but I like the spark of yellow from the one tree that seems to be holding on. I had a darker image planned, but lightened the shadows to bring out the trees. I like the detail. Fall has come late to Tennessee and parts South. Did you hear this was the hottest Summer on record for the United States. With all of the wildfires and drought we have had over the past 18 months throughout all of the United States, I can see why. Back soon. ENJOY!

Landscape, Great Smoky Mountains

In the Smokies this year, there is a subdued color pattern. No doubt a byproduct of the slightly dryer conditions over the past few months. Leaves are gone from higher elevations with peak colors in middle elevations in the mountains and on the roadways. Lower elevations are a variation of color pattern depending on where you are in the park with a lot of brown color mixed in. It's still evident where the wildfires impacted the mountains and the lower elevations around Gatlinburg.

Capturing images of the mountain ranges is one of my favorite things to do here. The cloud cover was heavy on this morning dampening the vivid colors. However, I managed to snap this shot just as the light was peaking through the clouds. There's still a good deal of green in this shot, as it's the lower portion of the mountain range just outside of Gatlinburg, just as you are gaining elevation in the park. This was taken with my 55 mm which I normally don't bring along. I wanted to get more of a landscape of the mountain ranges. As I went to snap this image I noticed the stone wall in the bottom left and decided it could stay. I really like it. Back soon. ENJOY!

Hello September!

Hello September! May you herald in cooler temps, dryer afternoons, blue skies, balmy breezes and the slightly hint of Fall. Photo taken in Cade's Cove, Great Smoky Mountains, in June after a bit of rain a rainbow came out. Back soon. ENJOY!

Blue Smoke, Great Smoky Mountains National Park

The essence of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park surely must be the fog and blue smoke that hangs over the Sugarloaf Mountains. This mountain range is typically immersed in blue smoke, but this past weekend there was an abundance of fog and blue smoke due to the rain showers that plagued the park. In spite of the weather, I did visit several sections of the park taking in the various wildlife including a few Black Bears in Cade's Cove. If you look at the very bottom of this image you will see bright pink blooms from the Mountain Rhododendrons. The Rhododendrons will be in full bloom in mid June. I just wished I could be there to see it. ENJOY!

Blue Smokies

Even on the 'not so perfect' Fall day in the Smokies when the sun has eluded the mountains, the colors of Fall and the blue smoke of the mountains still reign supreme. ENJOY!

Fall in the Valley

Some of us choose to see through the fog and mist on a cloudy day in the Smokie Mountains. One never knows what you will find when you choose to stop, no matter the weather, to capture an image. ENJOY!

Mountainscape

Such a gorgeous few days in the mountains regardless of the wet weather. The clouds moved over quickly at times and at other times they seemed to move at a snail's pace.

As I drove through the mountains on Newfound Gap Road, this scene greeted me at one turn. It is so nice that there are so many pull offs in this national park for visitors to stop and snap images. ENJOY!

PRAYERS: My prayers to all French citizens, and to all of those whose lives were impacted today, because of yet again more terror attacks. What more can one say in an era where terrorism is almost a daily occurrence even when you don't live in the Middle East.

Fall Colorscape

If I had to choose an image that I love most from my trip to the mountains of eastern Tennessee, it might be this one. I hope you will leave me a note and let me know your thoughts. Have a fabulous Sunday all. ENJOY!

Fall Color, Smoky Mountains

One of the many benefits of rainy weather in the Smokies is the fog in and around the mountains.

Have a wonderful weekend everyone. Happy Halloween Eve! ENJOY!

GSMNP, Shrouded in Fog

There is always more to photograph than there is time to do so when you spend any amount of time in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. It is a virtual wonderland of rivers, streams, forests, woods, mountains, valleys and let's not forget the history that is found here. When you take 500 images over the course of four days and slowly cull through them to see just what you have captured, you never know what will be peering back at you.

When I happened upon this image, I decided it has to be one of my favorites from my trek to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. No doubt there are people who believe rain and fog won't net them much on a photography trip. I beg to differ. A foggy mountainside can be stunning to me and when you add yellow Fall leaves with the dark green Fir trees, I declare a winner. I love to capture photos that have natural lines such as the one I shot here of the ridge line. It takes your eye right up to the top left of the photo. I did photograph some Fall color and some water images while on my trek and will post those soon. Back very soon. ENJOY!

Fall Color in the Smokies

Every color I encountered on my trip this week to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park surely is present in this image. The least of which is the blue smoke.

I moved to Hendersonville Friday. I like this small bedroom community north of Nashville and I think I will enjoy living next to the lake especially in Summer. I unpacked my furniture and such Friday night and Saturday. Then I had to pack Saturday evening for my Fall sojourn to the Smokies. The remnants of Hurricane Patricia made its way across Texas and the southern states and moved up into middle and eastern Tennessee Sunday. The front was so huge it rained every day while in the Smokies. It wasn't a steady rain which made it bearable. Today the sun did make a brief appearance. I am so very happy I do not have to pack anything for quite a while. I will be back soon with more Smokies images. ENJOY!

Blue Smoke, Great Smoky Mountains

Great Smoky Mountains National Park has two distinct characteristics setting it apart from any other park in the eastern United States. The first becomes apparent as you slowly travel throughout the mountains, valleys, rivers and forests of this park. Surrounded by wilderness for countless miles and miles, you quickly learn to appreciate the huge expanse of this national park.

The second characteristic is unmistakable as you stand peering down at the mountain ranges at Newfound Gap Overlook. The ever constant blue smoke saturates the mountains leaving a misty blue landscape to dominate the scene. ENJOY!

Blue Skies, Great Smoky Mountains

Blue skies was the order of the day last week as I made my way up the mountain road in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

Beautiful blue skies and white fluffy clouds coupled with the endless blue smoke as far as one could see. Perfect weather to clear one's mind. I was sorry to hear that Maya Angelou had passed today. She was a great lady who brought us a message of quiet and peace. I am often reminded of that as I wonder the beautiful mountains and peer into the forest. ENJOY!

Bucks & Bears, Cade's Cove

A classic Cade's Cove image of a rusted wire fence anchoring the motor route. In this image you're looking out across the meadow toward the Smoky Mountains. All of the meadows were laden with Daisies while Black Eyed Susans were growing along the fenceline throughout the route.

It wouldn't be a perfect Cade's Cove visit without seeing White Tailed Deer everywhere you turn. Several Bucks were seen munching on meadow grasses midway through the auto tour. As I stopped to snap this photo, I wondered, "Where were the girls?" And then as I drove down around a bend, my question was answered, as I found several Does busy grazing there.

Just as I was close to the end of the auto tour that winds its way throughout Cade's Cove, this Black Bear decided to create a stir by coming out of the woods for a few minutes and getting all of the park visitors along the motor route jumping out of their cars anxious to get an image. As it turned out, I had already parked my car and had walked in the direction of an old log home near this woods so I snapped this image fairly easily.

It was good to get away for a few days and take in this beautiful park. ENJOY!

Black Bear, Great Smoky Mountains National Park

It's not easy to capture a Black Bear in the Park especially with Rangers about. They don't want you to invade their habitat which is fine with me. In this particular instance, this Bear was peering out at a group of hikers as they made their way up the half mile trek to Clingman's Dome. It's the highest point in the Park and normally you won't see a Black Bear on the trail.

Except this day there was one and the Ranger was not happy it was too close to the trail. He monitored its presence and finally another Ranger showed up to hike onto the Appalachian Trail which runs across the trail to the Dome to see if he could move the Bear farther from the trail and away from visitors. I stopped long enough to take this image and moved on up the trail to the top of the Dome. ENJOY!

Mountain Tops!

Looking out at mountain tops from the Craggy Gardens Overlook in the Blue Ridge Mountains. Like I said in a previous post, there are 360 degree views and all of them were stunning. ENJOY!

View from the Top!

Here's another gorgeous view of the Overlook at the top of the trail at Craggy Gardens, along the Blue Ridge Parkway. Such a gorgeous place to take a drive. It's only about an hour from Asheville. When you reach the top of the Overlook, it's a 360 degree view. So I kept turning and shooting from all the sides. I'll post more images of the various views later. Hope you're week is going well. Why do we take a vacation? We only come back to all the work waiting for us. UGH! ENJOY!

Great Smoky Mountains National Park

Hello Everyone, just wanted to drop a quickie note to you with this photo I took while traveling in the Smokies yesterday. This is somewhere around Newfound Gap. I hope you enjoy and I'll post more this week. Ugh, I'm tired, but it was a great trip.