Misty mountains

I recently went to the Great Smoky Mountains and one of the things I loved about it was the layers of mountains you could see as you looked out over the distance. Last week when I was taking some overview pictures from the Embassy Suites in Downey, I noticed these beautiful layers of foothills off in the distance. It made me think just a little bit about the Smoky Mountains.

"Those who contemplate the beauty of the earth find reserves of strength that will endure as long as life lasts. ... There is something infinitely healing in the repeated refrains of nature � the assurance that dawn comes after night, and spring after winter."
~ Rachel Carson, Silent Spring

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Montreat hike

Today was our last day on Black Mountain. We headed just about 20 minutes down the road to Montreat to a hike up the mountain. It was lush green forest with little water for the kids. It ended up being a fairly strenuous trek, but worth it for the view at the end.



"In the presence of nature, a wild delight runs through the man, in spite of real sorrows. Nature says, -- he is my creature, and maugre all his impertinent griefs, he shall be glad with me.�
~ Ralph Waldo Emerson, Nature

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A little more of the Smokies

As we drove the Blue Ridge Parkway, every few miles or so there was an overlook pull out�more beauty to stop and enjoy. We ran into a local man who had spent hours photographing butterflies at one of our stops. They were beautiful and seemed to be everywhere.

One of the things I just can't get enough of is that it is so lush and green everywhere.



"Although I do love oceans, deserts, and other wild landscapes, it is only mountains that beckon me with the sort of painful magnetic pull to walk deeper and deeper into their beauty. They keep me continuously wanting to know more, feel more, see more To become more."
~ Victoria Erickson

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The Great Smoky Mountains

I'm in North Carolina this week, visiting the Great Smoky Mountains. They're called "smoky" because of the natural fog that often hangs over them. The mountains fade into the distance, with each ridge becoming a little more faint.

On this day, we're driving across a section of the Blue Ridge Parkway. There are lookouts every mile or so, and we're checking out pretty much each and every one. Since we're driving along the ridge of this particular ountains, some of the views are to the right and some to the left. The weather adds to the beauty, as the conditions constantly change, from sun to fog and back again, and then some rain, with thunder and lightning thrown in to boot.

"If you drive to, say, Shenandoah National Park, or the Great Smoky Mountains, you'll get some appreciation for the scale and beauty of the outdoors. When you walk into it, then you see it in a completely different way. You discover it in a much slower, more majestic sort of way."
~ Bill Bryson

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