Cades Cove Before a Storm

Cades Coves is one of the more beautiful locations in the Smoky mountains, and is full of a rich history, wild life and perfect examples of the splendor of nature.

I took this photo a few months ago.  There are few things more pretty then a storm coming in over the mountains.

Citico Creek

Nestled in the mountains between East Tn and North Carolina is a place called Citico Wilderness.  Access is provided via dirt and gravel roads that wind and twist through some of the most gorgeous country in the world.

This picture was taken between a well used campground and Fargap.  The whole area is peaceful and quite and a perfect place to camp.

There is no electricity, running water, or general cell phone use in the area.  Campers can and have seen bears, coyotes, racoons, and even a rare sighting of a big cat or two.  Also sometimes early morning or late evening, you can see an Eagle or two flying over the creek.

Bald River Falls

I am blessed to live in East Tn where there are mountains and creeks and waterfalls.

Bald river falls is a little over 100ft high, and you can hike to the bottom or the top of the falls. Of course, be careful as the rocks tend to be very slippery, and even in summer that water is ice cold!

The falls can be seen from the road, and is only about 1.5 hours from knoxville.

This is one of the more favorite pictures I have been able to take, I think mostly because of what it is. At cades cove in the Great Smoky Mountains national part there is an old grist mill. I spent several hours photographing different parts of it.

This shot is on the back side of the flue that sends water to the grist mill. It sprung a leak back there and the water was leaking up. A couple seconds exposure ended up with this picture.

Sunlight in the Water

This is a picture I actually took about 4 years ago, while hiking the Chimney Trail in the Smoky's. I really enjoyed how the sun broke through the trees and hit the water.

Everytime I am out and about, I realize how blessed we are to have such natural beauty so close to us here in knoxville.

Elk

Not many people get to see Elk in person, since in East TN they were extinct up until a few years ago. A massive restoration project has been in place to re-introduce these large creatures. I am 6'4" and the Elk in this pictures could look me in the eye. Not that I got close enough to do so, but still

There are two places to view Elk currently. The first is in Campbell county at Hatfield Knob. While it is accessable to non 4x4's, I would advise bringing something with some clearance. It is a dirt/gravel road.

The other place to view them is in Cataloochee valley. This road as well is gravel to reach them. Bwe reminded though, these are not the "tame" deer of cades cove. Although you should never approach deer either. Elks during certain times of the year can be extremely aggressive. And they are the largest animal in the park, larger then even the black bears.

A cooldown

Wow, another hot day in east Tennessee, so today's picture will be one of snow!
This is the freak snowstorm that took place last October on top of the mountains. I remember coming around a curve heading up and traffic was a complete stop, and wondering why, I noticed that there was a shot of the mountains, fall at the bottom, snow at the top.
Anyway, stay cool today and remember snow is just a few months away at the highest elevations.

A Pekes Day

These were taken with my Iphone recently to do some testing. Of course, what better subject to view then a Pekingese. Seen here is my 10 year old Peke, Ares the Dog of War.

After a rough day outside chasing his tail, he promptly comes inside to sit in my lap and smile at me.

Pekes are typically very stubborn. Almost to the point where it can be confused as stupid. However, just because they appear confused and stand behind your legs and trip you, it really is just a ploy to eat whatever is in your hand.