imagination

Nothing limits achievement like small thinking; nothing expands possibilities like unleashed imagination.
--William Arthur Ward (1921-1994) American author.  

Lying on the summit of Unaka Mountain, looking up.  Click here to learn about this hike and click here to read about all there is to see and do on Unaka Mountain.

remembrance

Although no sculptured marble should rise to their memory, nor engraved stone bear record of their deeds, yet will their remembrance be as lasting as the land they honored.
--Daniel Webster (1782-1852) American statesman and senator.

Above: Mountain Home National Cemetery, Johnson City, TN

From Wikipedia: On the grounds of the Mountain Home Veterans Administration Center, the cemetery was established in 1903 as part of the National Home for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers, a federal old soldiers' home. The cemetery features over 12,000 graves highlighted by a monument to Congressman Walter Preston Brownlow, who petitioned the government and worked tirelessly to have the veteran's center created. It officially became a National Cemetery in 1973, and has primarily the interments of veterans who died while under care at the facility.

More information on Mountain Home in a previous post, here.

golden opportunity

Welcome every morning with a smile. Look on the new day as another special gift from your Creator, another golden opportunity to complete what you were unable to finish yesterday. Be a self-starter. Let your first hour set the theme of success and positive action that is certain to echo through your entire day. Today will never happen again. Don't waste it with a false start or no start at all. You were not born to fail. 
--Og Mandino (1923-1996) American Author and Psychologist. 

Above: Grain silos and historic clock tower in Downtown Kingsport, TN.

I was up in Kingsport last night for a car show put on by the Kingsport Antique and Rod Club at the old train depot downtown. My guess is that there were two hundred or so antique and vintage cars and trucks on display, with money raised going to benefit the Ronald McDonald House. For a comprehensive list of upcoming local and regional car show events, click here.

These photos were taken during the golden hour (also called the magic hour) -- the time of day prized by photographers for its warm light and long shadows. It occurs in the hour after sunrise and the hour before sunset, when the light from the sun passes through more of the earth's atmosphere, softening the light and making it appear warmer. The term 'hour' is misleading -- it sometimes lasts only a few minutes, but can last longer, depending on your location and time of year.

There are various golden hour apps out there to help you identify or remember when the magic hour is happening.  This is the one I use -- it's very simple and straightforward -- and free (iPhone only). Just a good reminder that I should be out taking photos during that time!

bravery

The bravest are surely those who have the clearest vision of what is before them, glory and danger alike, and yet notwithstanding, go out to meet it.
--Thucydides (460-404 BC) Ancient Greek historian and author. 

The stone reads:

Mary Patton
1751-1836
One of that heroic band who established a civilization in the wilderness. She made the powder used by John Sevier's troops in the battle of King's Mountain.
Erected by her descendants. 1932

To read a previous post of mine about the fascinating life of Mary Patton, click here.

boldness

What you can do, or dream you can do, begin it;
boldness has genius, power and magic in it.
--Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749-1832) German author and scientist

Above: The view of Linn Cove Viaduct from Rough Ridge Overlook along the Blue Ridge Parkway.

fences

Don't ever take a fence down until you know the reason it was put up.
--Gilbert K. Chesterton (1874-1936) English essayist and poet.

Above: The view from The Beauty Spot outside of Erwin, TN.

meaning

There is no such thing in anyone's life as an unimportant day.
--Alexander Woollcott (1887-1943) American author.


Above: Appalachian Trail, Roan Mountain.

Our Game

Whoever wants to know the heart and mind of America had better learn baseball, the rules and realities of the game. 
--Jacques Barzun (1907-2012) French-born, American Historian

Over the last few years I've been hanging out a lot at the baseball field -- partly because many of my students are on the team, partly for the sake of my love of sports photography, but there's a sentimental reason drawing me to the ball field -- my rekindled love for the game. They say the game is too slow, too methodical, too cerebral. The game moves at its own pace. There's a subtlety to it. It requires patience. And yet the game can turn with the crack of the bat. There aren't coin tosses, clocks counting down or cheerleaders. Here the defense controls the ball and on offense each batter stands alone. It's a game of individual achievement, and yet even the best player must depend on the other eight men who take the field. Music, clothes, hair styles, technology, labor strikes, recessions, even world wars come and go. Baseball remains. As Walt Whitman said, "It's our game -- the American game."

Recently I took some shots of one of our seniors, Cory Hilton (Johnson City, TN) -- it was the day before graduation. Toward the end of our shoot, we sat in the dugout and I asked him about baseball: what it meant to him, what his fondest memories were. He said he couldn't remember a time in his life when he didn't play baseball. He had played his last game that week. The conference tournament didn't go our way and as he walked off the field for the last time, he looked up, and there was his dad in the stands right above the dugout, standing and clapping. He said he lost it right then. And as he was telling me about it, I nearly did too. Such a poignant moment speaks volumes of their relationship. Am I wrong to think that that moment and that image of his father clapping will be the central image he returns to again and again in his life when the chips are down?  That he'll play that scene over in his mind when he has kids of his own who play ball? There's something about baseball. It bridges the generations.

AT Challenge

It isn't the mountains ahead that wear you out, it's the grain of sand in your shoe.
--Author Unknown

Above: Appalachian Trail, Unaka Mountain, Unicoi County, TN.

Happy Mother's Day!

I remember my mother's prayers and they have always followed me. They have clung to me all my life.
--Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865) 16th US President.

happiness

All who would win joy, must share it; happiness was born a twin.
--Lord Byron (1788-1824) British poet. 

A small waterfall encountered on the way to Margarette Falls in Greene County, TN.

Pine Mountain Trail

I  wish I could take credit for this photo, but it's not mine! It's the work of Brett Bentley, entitled "Sunrise at High Rock," it was sent to me by Jay Shepherd with the Pike County (KY) Tourism Bureau. This is the first eastern Kentucky destination listed here on Appy Treks! The area described below is just over the KY/VA border near the Breaks Interstate Park and Grundy, VA.  Looks like a great place to explore!

The Pine Mountain Trail is in the process of being linked to the Great Eastern Trail, an ongoing attempt to create a second long hiking route through the Appalachians west of the Appalachian Trail with the goal of ultimately stretching from Alabama to New York. Once completed, the Pine Mountain State Scenic Trail will span approximately 120 miles from Breaks Inter­state Park to Cumberland Gap National Historic Park. The trail will be a means for showcasing the wild highlands and conserving the natural and cultural heritage of Appala­chia for future generations.

The Pine Mountain Trail offers a breathtaking scenic views with a primitive back country experience. Currently a contiguous trail from Breaks Interstate Park to US 119 is designated in two sections. The section from Breaks to US 23 is the Birch Knob section and totals 28 miles. In Pike County, Kentucky, the Birch Knob trail head is located in Elkhorn City at the end of Carson Island Road in front of Elkhorn City Hall. The Highlands Section totals 16 miles and is along the US 23 - US 119 area. Kiosks are available at most trail-head locations, and two shelters are located along the Highlands Section for backpackers to have a dry place to have lunch and rest.

Learn more about Pine Mountain Trail at the Pike County Tourism website.

Click here for a map showing directions to Elkhorn from Johnson City, TN.