gratitude and vision

Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow. 
--Melody Beattie (b.1948) American author. 

Above: Blue at Chestoa View, Blue Ridge Parkway mile 320.8 (elevation 4090 ft.).

Chestoa View offers great views of the Linville Gorge Wilderness and is a short walk from the parking area. In the photo above you can see Table Rock in the distance (top right). More discussion of this fantastic overlook here.

twin tunnels

 

Persons of high self-esteem are not driven to make themselves superior to others; they do not seek to prove their value by measuring themselves against a comparative standard. Their joy is being who they are, not in being better than someone else. 
--Nathaniel Branden (1930-2014) Psychotherapist and author. 

Above: Twin Tunnels, Blue Ridge Parkway, Mile 344.5 (between Crabtree Falls and Mt. Mitchell).

Of the 26 tunnels found along the parkway, 25 are found in North Carolina. Most of the decorative stone portal-facings were not part of the original construction, but added later in the 1950s and 60s. Tunnels were used to prevent large scale cutting and scarring of the mountains and also to ensure the most desirable routes were achieved. 

rejoice

When you were born, you cried and the world rejoiced. Live your life so that when you die, the world cries and you rejoice. 
--Unknown

Above: Price Lake

Crabtree Falls

In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks.   

--John Muir (1838-1914) Naturalist and Conservationist.  

Above: Crabtree Falls on a rainy autumn day. One of the most beautiful waterfalls in our region, Crabtree Falls is found at mile 339 of the Blue Ridge Parkway (roughly midway between Linville Falls and Mount Mitchell). Click to enlarge and you'll see my friend, Peter, at the base of the falls - which puts this spectacular 70' waterfall in perspective. For more discussion and directions, click here.

autumn's turn

Even if something is left undone, everyone must take time to sit still and watch the leaves turn. 
--Elizabeth Lawrence  

Take time to watch the leaves turn this weekend or next -- they are at peak in many places around Grandfather Mountain in the high country of North Carolina. This is the view of the Linn Cove Viaduct from Rough Ridge Overlook. It's one of the best places in our area to soak in all the autumny goodness.

For directions and description of the hike to Rough Ridge, click here.

stand out

Be daring, be different, be impractical, be anything that will assert integrity of purpose and imaginative vision against the play-it-safers, the creatures of the commonplace, the slaves of the ordinary. --Cecil Beaton (1904-1980) English photographer.

The tree above stood out so beautifully against the horizon I was drawn to it. Immediately after taking this, I realized that I had taken nearly the exact photo on Flat Rock Overlook seven years ago. So much for being creative. :) That post, with a short description of the trail, is found here. This is a fairly short, looped trail located near Grandfather Mountain at Mile 308 of the Blue Ridge Parkway. The primary view is westward toward the Roan highlands, but you also have beautiful views north to Grandfather Mountain. Click the link above for more on this fun place to explore.

travelers vs. tourists

The traveler was active; he went strenuously in search of people, of adventure, of experience. The tourist is passive; he expects interesting things to happen to him. He goes "sight-seeing." 
--Daniel J. Boorstin (1914-2004) Historian and educator.

'Blue' being a tourist, taking in the beautiful sights from the Chestoa View Overlook on the Blue Ridge Parkway.  Click here to read more about the overlook and to see a similar photo I took three years ago.

today is life

Today is life--the only life you are sure of. Make the most of today. Get interested in something. Shake yourself awake. Develop a hobby. Let the winds of enthusiasm sweep through you. Live today with gusto.  
--Dale Carnegie (1888-1955) American lecturer and author. 

Above: Linn Cove Viaduct, October 2008. 

Coming Home

You're invited to a reception this Saturday on the campus of Milligan College for the opening of an photography exhibit by Michael Kaal. The exhibit is entitled, "Coming Home" -- and its opening reception is this Saturday, October 26th at 11 a.m. in the Milligan Art Gallery, Derthick Hall (lower level). Campus map available here. I've been blessed to be a part of Mike's journey both in and out of the classroom these last few years and am very excited for this exhibit of some truly outstanding landscape photographs of this region. On his selection of the theme "Coming Home", Michael says, "I grew up in Arizona photographing the arid landscapes of the southwest. After going to Milligan College I fell in love with the lush, green surroundings of East Tennessee. I now call the Appalachian Mountains my home and want to share the beauty of this wonderful area."

Click here to visit Mike's gallery. In addition to his breathtaking landscapes, Michael is also an amazing wedding photographer.

Above: Michael at Linn Cove Viaduct, taken October 2011.

wondrous

Wondrous is the strength of cheerfulness, and its power of endurance - the cheerful man will do more in the same time, will do it better, will preserve it longer, than the sad or sullen. 
--Thomas Carlyle (1795-1881) Scottish Historian and Essayist. 

Above: The Linn Cove Viaduct amid the autumn splendor. The colors are nearly at peak. Next weekend will be a busy time along the parkway. :)

tunnel vision

Carve a tunnel of hope through the dark mountain of disappointment.
--Martin Luther King, Jr. (1929-1968) Minister and Civil-Rights Leader

Here's to the Crazy Ones

My crazy friend Peter at "Twin Tunnels" along the Blue Ridge Parkway.

"When you grow up you tend to get told the world is the way it is and your life is just to live your life inside the world. Try not to bash into the walls too much. Try to have a nice family life, have fun, save a little money.

That’s a very limited life. Life can be much broader once you discover one simple fact, and that is - everything around you that you call life, was made up by people that were no smarter than you. And you can change it, you can influence it, you can build your own things that other people can use.

The minute that you understand that you can poke life and actually something will, you know if you push in, something will pop out the other side, that you can change it, you can mold it. That’s maybe the most important thing. It’s to shake off this erroneous notion that life is there and you’re just gonna live in it, versus embrace it, change it, improve it, make your mark upon it.

I think that’s very important and however you learn that, once you learn it, you’ll want to change life and make it better, cause it’s kind of messed up, in a lot of ways. Once you learn that, you’ll never be the same again."
--Steve Jobs (1955-2011) American entrepreneur and inventor.

misty meadow

Landscapes have a language of their own, expressing the soul of the things, lofty or humble, which constitute them, from the mighty peaks to the smallest of the tiny flowers hidden in the meadow's grass. 
--Alexandra David-Néel (1868-1969) Belgian-French explorer, spiritualist and writer. 

Above: A quiet meadow found within the Crabtree Falls Campground, mile 340 of the Blue Ridge Parkway. Due to budget cuts and sequestration, the campground is closed this summer. Also, the parkway itself is closed for twenty miles south of the road/entrance to Mount Mitchell (Mount Mitchell State Park remains open) due to road instability caused by this summer's heavy rains.  This means that Craggy Gardens, a popular destination along the Parkway, is closed and inaccessible.  Click here for complete information about the Parkway road closures.

yield

Learn to pause ... or nothing worthwhile will catch up to you.
--Doug King 

Above: A lone tree found along the Blue Ridge Parkway in North Carolina.

engineering marvel

Engineering is the art of modelling materials we do not wholly understand, into shapes we cannot precisely analyse so as to withstand forces we cannot properly assess, in such a way that the public has no reason to suspect the extent of our ignorance.
--Dr. A.R. Dykes, British Institution of Structural Engineers, 1976.

The Linn Cove Viaduct is indeed an engineering marvel -- cantilevered, twisting and floating its way around the mountain in tip-toe fashion so as to not disturb the sleeping Grandfather. 

To learn more about this marvelous section of the Blue Ridge Parkway and the fascinating story of how it came to be, click here.

an autumn hymn

The groves were God's first temples.
--William Cullen Bryant (1794-1878) poet, journalist.

The trees along the Blue Ridge Parkway near Grandfather Mountain are nearly at their peak. Get out this week and gawk!  In some places (for instance, around Price Lake) it seems the peak has passed. But as you can see from the photo above (taken Friday from Rough Ridge), there are patches of bright fall color near the Linn Cove Viaduct -- but notice all the green leaves still awaiting their turn. If you do venture out, I recommend going early -- especially on the weekends. This particular section of the parkway gets crazy starting around 11am. Here's a previous post with links to various destinations in the Grandfather Mountain area.

mellow yellow

Bittersweet October. The mellow, messy, leaf-kicking, perfect pause between the opposing miseries of summer and winter.
--Carol Bishop Hipps

Above: Boone Fork Bridge near the Blue Ridge Parkway

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.

promise

Our Lord has written the promise of resurrection, not in books alone, but in every leaf in springtime.
--Martin Luther (1483-1546) German Priest and Theologian

time to savor

The only reason for time is so that everything doesn't happen at once.
--Albert Einstein (1879-1955) German-born American Physicist

The Linn Cove Viaduct ... two weeks ago.