Top Shop

The whole difference between construction and creation is exactly this: that a thing constructed can only be loved after it is constructed; but a thing created is loved before it exists.
--Charles Dickens (1812-1870) English novelist

A texturized version of the new "Top Shop" at Grandfather Mountain. Click here to read about the two year construction process and the extreme weather conditions the builders faced.

solitude

I have never found a companion that was so companionable as solitude.

--Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862) American Essayist, Poet and Philosopher--

Above: Doe River detail

amusements

The finest amusements are the most pointless ones.

--Jacques Chardonne (1884-1968) French writer--

Fun at the Appalachian Fair in Gray, TN.

the color of life

If your knees aren't green by the end of the day, you ought to seriously re-examine your life.
--Bill Watterson (b.1958) American Author of the comic strip Calvin and Hobbes

The happy little guy pictured here was taken with my new 85mm lens at f/1.4 (with me on the ground) - can't wait to try it out on people!  :)

illuminate the darkness

In photography, if I am able to evoke not only a feeling of the reality of the surface physical world but also a feeling of the reality of existence that lies mysteriously and invisibly beneath its surface, I feel I have succeeded. At its best, photography is a symbol that not only serves to help illuminate some of the darkness of the unknown, but it also serves to lessen the fears that too often accompany the journeys from the known to the unknown.
--Wynn Bullock (1902-1975) American photographer


Lower Higgins Creek Falls in Unicoi County, TN. Directions and information here.

misty pines

Were I called on to define, very briefly, the term art, I should call it the reproduction of what the senses perceive in nature through the veil of the mist.
--Edgar Allan Poe quotes (1809-1849) American poet

Pines through the veil of mist on Roan Mountain.

raised up

And He will raise you up on eagle's wings,

bear you on the breath of dawn,

make you to shine like the sun,

and hold you in the palm of His hand.

--Michael Joncas (b.1951) Catholic Priest--
(Click here to listen to the hymn "On Eagle's Wings")

broken light

 

Ring the bells that still can ring

Forget your perfect offering

There is a crack in everything

That's how the light gets in.

--Leonard Cohen (b.1934) Canadian singer-songwriter--

ramble on

I was just about to go somewhere, but I would much prefer a ramble. Because when you're going nowhere in particular, well, you are quite sure to get there.
--Winnie the Pooh to Piglet

This fern-covered section of the Appalachian Trail in Unicoi County is a great place for a summer ramble.


Directions: From I-26 take the Erwin Main Street Exit (#36), at the end of the ramp turn east toward town and you will immediately arrive at a stop light. Turn right onto Rt. 107 and drive 1/2 mile, turn left at stop light onto Rock Creek Road (Rt. 395) -- continue on for 6.6 miles to TN/NC line (called Indian Grave Gap). The AT crosses at the top of this mountain gap, so if you find yourself heading downhill, you've gone too far. Park at Indian Grave Gap and head south on the AT a mile or so.

(Thanks to Kaitlyn for the quote!)

matriculation

 

In youth we learn; in age we understand.

--Marie von Ebner-Eschenbach (1830-1916) Austrian writer

The matriculation ceremony at Milligan College where new students sign the register and formally enter into the College. For more on Seeger Chapel, click here.

darkness and light

Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.
--Martin Luther King, Jr. (1929-1968) Minister and Civil-Rights Leader

The first of two tunnels found at Doe River Gorge outside of Hampton, TN where the old "Tweetsie" railroad used to run until the 1950s. The narrow gauge tracks were laid in the 1880s to run iron ore from Cranberry, NC to Johnson City, TN.  Even though I've taken photos of these tunnels numerous times, I still enjoy it.  I'm already looking forward to going back out there in the fall! I love the wind whipping through the tunnels (especially on hot, scorching days like today) and the interplay of light and dark in these shots. In the shot above, I also like how deceptively short the tunnel looks - as if you could take three big steps and come out the other side. In the shot to the left you see that the tunnel is actually fairly long; I was kneeling in the middle of the tunnel when I took this shot. Click here to see more photos from Doe River Gorge.

I lift up my eyes to the hills

If you do not raise your eyes you will think that you are the highest point.
--Antonio Porchia (1885-1968) Italian poet

sweetly singing

Sweet are the little brooks that run
O'er pebbles glancing in the sun,
Singing in soothing tones.

--Thomas Hood (1799-1845) British poet

The Mimosa

To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment.
--Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882) American Poet, Lecturer and Essayist

School is upon us and with that comes those awkward 'let's go around the room' introductions that are an inevitable part of any college class. Besides the standard questions (name, hometown, major, year in school) I usually try to ask another that is in some way related to our class or at least out of the norm.  For instance in Business Ethics I ask students to tell us about their best and worst jobs ever (most can only come up with worst jobs at this point in their lives). But I always think of the story my best friend from high school, Hoops, tells about his first day experience in grad school. Right off the bat it was clear the professor was a bit eccentric by the way he spoke. He gave instructions to the class to go around the room stating the usual things and then very seriously he looked at them and said, "And then tell us about your favorite tree. Okay, let's start with you." I don't know why that struck me so funny, I guess it's that the professor assumed the students had a favorite. Or maybe because it's such an odd question to ask someone you're trying to get to know. After all, I'm not sure it's revelatory of the personality or interests of the person whether they prefer oaks to maples, pines to peach trees.  But who knows, maybe it is. Anyway, my answer: the mimosa. These are everywhere here in the south, in fact, they grow like weeds. But we just don't have these in northern Illinois where I'm from, so when I moved here and saw these trees lining the highways with their fern-like leaves and unusual, mid-summer blooms, I knew then I had a ready-answer in case I was ever asked. Okay, so here's the question for today, "What is your favorite tree and why?" Let's start with you.

wide open

Where there is an open mind there will always be a frontier.
--Charles F. Kettering (1876-1958) American engineer, inventor

A panoramic view of South Holston Dam comprised of seven images stitched together effortlessly by Photoshop CS5 (click photo above to enlarge). It amazes me how the software figures out where each photo goes, lining up the rocks and mountains and shoreline, and then blending them together so well. Only in one place is it obvious where there is a seam -- and that has to do more with my use of a polarizer filter on my lens than with Photoshop. My tripod has a 'ball-head' on it, so it's of no use for panoramic photos, so for this I just lined up the grid in my viewfinder with the water line and tried to keep everything as level as possible. You want to make sure you keep the same exposure for each component image, so keep the camera on manual - and...it's probably best to take off the polarizer before you start. :)

Construction of South Holston Dam was begun in 1942, but not completed until 1950.  This impressive earth and rock dam (on the right of the photo) is 285 feet high and spans 1600 feet across the South Holston River. When completed, the dam resulted in the South Holston Reservoir, which extends for 24 miles, with 168 miles of coastline. More info here.

Directions: From the intersection of routes 394 and 421 south of Bristol, continue 2.9 miles south on 421 (toward Shady Valley). Turn right onto Emmett Road/Holston View Dam Road. Continue for 1.6 miles (bear right at the fork) and you'll see the Osceola Island/Weir Dam recreation area on your left. Continue on Holston Dam View Road for another 2 miles to the top of the dam. Beautiful views! 

abundant living

You've gotta' dance like there's nobody watching,
Love like you'll never be hurt,
Sing like there's nobody listening,
And live like it's heaven on earth.
(And speak from the heart to be heard.)

--William W. Purkey (b.1929) author and professor

Been workin' on the ole blog and once again changed the look of it. What prompted this was the discovery I could add tabs. After 3 1/2 years of blogging, and over 1,000 posts, it's started to get a bit cluttered around here. So hopefully the tabs will be a way for me to tidy things up and help you find what you're looking for.  I like that I can put my own photos in the background -- or use one of the dozens that Blogger provides (like what you see there now). This will probably be a work in progress for a while -- so bear with me.  Hope you like it!

I've got room for more tabs -- any suggestions? :)

look closely

What we see depends mainly on what we look for.
--John Lubbock (1834-1913) English banker, statesman, and naturalist

Ephemeral mushrooms in my recently laid mulch. They appear overnight by the hundreds, last for a couple of hours and then whither away with the day's heat. They're very small, maybe an inch or two tall - and have a translucent quality to them.

the glories of our journey

We must go beyond textbooks, go out into the bypaths and untrodden depths of the wilderness and travel and explore and tell the world the glories of our journey.
--John Hope Franklin (1915-2009) US historian

The Appalachian Trail near the Nolichucky River outside of Erwin, TN. Seems most thru-hikers I've met keep a journal of some sort as they make their way along the 2,179 mile trail. Many hikers have published their AT memoirs over the years: Click here for a list of them from the Appalachian Trail Conservancy. Their store actually has a lot of fun items: like the mapdanna and a shirt for those allergic to cities. You'll also find many guides and maps to the AT, including official guidebooks to each section of the trail. The one for TN/NC is very good and comes with four detailed maps on two sheets (also available from Amazon here).

imagination

Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world.
–Albert Einstein (1879-1955) German-born American Physicist

be gentle

Be gentle with yourself, learn to love yourself, to forgive yourself, for only as we have the right attitude toward ourselves can we have the right attitude toward others.
--Wilfred Peterson (1900-1995) American author

Along Clark's Creek in Unicoi County, TN. Not a lot of water out on Clark's Creek right now, so the waterfalls are definitely looking puny, but still there are many trails with beautiful scenes like this.

Even if you're not much of a hiker, Clark's Creek is a beautiful drive, with its deep woods and views of the gentle creek. It's one of the few forest service roads in the area that I can confidently say a high clearance vehicle isn't necessary. It has some potholes here and there, but overall it's a level and well-maintained gravel road. It's about four miles from the main highway to where it ends in a cul-de-sac. If you go drive slow and keep an eye out for riders on horseback. Two waterfalls are in close proximity to one another, Sill Branch Falls and Pine Ridge Falls. Both are short, fairly easy hikes (1/2 mile each). For a longer, more difficult hike, check out Buckeye Falls.

Directions: Take I-26 to the Erwin/Jonesborough exit #37. At the end of the ramp, turn right and take State Route 81/107 west for 6.5 miles, stay on Rt. 107 by turning left and continue for 5 more miles. Turn left on Clark's Creek Road and drive 1.4 miles - at this point the road will turn to gravel and you'll enter Clark's Creek proper. The mileage below is given from this point of entry into Clark's Creek (where the road turns to gravel). Some of the better known trails located in this area include...
0.1 (approx) miles Iron Furnace trail head (on the left immediately after first bridge)
1.4 (approx) miles Hell Hollow Falls trail head (on the right)
1.7 miles Sill Branch Falls trail head (on the left)
1.9 miles Pine Ridge Falls trail head (on the left)
2.7 miles Buckeye Falls trail head (located at the terminus of Clark's Creek Road)

Kenneth Murray's book, Highland Trails, contains a detailed map of the area and descriptions of the hikes. Google books has an excerpt. Buy it from Amazon here.