Day 6 Fall in Tennessee

These images were taken in Cades Cove, Great Smoky Mountains National Park in Tennessee, one of my all time favorite places. Tomorrow I will make my way home to Charleston and my real life, but it's been a wonderful week away.

Day 5 Fall in Tennessee

Day 4 Fall in Tennessee

This is not going to be a long schpiel because I am very tired after an early start and a late finish.  Furthermore tomorrow is a 6am start so I will let the images speak for me.  All taken in the Great Smoky Mountain National Park today.

Day 3 Fall in Tennessee

This morning I left my very comfortable Hampton Inn in Murphy, NC and headed Northwest to Townsend, a little town that serves as a non-commercialized gateway to the Great Smoky Mountain National Park. This as opposed to the towns of Gatlinburg, Pigeon Forge, and others that are to be avoided at all costs during the peak fall season.  It was raining and stormy as I drove the Foothills Parkway and still pretty foggy and wet in Cades Cove, but it cleared up nicely during the afternoon and it was nice to have some weather variations for my photography.

Day 2 Fall in North Carolina

More gorgeous scenery under warm and sunny skies in Western North Carolina. There is nothing to beat a leisurely road trip under these conditions and it's an annual treat that I enjoy.  I find I re-visit favorite places, even though there are so many more to explore.  This time I re-visited Gwynn Valley summer camp and farm in a Brevard valley.  What a beautiful property, and lucky summer kid campers.  Then it was westward bound through Cashiers, Highlands, and on to Murphy.  Here are a few images from the day's harvest :)

Day 1 Fall in North Carolina

I'm feeling nicely tired as I download my images and pick a couple for this blog. My day started with sunrise from the Pounding Mill Outlook on the Blue Ridge Parkway, and I meandered all over the place from there.  Hiking in the woods, wading through streams (and getting very wet), and generally trying to make the most of every daylight minute.  In the morning I will leave the Brevard area and head west, and the plan is to stay in Murphy overnight. More adventures tomorrow.

YMCA Greenville's Pretty Place

I am traveling in North Carolina and eastern Tennessee for a few days. My "fall time".  This spot has been on my list of places to visit for awhile and this evening I spent a couple of hours here, just sitting, thinking, praying, and occasionally taking a photograph.  It's just that kind of place, a sacred space.  Here are a couple of the images.

Black & White Sea Island Aerials

I love the motion of the water and other elements in these images, and decided to convert them to black and white which lessens the distraction of the color.  Not sure which I ultimately prefer, but it's fun to explore different interpretations.  These are of Botany Bay, Kiawah Island, and Church Creek.

New Aerial Images of the Lowcountry

Yesterday I spent some time buzzing over the barrier islands of South Carolina at a rising tide.  I was curious to see what Botany Bay boneyard beach looked like since Hurricane Matthew hit that Edisto area hard.  In fact Botany Bay, and another favorite of mine, Hunting Island in Beaufort are both closed indefinitely while officials assess and make repairs to the damage sustained.  Here are a couple of the images from that flight.

Hurricane Matthew - the movie

Really lousy quality because Blogger has compressed the file to the extreme.  Sorry folks.

Charleston braces for Hurricane Matthew

Charleston has faced many hurricanes in her time, and now again she has readied herself to meet another in Hurricane Matthew.  We decided not to evacuate since we are on relatively high ground.  We are also well prepared with supplies.  I still can't help feeling a little apprehensive about what the next 24 hours will bring.  It's a strange limbo type feeling when you've done all you know to do to prepare, and now there's just the waiting.  I decided to take a ride downtown this morning and it's been awhile since I've seen Charleston this deserted.  Here are a few images that hopefully capture the current mood of this historic southern town.  I pray any damage will be light and that her people will stay safe.

Hurricane Matthew is 24 hours closer ...

... and this evening was just as peaceful as yesterday's was.  The colors leaned towards the pinks rather than the goldens, but the water was still calm and our sophisticated weather forecasting technology aside, it would never occur to anyone that a monster storm is poised to unleash total chaos upon this idyllic scene.