Little River in the Smokies

(Note:  The collage may be enlarged by clicking on it once or twice.)

March is a wonderful time to visit the Smoky Mountains here in Tennessee.  There usually aren’t too many tourist, especially during the week, and it is possible to pull to the side of the road and enjoy the scenery.  The water levels are usually pretty good in March, so it’s possible to get some nice pictures of flowing water.

The waterfall in the upper left corner of this collage is Meigs Falls, which can be seen along Little River Road.  The other pictures are of Little River taken at pull-offs along the road.

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Betsy has a new photo blog, which I’m sure you will enjoy.  You can find it by clicking HERE

Our World: Little Pigeon River

Little Pigeon River, Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Tennessee. January 23, 2013.

(Note:  All pictures may be enlarged by clicking on them.)

This is my post for the Our World meme.  This meme is a second generation of My World Tuesday created by Klaus Peter and is hosted by five wonderful ladies.  To learn more about our world or to join and share your part of the world, click HERE.

Last week Betsy and I traveled to Gatlinburg to spend a couple of days in the Smokies.  Although our trip was cut short by an impending ice storm, we still were able to enjoy the beauty of ‘our’ Smoky Mountains without the distraction of lots of traffic or tourists.

Little Pigeon River, Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Tennessee. January 23, 2013.

Winter is a marvelous time to visit the park because the rivers are relatively high, and the rocky stream beds provide wonderful photographic opportunities.

Little Pigeon River, Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Tennessee. January 23, 2013.

On our second morning in the Smokies we drove up Greenbrier Road along the Little Pigeon River.  Although we stopped several times for pictures, these photos were taken at the bridge where the road to Ramsey Cascade meets Greenbrier Road.

Skywatch Friday: Tennessee Sky

Looking toward the Smoky Mountains from the Foothills Parkway near Townsend, Tennessee. October 23, 2012.

(Note:  All pictures may be enlarged by clicking on them once or twice.)

This is my post for Skywatch Friday, a meme for sharing views of the sky from all over the world.  To see more, or to join and share your own photos of the sky, click HERE.

Some people come to East Tennessee to enjoy the glorious autumn colors.  Other come to see our majestic mountains.  When both are present under a beautiful Tennessee sky, there’s not a better place to be.

This picture was taken on the Foothills Parkway looking toward the Smoky Mountains in October of this year.

Our World: Another Smokies Panorama

Looking toward the Smoky Mountains from the Foothills Parkway, Tennessee. October 23, 2012.

(Note:  All pictures may be enlarged by clicking on them.)

This is my post for the Our World meme.  This meme is a second generation of My World Tuesday created by Klaus Peter and is hosted by five wonderful ladies.  To learn more about our world or to join and share your part of the world, click HERE.

This is another panorama I put together after Betsy and I traveled the Foothills Parkway in late October.  We stopped at several overlooks along the way, and at several of them I took photos which I hoped I could merge into a single panorama image.  This picture was taken looking toward the Smokies.  I like both the autumn color in the foreground and the blue sky above the mountains.

Smoky Mountains Panorama

A panorama of the Smoky Mountains as seen from the Foothills Parkway in Tennessee. October 23, 2012.

(Note:  All pictures may be enlarged by clicking on them once or twice.)

Last week Betsy and I drove along the Foothills Parkway, which is just west of the Smoky Mountains.  We were able to enjoy the autumn colors and beautiful views without getting caught in all the traffic of the Smoky Mountains National Park.

The views were spectacular, and I was inspired to try to get a panorama of the scene.  The picture above is my first effort, created by merging three photos in Photoshop.  I don’t think it looks too shabby, if I do say so myself.

SkyWatch Friday: Smoky Mountains Sky

Looking toward the Smoky Mountains from the Foothills Parkway, Tennessee. October 14, 2010.

(Note:  All pictures may be enlarged by clicking on them once or twice.)

This is my post for Skywatch Friday, a meme for sharing views of the sky from all over the world.  To see more, or to join and share your own photos of the sky, click HERE.

The Great Smoky Mountains National Park is the nation’s most visited national park.  People come throughout the year to see the mountains.  They come in October to see the autumn colors.  But the sky is also worth seeing and enjoying.

This picture was taken in early October from the Foothills Parkway looking toward the Smoky Mountains.

Middle Prong of Little River

A small cascade on the Middle Prong of Little River, Great Smoky Mountains, Tennessee. August 27, 2012.

(Note:  All pictures may be enlarged by clicking on them once or twice.)

In late August Betsy and I visited the Smoky Mountains after an early morning appointment in Knoxville.  We drove along the Middle Prong of Little River up past Tremont.  This is off the beaten path in the Smokies, except for fishermen, and we enjoy being able to stop and enjoy the river without having to worry about traffic.

The river was lower than we’ve ever seen it, but there were still places where we could stop and enjoy seeing the water rushing over and around boulders in the stream.

Water swirling over rocks in Middle Prong, Great Smoky Mountains, Tennessee. (Photo by Betsy)

Betsy got some wonderful pictures of the clear water flowing over the rocky river bottom.

Middle Prong of Little River, Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Tennessee. August 27, 2012.

We hope that our dry weather soon comes to an end and that there will be more water in the river the next time we go.  But we enjoyed this trip to the beautiful Smokies and look forward to many more.

Betsy in the Smokies

(Note:  All pictures may be enlarged by clicking on them once or twice.)

In late August we had some early morning appointments in Knoxville, so we decided to make a day of it by visiting the Smokies after finishing up in Knoxville.  We drove along Middle Prong past Tremont, and although the water level was low, we found plenty of reasons to stop and enjoy the scenery.  Later in the day we drove around Cades Cove, one of our favorite  parts of the park.

This collage is made up of photos I took of Betsy during our day in the Smokies.

Hiking in the Rain

Little River near Elkmont in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Tennessee. May 22, 2012.

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We had to take our car into Knoxville for servicing in late May, so we made an early morning appointment so we would have most of the day for a visit to the Smokies.  We decided to hike to the Little River Trail from the Elkmont Campground.  The trail follows the river and leads to Husky Branch Falls.

The day started well, and we enjoyed the drive to Elkmont as we always do.  We often left the trail to get pictures of the river, which was beautiful (above).

George in the rain on our hike along Little River. May 22, 2012.  (Photo by Betsy)

And then the rains came.  Fortunately we had rain jackets with us.  The jackets helped us, and our cameras, keep dry.  We kept going, even though it was raining hard at times.

Husky Branch Falls, Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Tennessee. May 22, 2012.

The rain started to let up when we got to Husky Branch Falls, so we were able to enjoy this pretty waterfall.

Betsy taking pictures along Little River in the Smokies. May 22, 2012.

It was still raining as we headed back to the car.  At times it was only drizzling, so we continued to shoot the river as we walked back.

Our hike that day was about 4.3 miles, and it was raining for only four of those miles!  But it was a great day.

Our World: Roaring Fork

Roaring Fork, Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Tennessee. April 23, 2012.

(Note:  All pictures may be enlarged by clicking on them.)
This is my post for the Our World meme.  This meme is a second generation of My World Tuesday created by Klaus Peter and is hosted by five wonderful ladies.  To learn more about our world or to join and share your part of the world, click HERE.

Last Monday Betsy and I took a trip to the Smokies — a place we like to visit several times a year.  We decided to drive the Roaring Fork Motor Trail behind Gatlinburg since it had been several years since we had driven that road.

The road follows Roaring Fork (hence the name) for much of the way, so we stopped quite often to take in the beauty of the stream.  I was happy for the opportunity to try out my new variable density neutral filter, which allows me to use extremely slow shutter speeds.  The exposures for the photos in this post were from 15 to 24 seconds.

Roaring Fork, Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Tennessee. April 23, 2012.

We were mostly interested in the flowing water and cascades of Roaring Creek, but the moss-covered rocks in and bordering the stream were also interesting and beautiful in their own right.

Roaring Fork, Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Tennessee. April 23, 2012.

I’ve decided I rather like the way the long exposures smooth out the water while preserving the sense of motion.  I’ve got a lot to learn about using this filter effectively, but I’m pleased with the results of this first experiment.