When a Picture is NOT worth a thousand words

I've come to the conclusion that pictures just do not do justice to the beauty we're seeing down here. I'll continue to post some, but keep in mind that it's definitely NOT the same as being here! A better camera might help, but I don't think it would be as impressive unless they could be projected on a huge screen!

Sunday afternoon we took a drive down the Blue Ridge Parkway south of Asheville. I think the leaves must be very close to their peak of color. Since we left somewhat late in the day, we were treated to a different play of light and shadows than we've seen up until now. The lower proximity of the sun shining through the leaves provided an array of beautiful fall colors. As we drove through some of the heavily wooded areas, I felt as if we were in a huge church made up completely of stained glass windows. The colors were breathtaking and seeing such beauty in nature always makes me feel closer to the creator.

Our goal was to hike a trail off the Parkway that is supposed to be somewhat "off the beaten path." It's a place called "Skinny Dip Falls" and we weren't planning on participating in the activity for which the falls was named (and were hoping that the weather was too chilly for us to have to observe anyone else participating in the aforementioned activity! We did come across some teen-agers making out but they were thankfully fully clothed.)

It was worth the possibility of seeing more than we bargained for, and worth the hike to visit this beautiful spot. By the time we arrived, the sun was getting pretty low and we were a little worried that we might not have time to make it down to the falls and and back before darkness set in. We did NOT want to get stranded in the dark. Even though the trail was well-marked and only about a 20 minute hike from the parking lot on the BR Pkwy, we hadn't brought a compass or flashlight, had no phone signal, and the trail itself was a little hard to discern because of all the leaves on the ground. We wouldn't have been able to see the markers once it became dark. So, that added a little air of adventure to our hike!

The trail head for the falls is located at mile marker 417 on the Parkway. There's a small parking lot with an overlook that provides a view of Looking Glass Rock, which is an interesting mountain peak that stands out because of its bald surface.

Here are some shots of the falls.................(I still haven't quite figured out the alignment features of this site and apologize that the pictures don't always end up where I intend for them to be!)

As we drove back to the campgrounds, we were treated to some beautiful views of the mountains being touched by the setting rays of the sun. I know I said pictures don't do it justice, but I have to give you a taste of it.....

If you want to see more of the photos I've taken since we've come down here, you can visit my Picassa Web album at http://picasaweb.google.com/lorettawray The photos on this page are full size, a little better for viewing. I always downsize them to post on this site.

There are also some pictures from my pottery class with Suze Lindsay posted. That's been fun and interesting and I'll post more about it later!

FYI, I'll be heading to Ohio tomorrow for a few days to help get things ready and participate in an exhibit at Bear's Mill on Friday, Nov. 7. My pottery will be on display along with the work of 2 other potters (Julie Clark and Rita Wiley, both good friends of mine) and a talented painter, Evie Mahrt. I'm planning to run over to Indianapolis to visit Megan and Dustin on Wed and Thursday and then will stop at Danny's on the way back to spend the night Sat. It will be a busy week, but I'm looking forward to it!