Welcome to JOYFUL REFLECTIONS. Also welcome to MARCH!!!! My header picture this month is a photo I took of the pretty Crocus blooms in our yard... The Crocuses and Daffodils are the first signs of spring here in Tennessee. I am definitely ready for SPRING...

Friday, July 26, 2013

Along the Blue Ridge Parkway June 26 and 27, 2013

View from Tanbark Ridge Overlook on the Blue Ridge Parkway (elevation 3175')
As you can tell from my header photo this month,  George and I went to North Carolina from June 26-29.  We went to see son Robert and family (near Burnsville).    BUT--as we always do when we travel,  we see other things along the way... This time we spent part of two days driving on the Blue Ridge Parkway (which we always LOVE to do).   The first day we visited the Craggy Gardens area --and hiked to the top of the mountain where they have lots of Rhododendrons.  That post will come later. 

Today's post will show you some of the beauty along the Blue Ridge Parkway itself.  All of the photos through Craggy Gardens were taken on June 26.  The other ones were taken on the 27th.   Hope you enjoy our Parkway photos.  IF you have a chance to visit the Blue Ridge Parkway,  we highly recommend this particular area.  (Click on the photos for enlargements.)




Betsy loves the Blue Ridge Parkway





The Pinnacle --from Lane Pinnacle Overlook
See that mountain peak in the middle of the picture?  That is the Pinnacle --and the elevation there is 5,230 feet.  I took the picture from  Lane Pinnacle Overlook at an elevation of 3,890 feet.




George at Craggy Gardens
There is seldom a time when we come to Craggy Gardens (elevation 5,500 feet) that we don't see fog... We saw it both days we were there this time... But--we love visiting there  especially in summer  (this road is closed in winter) --when the temperatures are quite low... It was about 59 degrees when we were there.  FELT wonderful on a hot, summer day!




Craggy Gardens Visitor Center
Here you can see the FOG on the top of the mountain....




George took this picture of me at the sign for the Craggy Gardens Visitor Center. You can see one of the tunnels along the parkway from this photo.




Us on the Blue Ridge Parkway,  June 27, 2013
The next morning we saw some more of the beautiful Blue Ridge Parkway.  Here's a photo of us wearing our new Cumberland Falls MOONBOW shirts.  Aren't they pretty?




At the Bald Knob Overlook (4,500 feet)





At the Green Knob Overlook at 4,560 feet
These next photos (this one plus 3 more below)  were all taken from a favorite overlook of ours,  the Green Knob Overlook... The views were fabulous--even though it was quite cloudy and overcast.




At the Green Knob Overlook  (where one can see several directions)





Another one from the Green Knob Overlook (4,560 feet)





One more from the Green Knob Overlook.
The sun was trying to peak through --and it showed some pretty shadows and colors on the mountains.




Taken from the Laurel Knob Overlook (4,602 feet)
Again,  you can see the sun shining on some of the mountain ranges below.  It was a nice day to be on the Parkway!




Finally,  here's one more photo of George and me taken that day along the Blue Ridge Parkway... I couldn't decide which of the two photos of us I liked the best,  so decided just to include them both.  The Blue Ridge Parkway is a beautiful place for pictures!!!!

Hope you enjoyed the photos today --and hope you get to visit the Blue Ridge Parkway sometime.  Have a great weekend and I'll see you on Monday.

Hugs,