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...

Tuesday, November 1, 2016

Smoky Mountain Fall Colors 10/19/16

The Chimneys,  Highway 441 in the Smokies
George and I took our annual  "Fall Colors" Trip to the Smoky Mountains and to the Cherohala Skyway on 10/19 and 10/20/2016.  We go every Fall but this was one of our best years for the colors... We just got there at the right time this year...  Pictures show the beauty --but in order to 'feel' it --you had to be there... It was almost surreal...

We started out at the Foothills Parkway where we hiked to Look Rock.  Then we drove on Little River Road between Townsend and Highway 441... Next it was up the mountain on  441 --with many stops along the way.  We also went to Clingman's Dome  and hiked to the top (which we haven't done in many years)..  The weather was perfect up there (clear as a bell)  and the colors were magnificent.  After Clingman's Dome --we got back on Highway 441 and headed down the mountain to Cherokee (where we saw the elk) and where we spent the night.

The next day (20th),  we headed from Cherokee to Robbinsville,  NC ---and then took the Cherohala Skyway to Tellico Plains,  TN  with a side trip to the Indian Boundary...  After lots of stops and tons of pictures,  we headed home... It was a wonderful short trip with marvelous Fall Colors everywhere we went.

Since I have been working on my blog headers for November,  I just decided to expand that idea for you today...  As you can see from all of the places we stopped,  I will have many different pictures to show you from all of the different areas.  But today,  I'm focusing just on the areas around Highway 441 including Newfound Gap and Clingman's Dome-- showing you some of the colors we saw...   Hope you enjoy seeing the glorious mountains and colors as much as I do.


Not far from Clingman's Dome



Beautiful Blue Sky in the background



Late Afternoon sun was shining on the mountains near Newfound Gap



Colors--colors--colors!



Layers and layers of beautiful mountains



More yellows on the top of the mountain --but the reds were evident!



Miles and miles of colorful mountains



See how the mountains were showing off their colors?  Awesome.



I love this one with the reds in front!



A beautiful day in a beautiful place!



This is in the area of great overlooks on the North Carolina side ---beyond Newfound Gap.



Two very happy people enjoying the Fall Colors  on the Clingman's Dome Road
Hope you enjoyed seeing 'our' Smokies as much as we enjoyed taking pictures to share...

There are a couple more pictures on my Photo Blog if you want to see them... Click HERE to see them.

Hope you are enjoying Fall..  As you know,  we've had a rough patch here in our area of Tennessee (due to the excessive heat and the drought)...  SO--it was wonderful getting to see the beautiful Fall Colors in the Smokies,  and just to get away for a couple of days!!!!

Hugs,