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,

53 comments:

Linda at To Behold The Beauty said...

These are all just so pretty and inviting. I love the hole in the clouds in that first one and the wonderful layered look of the mountains in some of the others. I can see why you had trouble choosing a favorite between the two pictures of you and George. Tough call, but I think I'd vote for the first one, just because it's a little closer shot.

Hootin Anni said...

It IS such beautiful country!! And I like how you two are dressed identically....that's sweet. Makes me smile.

eileeninmd said...

Good Morning, Betsy! I love these photos from the Parkway. It is such a wonderful scenic drive. Have a happy weekend!

Sharon said...

Our fast approaching move is getting in the way of any travel plans and this post makes me so envious. As you know, the BRP and western North Carolina areas is one of our favorites and these pics made me long for a trip over there. Hopefully, one will happen sooner rather than later. I see a cool, fall weekend in out future!!

Margaret Birding For Pleasure said...

HI Betsy Wonderful set of beautiful scenery shots adn it was lovely to see Geeorge and your self looking so well and relaxed. Margaret

From the Kitchen said...

I love seeing my Blue Ridge mountains!! Thanks.

Best,
Bonnie

MadSnapper said...

i like the name Craggy Gardens..

Rose said...

Beautiful, beautiful views!

linda m said...

I love the Blue Ridge Mountains and the names of the different overlooks are so descriptive of the place. Have a great weekend.

Lisa @ Two Bears Farm said...

Don't you just love driving on the parkway? I often do long runs on it - I've run up to 20 miles at a time on it. With all the hills it makes for quite a workout!

Big Dude said...

Great shots of a beautiful area Betsy, especially the header. You guys obviously love the mtns.

MJ said...

I just love how the fog kisses the tops of the mountains, it is beautiful. And the mountains layered with all of its different shades of blues... A wonderful post. I always leave here feeling refreshed. ((HUGS))

Karin said...

Very lovely travel photos. Glad you had a great trip!

Anonymous said...

Such amazing views. Thanks for sharing your travels with us. Have a great weekend.

LV said...

So many beautiful scenes. The two main subjects with all that glorious background never fails to be perfect sight.

Sylvia K said...

Such a beautiful place and one I've wanted to visit!! Your photos are terrific as always, Betsy, the next best thing to being there myself!! Hope you and George have a great weekend!!

Sara S. said...

Beautiful pictures! I love how the sun plays different color variations on the mountains. I bet your views of the mountains would be absolutely splendid in the fall with all the leaves changing colors.

Thank you for visiting my blog, and I am loving Indiana so far. Of course I miss my family but I miss the trees and forests of the Northwoods at times also. I have a hard time getting my bearings down here with all the corn fields. It will come with time I'm sure (or hope).

Enjoy your travels and thanks for sharing your wonderful pics.

I Am Woody said...

Beautiful area!!

Ginny Hartzler said...

You guys in the moonbow shirts, and the last couple mountain shots are my favorites today. And yes, it seems we ALWAYS have fog here to some extent!

Terry and Linda said...

Oh, someday, someday I want to come to see...and to visit all the historical sites!

Linda
http://coloradofarmlife.wordpress.com
http://deltacountyhistoricalsociety.wordpress.com

Ruth Hiebert said...

I really like all the pictures. The area is so beautiful.You know,my favourite from this post is the first one. I love the circle of clouds,it really caught my attention.

happyone said...

That's way up there. What beautiful scenery.

Chatty Crone said...

So how many cute t-shirts do you have? They are so cute.
And I just love the awesome scenery there. The mountains and the cloud coverings! sandie

Anonymous said...

Hi Betsy, That area of our great country is on my must see list. I enjoy the hills and lower mountains a lot. Have a super nice Saturday tomorrow!

Gardener on Sherlock Street said...

Rolling clouds and rolling mountains with you two in between often. Just awesome scenery.

Rohrerbot said...

Nothing like great fresh air, a hike and loved one to make a trip go by quickly. We are planning more treks up north this fall.....and I can't wait!! In fact, I can't wait to be retired!:)

Pat @ Mille Fiori Favoriti said...

We drove on hte Blue Ridge Parkway only once, but it was a very memorable trip, Betsy. I love your Moonbow shirts! That was a fun idea to make your own shirts with George's photo!

Joy said...

Sweet, awesome and foggy day:)

Linda P said...

It sounds as if there are many places to rest, take photos and just gaze at the beauty of those mountain ranges. Hope you and George have a lovely weekend!

MastHoliday said...

What a wonderful experience present beautifully! Great trip, Betsy.

pembrokeshire lass said...

Looks like an incredible walk. Thanks for taking us there. It's always nice to see pics of the person writing the blog so thanks for including pics of you and George. Love the T shirts too! Joan

Arkansas Patti said...

I too was captivated by the rectangle in the clouds. Have never seen a geometric form in the sky before.
I would love to see your collection of shirts. I swear you tow never wear the same ones twice.

Donna said...

These cool mountain vistas are quite a treat to see! One day, I hope to drive the entire parkway and take in all the sights. Each season has a beauty of its own.

Janice K said...

The haze over those mountains creates such beauty. There is such a peacefulness about them.

Carol Mattingly said...

You took me right ack to my trip and hike to Craggy. Thanks.

Lady Di Tn said...

Glad you included both photos as I love seeing the love and joy you too show when photographed together. I could just get lost in those photos and I really really like the Green Knob overlook ones. Peace

Neal said...

Absolutely gorgeous. I really enjoyed seeing those pictures. Patti and I love the parkway just like you guys do.

Mary said...

Gorgeous views...and you two look pretty good, too :-)

Grandma Bonnie said...

I like the photo with the fog over the mountain. I like taking pictures of fog. Fog can be very interesting. That last photo of Green Knob Overlook is spectacular.

DeniseinVA said...

Great photos of you and George and all that beautiful scenery. Gregg and I were at Big Meadows in our neck of the woods yesterday. We had a fantastic afternoon and I will always be grateful to the people who labored and built the roads through the mountains all those years ago, so that we could enjoy driving on them today. What an amazing fete that was.

diane b said...

I love the rolling mountains and the blue hue. Nice to be able to get up there and cool off I imagine.

Unknown said...

It looks so beautiful there, thank you so much for sharing these. The pictures of you and George are lovely.

Rajiv Sankarapillai said...

Awesome pics ! Beautiful !

Enjoyed reading your post. All the pics are excellent, if you have more include them as well. Would love to see more details of those beautiful places.

Thanks for your sweet comments on my blog. Have a great week ahead !

Jeevan said...

Absolutely wonderful view overlooking series of mountains... your photos are breathtaking Betsy! I love the fog mountain and tunnel shot.

Happy Sunday and pleasant week ahead:)

NCmountainwoman said...

So glad you made the trip again, because as you may know, that area of the Parkway is now closed just north of the Tanbark Ridge Tunnel. A wide crack has developed across the highway and is several feet deep. You have to drive past Asheville all the way to Marion to get back on the Parkway to get to Mt. Mitchell and Craggy.

At first they allowed foot traffic but it became too dangerous. What a nightmare here in the busiest season.

Ramakant Pradhan said...

I love the Blue Ridge mountains. I used to drive often to Asheville and Brevard with some friends. It's one of Mother Nature's fabulous creations.

Busy Bee Suz said...

The views from the overlooks are just spectacular...but you can bet if I were there in person and I stepped too close to the side???~~~~ Ughhh....belly ache. :9

Connie said...

So beautiful, Betsy! The scenery is all so stunning. Loved the pictures of you and George too!

Cheryl @ TFD said...

You make an overcast day look really wonderful with these shots, Betsy! I hope we get to this beautiful area some day. Loved seeing all your photos!
Take care!

Small Kucing said...

This post brightens up my day, Betsy. Am so happy that both of you are healthy and happy. Wish the same for everyone

Small City Scenes said...

Beautiful pictures, beautiful views and beautiful people. You live in a gorgeous area. MB

The Furry Gnome said...

Betsy, I've been meaning to write and tell you how much I'm enjoying your blog. And thanks for visiting mine so regularly! We drove down the Blue Ridge Parkway (or tried to!) from Shenandoah to the Smokies in late April. We only got part way though, because of a huge detour. We had to leave before we got to Craggy Gardens, and never did rejoin it, driving on to Ashville instead. But we had a great holiday, especially in the Smokies. Then we drove west to Nashville and on to Paducah for the big quilt festival, so we must have passed fairly close to you driving west on I40.

Anyway, keep up the writing and photos. You have some beautiful country down there. I love the pictures with the hills receding in the distance.

Eric McCarty said...

Enjoyed the post, Betsy! Thanks for sharing. Feel free to submit any of these pictures on our site and social feeds at blueridgeparkwaydaily.com