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...

Monday, June 26, 2017

Our Anniversary Trip --June 21-23, 2017

Mr and Mrs George Emery Adams
Married for 16 wonderful years on June 23, 2017;
Picture taken on 6/21/17 at the summit,  Mt. Mitchell State Park,  North Carolina
This past Friday (June 23, 2017),  George and I celebrated our 16th Wedding Anniversary.   What a fantastic 16 years it has been!!!!   Hope we have many, many more together!

As you know,  the two of us LOVE to celebrate and LOVE to travel and hike.  SO---this year we drove along the Blue Ridge Parkway in North Carolina and stayed a couple of nights at a NEW TO US  resort,  the Switzerland Inn  (at Little Switzerland,  North Carolina).   Even counting all of the wonderful things we saw and did on this short trip,  staying at this resort was definitely the highlight of this week for me.  I'll do an entire blog post about the resort soon.

Another highlight this year  (which will also be featured in an upcoming blog post) was seeing the beautiful wildflowers in bloom, especially the Catawba Rhododendrons.   All I can say is WOW.

But TODAY ---I'm featuring Day ONE of our trip (June 21, 2017),  talking about and showing pictures of 3 amazing hikes we took.   First,  we hiked in the CRAGGY GARDENS area to the MEADOWS.   Most of their Rhododendron Blooms were gone for this year,  but we saw many more later on during the trip.  BUT--it's a nice hike and we enjoyed it.  THEN---we hiked to the CRAGGY PINNACLE.   And thirdly,  we drove to MT. MITCHELL STATE PARK and hiked to the summit. Needless to say,  we both got lots of exercise --and lots of 'floors'  (elevation numbers).

This day was the best weather-wise for us on this trip... Tropical Storm Cindy brought lots of clouds, fog, drizzle and RAIN to the area, but we never let a little rain stop us from having fun....  Hope you enjoy today's pictures.


Beautiful MOUNTAIN VIEW --from Craggy Gardens,  6/21/17



Sign at CRAGGY GARDENS along the Blue Ridge Parkway;  Elevation here is 5640 feet;



We hiked up to the CRAGGY MEADOWS area  (elevation is 5840 feet).



I took this picture of George in Craggy Meadows in front of some of the Catawba Rhododendrons still blooming.  This area is filled with blooming Rhododendrons in late May/early June ---so we were a little late this year.



OOPS----We are still in the Craggy Meadows area --but RAIN is coming,  so we had better get back on the trail down.....  (Seems like those clouds followed us around all day --but the rains stayed away from where we were.)



From the parking lot at CRAGGY GARDENS,  this is a view of our next hike to CRAGGY PINNACLE....   Want to hike up there with us????????



WE MADE IT......  Compare this picture to the previous one!!!!!  We are now looking down at the parking lot at Craggy Gardens --from the upper summit area of the CRAGGY PINNACLE.  Those clouds are still chasing us!!!!! ha....
One more thing to point out in this picture:   See the roof on the building near the top of that ridge (near the upper middle of the picture)??????  WELL---that is where we hiked when we were at the Craggy Meadows area which I talked about in the photos above.


Beautiful mountain views from the summit at CRAGGY PINNACLE  (elevation 5892 feet)



George at CRAGGY PINNACLE  6/21/17



Here's a girl who loves being on top of the world!!!!!!



I think the boy likes being on top of the world ALMOST as much as the girl.....  



We didn't have our Tripod with us up here  and nobody to ask to take our picture together --- so we just enjoyed taking pictures of each other while we were on that summit --with nobody else around!!!!



We made it (with the tripod) to MT MITCHELL STATE PARK and to the summit!!!!!    



Beautiful view from the summit at Mt. Mitchell State Park  (elevation 6684 feet)



One more picture from the summit at Mt. Mitchell State Park;  I love the evergreen/pine trees surrounding this area...



I'll close with another picture of us taken at the summit at Mt. Mitchell State Park--as we celebrated our 16th Wedding Anniversary this week..
As I said above,  there are more blog posts to come from this wonderful trip.... I hope you enjoy our travels as we share them with those we love......    Have a wonderful week my Friends/Family...  Blessings to all of you!

Hugs,

40 comments:

Ann said...

What a great place. That is some view in that picture looking down at the parking lot and those clouds are really something

Liene said...

Happy wedding anniversary!!! May you have many more beautiful views... We love the Mt Mitchell area, especially with its dramatic weather - looks like you got quite a bit of that on your recent trip!

eileeninmd said...

Hello Betsy, beautiful photos. Happy Anniversary to you and George!



Happy Monday, enjoy your day and new week!

George said...

We got a lot of exercise that day, didn't we? But it was all definitely worth it!

Linda at To Behold The Beauty said...

Happy anniversary, you two. I know it's late, but I also know it was happy. What a nice way to celebrate. I love that first view of the mountains and the view looking down at where you'd been. Those clouds add some serious drama to the photos.

Busy Bee Suz said...

What a lovely trip you had together. Happy anniversary to you both; may you enjoy many more years of health and happiness. YOU both look amazing by the way. XOXO

Jeevan said...

First, my greetings for your wedding anniversary and wish for happy years ahead… Indeed wonderful places to spend the anniversary and glad the rain doesn’t disturb the hiking to the summits. Simply breath-taking views to behold and the rain clouds covering the view was terrific!

Linda G. said...

Happy anniversary to both of you. I may have extended anniversary wishes to you on Facebook, but I might have forgotten, i just shake my head at how much hiking you and George do. Amazing!

Ginny Hartzler said...

Happy Late anniversary, Betsy!!! You two are the most fun loving couple I know! HOW do you keep all the weight off?? I love your gorgeous blue mountain pictures the best. I cannot BELIEVE you hiked this huge mountain!! You must be the healthiest seniors anywhere! I LOVE the picture of the mountain with the road beside it and the cloud!!! That one may be my favorite...it is hard to choose.

Julie said...

Wow! I can't believe how fit you guys are. Those views must spur you on to great heights. Happy Anniversary xx

Ruth Hiebert said...

My goodness! I'm tired just reading about all those hikes.The views are amazing and i'm so glad you get to do these things together. Thanks for sharing the photos, it's the next best thing to being there.

Arkansas Patti said...

You two really know how to celebrate. Loved that pic of the two of you. You are hands down the cutest couple blogging. Funny how that cloud chased you but didn't rain on you. It knew better than to spoil a perfect day.

Linda P said...

Belated good wishes for your wedding anniversary (a couple of days after ours)! You certainly keep fit when you go on your hiking trips! This one looks great and I'm looking forward to seeing more especially the wild flowers.

Anita Johnson said...

Happy Anniversary! Enjoyed the pictures and hikes!

linda m said...

Awesome pictures taken at an awesome place by two awesome people.

Velva said...

Happy Anniversary! I really enjoy following along on your hikes and other adventures. You both love life and it shows. Truly an inspiration. Thanks for letting us follow along on your journey with you.

Velva

Small City Scenes said...

Beautiful beautiful Betsy. What a fun time the past 16 years have bee, huh!
Beautiful pictures of the surrounding area and the two "mountain goats"---LOL!
MB

Betsy said...

Happy Anniversary to you both! I don't know if I could ever hike that far again. You both have so much energy. Beautiful site from the top, almost makes one a little dizzy looking at it.
Did you come across any snakes? I would be scared to death I would see one and die. Thank you for visiting today.
betsy

Nancy Chan said...

Hi Betsy! Happy Anniversary to you and George! A beautiful way to celebrate your anniversary with beautiful mountain view of your tour and hike. May you and George continue to enjoy many, many more lovely view and hikes together. May God bless you with good health and many more anniversaries to come. Looking forward to more wonderful posts of your tours. Have a lovely day!

Rose said...

Oh, Betsy, a belated Happy Anniversary! I sure did enjoy these photos. You really saw and captured some beautiful views.

David said...

Betsy, Happy anniversary to you and George. You 2 are made for each other. You both love hiking, waterfalls, photography, parks and travel...nice! Great panoramic photos! They're especially appreciated because we'll never get there...neither of us like hiking. If I can't drive to a place...followed by a short walk, it's just not going to happen at this stage in my life. Despite living here in East Tennessee for 8 springs now, we've never figured out when to go and check out the Rhododendrons in bloom... Take Care, Big Daddy Dave

The Furry Gnome said...

Sounds like another of your wonderful trips! You two look so happy to be out there hiking!

Kim@stuffcould.... said...

Happy Anniversary! I hope yall have many more! I am so impressed yall could hike that far....it seems like a tough hike. Your header photo is so pretty too

Linda said...

Aw, happy anniversary! I haven't been to Craggy Gardens in years but I remember the spectacular rhododendron. And I love Mt. Mitchell!

Rue said...

I have so much to comment on!

I loved the tribute to your dad. My grandfather was born in 1908 and was in his 40s when my mom was born. I loved him dearly too and I was his favorite, just you were your daddy's little girl. Wonderful pictures!

Congratulations to your son and his new bride! They look so happy :)

The bluebirds are adorable!

Green is my favorite color, so you know I enjoyed that post ;)

And lastly... congratulations on 16 happy years together! What a wonderful place to celebrate. It's absolutely gorgeous there and I look forward to seeing the rest of your trip :)

xoxo,
rue

KathyA said...

Good to see you! And good to know you are still traveling and shooting such exquisite pictures!

Happy Anniversary!

Devilish Angel said...

Dear Betsy & George, Happy wedding anniversary!!! Lovely place to spent your cherishable moment...

Lowcarb team member said...

Oh Betsy ... it is so clear to see that you and George both love life.
What a fantastic blog post, I loved your photo's, but most of all I love the fact that I can add my Happy Anniversary Wishes to you both

All the best Jan

BeachGypsy said...

Happy happy anniversary you two! These are some of my favorite pictures youve ever posted!! Beautiful hikes and scenery! We are like y'all-- we walk and hike in ALL WEATHER but mercy the heat is surely getting bad here!

BeachGypsy said...

Ps-- love how the clouds look in those pictures!

Cheryl @ TFD said...

Happy Anniversary!! I really enjoyed your photos of your trip. The views are amazing. I wish I could still hike, but I'll just have to settle for seeing your beautiful photos. Keep 'em coming! Looking forward to seeing the resort. Take care and enjoy these few remaining days of June. Hard to believe how fast it's flown by!
Hugs, Cheryl

Pam said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Pam said...

Happy Anniversary, to you and your hubby, Betsy! I love love the Carolina's and we almost retired to Greenville, SC. I'm sure it 's gorgeous along the BRP, your photos are excellent of it, with the views that go on forever.

Bill and I celebrated our 50th in April so here's wishing the both of you many more great years of wedded bliss!
I'm really looking forward to more about the Switzerland Inn! Hugs

Lisa @ Two Bears Farm said...

What a great way to spend your anniversary! I look forward to hearing about the resort you stayed in.

Lady Fi said...

Congrats on your wonderful 16 years! Lovely scenery and shots.

Pam said...

Wow what a great day and you got some beautiful pics. Mountains are always so pretty. Happy Anniversary also!! Looks like you both picked a great way to spend the day!

diane b said...

Well done you two hikers. I would have loved to join you. The photos are beautiful.

Dee said...

Dear Betsy, I'm wondering if the Blue Ridge Parkway is part of the Appalachian Trail. Thanks for showing us the highest peak east of the Mississippi! Wonderful photos taken by two wonderful people who love each other and enjoy nature and one another's company. Peace be to you both.

Lux G. said...

Happy anniversary to you love birds!

Connie said...

Happy Anniversary! These are beautiful mountain scenes. I hope you both enjoyed your special day.