Welcome to JOYFUL REFLECTIONS. Also welcome to DECEMBER . Hope you have an awesome and grateful month!

Monday, November 2, 2020

On Top of Ole Smoky!!!!

Dear Blog Friends,   Happy November!!!!  Goodness --how time flies!!!!   Soon it will be Christmas... Mercy Me!!!!!

George and I made our annual Fall Trip (searching for Pretty Fall Colors) on October 20 and 21, 2020.  We certainly picked a gorgeous couple of days this year,  as you can tell when looking at our pictures.  Every year is different from another --and the trees are prettier some years, more than others... This was a very good year for the colors.

Since we both took over 500 pictures each on this trip,  I had a hard time knowing where to begin when sharing the pictures with you.   SO--for my first Blog Post from that trip,   I'm concentrating on one specific area.  The first day was spent  in the Smoky Mountains ---and all of these pictures were taken in or near Newfound Gap on Highway 441 with an elevation of about 5,050 feet.   (We did not check out Clingman's Dome this trip due to WAY too much TRAFFIC.)  Newfound Gap is where the state of Tennessee meets North Carolina.  Some of the best overlooks in this area are Newfound Gap itself,  plus about the next 3-5 overlooks heading south toward Cherokee,  NC. 

 I tried to share pictures from all of those overlooks ---and as you can tell,  some of the colors are different depending upon whether or not I was shooting into the sun --or the other direction.  Some are zoomed in so that I could not only see the Fall colors but could put some emphasis on the beautiful mountain ranges on a beautiful clear day!!  

Relax and enjoy the pictures  on a beautiful Autumn Day in October in Tennessee and North Carolina!!

Lots of different colors when looking UP at that blue sky!!!


This picture was taken at Newfound Gap --looking south.   Those yellow/gold/rust colored trees/leaves were gorgeous.


Some of those gorgeous  "spruce-fir"  evergreens found all around Newfound Gap.


This is the first overlook beyond Newfound Gap in North Carolina.


Looking away from the sun presents some beautiful blue skies!!!


This was an interesting picture showing a zoomed in picture --with all of those brilliant Orange colors surrounding the big "spruce-fir" evergreens.


Ranges and Ranges of mountains ---on a clear (NON-hazy) day  (which is rare in the mountains)!!!!


This overlook in North Carolina has always been a favorite... I like this picture so much that I'm using it this month as my Header picture on my Blog.


Here are two very happy people enjoying the Autumn Colors in the Smoky Mountains on Oct. 20, 2020. 

Hope you enjoyed the pictures... Believe me,  as slow as I seem to be these days,  it took me a VERY long time to pick out just the "perfect" (ha) pictures for YOU.  

Thanks for all of your thoughts and prayers about my upcoming procedure/surgery,  that I mentioned in last week's post.  Most of you remember my Cardiac Ablation from June 2019... WELL--I'm having another one tomorrow (Nov. 3rd).   My first Ablation worked GREAT for about 9 months or so..  I felt as if I had my life back!!!!!   WELL---in 2020,  I've gone back into A Fib 9 different times (BIGTIME).  Tried new meds (didn't work --except to make me SICKER, especially my stomach issues)...   SO --new doctor/new ideas!!!!!    THEREFORE--here we go again...  I hope I can get my life back one more time!!!!!!!  I still have a lot of quality living I want to do.   PRAYERS please...  Thanks!

Hugs,

Betsy💝💛💚💕