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Welcome to JOYFUL REFLECTIONS. Also welcome to AUGUST, my favorite month. My header picture this month shows some gorgeous CASA BLANCA Lilies blooming in our yard. God's Blessings to YOU for an awesome month.

Monday, February 20, 2012

North Georgia Mountain Valentine's Trip

Here is the little bumpy, unpaved road we were on --on that foggy morning!!!
George and I decided to celebrate Valentine's Day OUR WAY...  One of our favorite things in the world to do is to go deep into the woods on the narrow, back roads and check out waterfalls and do some hiking!!!!  SO--that is exactly what we did on Feb. 13-15.  We drove to the North Georgia Mountains --and got to see 7 waterfalls during those few days!!!

The one I will share with you today was the first one we saw on Valentine's morning.  They had predicted snow and ice --and we were afraid that we'd just be stuck all day in the motel... BUT--luckily, as is usually the case,  they missed the forecast and we only saw snow at the higher elevations..  This time,  I said  "Thank Goodness"... ha

We drove near Helen, Georgia (in White County) to see a group of waterfalls in the Chattahoochee Wildlife Management Area (near the Unicoi State Park).   We took Forest Road 44 (called the Chattahoochee River Road) deep into the mountains...

We happened upon  our first waterfall  not too far into the mountains.  According to our Georgia information,  this one is called the "Upper Spoilcane Creek Falls"...   It is near Unicoi Gap State Park.  We were at about 3100 feet in elevation at this level---so we enjoyed seeing some snow and ice here.

One really good thing about hiking in weather like this (32 degrees,  snow, fog, drizzles, etc.),  we had the entire mountain to ourselves.. We drove over 8 miles in and out of that mountain --and never EVER saw one other person nor vehicle!!!!!  It was TREMENDOUS--just like we love it.  It was OUR kind of trip, and the mountains were ALL ours!!!!

Hope you enjoy today's pictures.   Be sure to click on them to enlarge them.




Here is  the Upper Spoilcane Creek Falls--surrounded by snow and ice.  Pretty,  aren't they?




These new hiking, rain jackets were perfect on a day like this  (even though we both had sweatshirts and flannel shirts under them  for more warmth)...  It did warm up a little during the day,  but at this time,  it was only about 32 degrees up there.




Here is a neat picture of the bottom of the waterfall ---from fairly close!!!!  Wanna go for a dip in the water????????   Brrrrr----probably much too cold on this day!




George was getting some 'up close and personal' photos also.  The waterfall went very high up in the mountain --but the fog prevented us from seeing much of the top.




Here is a neat picture showing some of the snow and ice beside the waterfall.




The old woman was getting COLD ---so she is ready to get back in Mrs. P (our Prius)...




Finally,  we are heading farther and farther deep into the mountains...   Bet you can't wait to see more pictures!!!!!  It was a fabulous day in the Georgia mountains ---and a great way to spend Valentine's Day. 





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SNOW in FAIRFIELD GLADE on Sunday,  2/19/12
Our Spring Flowers trying to 'grow'---Don't know what they'll look like tomorrow. ha
 Have a wonderful Monday...  As I said above, we got snow here yesterday (about 2 inches or so) --and it was SO pretty  (just the kind I like---wet snow that clings to everything).... (There are a couple more pictures on Facebook.)

Hugs,
Betsy
Thanks for visiting. Please leave a comment and I'll respond to you. BUT--I beg of you to take off "WORD VERIFICATION" from your blog IF you have it.  I truly cannot read that 'gobbly goop'...   Thank You so very very much!!!

Friday, February 17, 2012

Best of 2011: Western Trip --Part II

As you probably know (unless you are new to my blog),  George and I took a three-week trip out west this past June.  This was a fabulous trip ---and we loved every minute of it.  We hope to go back again and again!!! It's like a whole different world out there!!!

If you missed Part I of my favorite pictures from this trip,  click HERE.  Today I will share with you Part II from this trip.  Above was one of our very favorite places,  BRYCE CANYON.  We loved Bryce so much that we even went back a second time.  If you want to see more pictures from Bryce Canyon,  click  HERE.




This was another small canyon are that we visited and loved,  KOLOB CANYONS.   In order to see more pictures from this gorgeous place,  click  HERE




We spent a very hot day at the ARCHES.   We want to go back there sometime when there aren't so many people and also when it is a little cooler.  Above is one of many great pictures from the ARCHES ---showing the unusual rock formations.   In order to see more pictures from the Arches,  click HERE.




We were near Estes Park, Colorado when I took this photo.  Isn't this a gorgeous place?  In order to see more pictures from the Rocky Mountain National Park,  click HERE.




We drove UP UP UP into the Rocky Mountain National Park... The farther up we went,  the more snow we saw...  AWESOME!!!!  I think this picture was taken at about 12,000 feet in elevation.    Isn't it beautiful?????




Finally,  here's one more picture of one of our very favorite places,  BRYCE CANYON.  If you ever get to Utah,  please go and see Bryce Canyon.

Hope you enjoyed our 'Best Of' pictures... It was a fabulous trip --and we probably have many many 'best of' pictures from that experience.

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On another very troubling subject,   I am very very upset at what Blogger has done now with Word Verification.   I cannot read the gobbly-goop they are now using.  I have never used WORD VERIFICATION on my blog --and have had NO TROUBLE.  Blogger has a great spam-filter...

To tell you the truth,  I  have enough trouble getting to all of my commenters' blogs ---and now,  with the new Word Verification,  I just cannot do it.  If you choose to continue to use Word Verification on your blog,  I will probably quit leaving comments.   I just cannot do it... Sorry!!

My good friend,  Theresa (Texwisgirl)  wrote an excellent post last night about this... IF you want more information,  please read her post (click HERE)...   OR ---if you need help getting rid of the Word Verification,  contact me (betsyadams@mac.com) and I'll help you.  Thanks so much!!!

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Have a wonderful weekend and I'll see you on Monday.
Hugs,
Betsy