waterfalls

If it’s Fall, it must be the Mountains

Every time October rolls around, I am irresistibly called back to the mountains. This year, it will be twice. Right now I am in the far western part of North Carolina, crossing here and there into Tennessee, and in a couple of weeks it will be the mountains of Virginia and West Virginia. Today I explored the area around Robbinsville. Here are a couple of diverse snapshots from the area. The image of mountain layers was taken from the Sunset Overlook on the Cherohala Skyway; the waterfall is Yellow Creek Falls on Hwy NC-219, and the bridge is also on Hwy NC-219.

More from the Blue Ridge Mountains

I’m back home in Charleston, but still basking in the residual beauty of western North Carolina and the Blue Ridge Mountains. Here are a couple more images from my wanderings in the area; mountains, waterfalls, and country scenes.

From the Sea to the Mountains

Every fall I try to spend time in Western North Carolina. I am like a child in a wonder world when surrounded by the brilliant colors of Fall. I don’t always time it right, but this time everything came together and I hit the peak for this area. I like to base myself in Brevard, because from here it’s a short run up to the Blue Ridge Parkway and elevations of 6,000 feet (where the trees are already bare) or I can wander around further down the mountains. Right now I’m socked in for a couple of days by a front that’s moving through and bringing a lot of rain, but here are a few from the last couple of days. No saturation added, in fact I had to back off the colors because they were almost an assault on the eyes! My favorite time of year.

Upstate South Carolina Waterfalls

This past weekend, a friend and I took a brief respite from the Charleston humidity and spent a couple days in Tryon, NC. We had mapped out a couple of waterfalls we planned to visit while in the area, both just over the state line in South Carolina. The first one, Wildcat Falls on the Cherokee Foothills Scenic Highway (SC 11) is very accessible from the roadside and consists of a lower and upper falls. I converted the lower falls photo into black and white IR. The next stop was Twin Falls in Sunset, SC and what a surprise that was! I was astonished to see how much water was cascading over the top. There were more like 4 or 5 falls because of increased volume due I guess to summer storms in the area. Beautiful sight.

Transylvania County, NC

View of Gwynn Valley from Connestee Falls

For me this area has become a magnet. Over the years I have visited the Brevard area many times through different seasons and have been seduced by its many beautiful attributes. This time, some friends and I rented a cabin in the woods of Connestee Falls. You don’t have to wander much beyond the borders to immerse yourself in scenic streams, cascades, lakes, forests, and mountains. Also, it is a sure refuge when the heat and humidity of Charleston become unbearable!