We drove to Cade Cove and turned onto a dirt road that took us on an adventure that was more then what we had anticipated. Rich Mountain Road is steep, winding, and rough with many a sharp turn and very risky for a car. We crossed Indian Grave Gap Trail and one will have to be physically fit to hike that trail. It was a 8 mile, one-way gravel road winding around Rich Mountain that leads to Tuckaleechee Cove and Townsend, TN. The road has stunning views down into Cades Cove. You can see Cades Cove Missionary Baptist Church. It is one of the most remote locations in the Smokies.
Nature and Landscape Photography, Photographic Journal of Biblical and Poetic Expressions
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Showing posts with label North Carolina. Show all posts
Showing posts with label North Carolina. Show all posts
Wednesday, December 30, 2015
Rich Mountain Road
We drove to Cade Cove and turned onto a dirt road that took us on an adventure that was more then what we had anticipated. Rich Mountain Road is steep, winding, and rough with many a sharp turn and very risky for a car. We crossed Indian Grave Gap Trail and one will have to be physically fit to hike that trail. It was a 8 mile, one-way gravel road winding around Rich Mountain that leads to Tuckaleechee Cove and Townsend, TN. The road has stunning views down into Cades Cove. You can see Cades Cove Missionary Baptist Church. It is one of the most remote locations in the Smokies.
Clouds Came Down to Earth
"Clouds Came Down to Earth"
Clouds came down to Earth
And sit at my feet,
No place to wander
Not far the eye could see,
For thick and grey was the air,
The trees did not bend,
from the whisper of the wind
Nor did the birds whimper
As stillness fell on the earth
Covering her in blankets of grey...
By PL Fallin
Thursday, September 3, 2015
Shaconage "Blue, Like Smoke"
I set my camera to take black and white pictures of the cloudy mountain peaks. The clouds were so thick you could not see the mountain range or even the steep cliffs. It was a visual "smoke without fire" effect. The Cherokees called the Smoky Mountains Shaconage meaning "Blue, Like smoke."
Thursday, April 30, 2015
Where Sleepless Waters Flow
What does one do when they cannot have a restful night and sleep does not come. This person turns toward nature sounds and looks at photos of a mountain creek. I close my eyes and imagine hearing the rushing waters breaking over the rocks. The rhythmic sounds of flowing waters is better then counting sheep.
To The River Charles
River! that in silence windest
Through the meadows, bright and free,
Till at length thy rest thou findest
In the bosom of the sea!
Four long years of mingled feeling,
Half in rest, and half in strife,
I have seen thy waters stealing
Onward, like the stream of life.
Thou hast taught me, Silent River!
Many a lesson, deep and long;
Thou hast been a generous giver;
I can give thee but a song.
Oft in sadness and in illness,
I have watched thy current glide,
Till the beauty of its stillness
Overflowed me, like a tide.
And in better hours and brighter,
When I saw thy waters gleam,
I have felt my heart beat lighter,
And leap onward with thy stream.
Not for this alone I love thee,
Nor because thy waves of blue
From celestial seas above thee
Take their own celestial hue.
Where yon shadowy woodlands hide thee,
And thy waters disappear,
Friends I love have dwelt beside thee,
And have made thy margin dear.
More than this;--thy name reminds me
Of three friends, all true and tried;
And that name, like magic, binds me
Closer, closer to thy side.
Friends my soul with joy remembers!
How like quivering flames they start,
When I fan the living embers
On the hearth-stone of my heart!
'T is for this, thou Silent River!
That my spirit leans to thee;
Thou hast been a generous giver,
Take this idle song from me.
By Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Tuesday, April 23, 2013
Smoky "Misty" Mountains
Far Over the Misty Mountains
By J.R.R. Tolkien
To dungeons deep and caverns old
We must away ere break of day
To seek the pale enchanted gold.
The dwarves of yore made mighty spells,
While hammers fell like ringing bells
In places deep, where dark things sleep,
In hollow halls beneath the fells.
For ancient king and elvish lord
There many a gleaming golden hoard
They shaped and wrought, and light they caught
To hide in gems on hilt of sword.
On silver necklaces they strung
The flowering stars, on crowns they hung
The dragon-fire, in twisted wire
They meshed the light of moon and sun.
Far over the misty mountains cold
To dungeons deep and caverns old
We must away, ere break of day
To claim our long-forgotten gold.
Goblets they carved there for themselves
And harps of gold; where no man delves
There lay they long, and many a song
Was sung unheard by men or elves.
The pines were roaring on the height,
The winds were moaning in the night.
The fire was red, it flaming spread;
The trees like torches blazed with light.
The bells were ringing in the dale
And men looked up with faces pale;
The dragon’s ire more fierce than fire
Laid low their towers and houses frail.
The mountain smoked beneath the moon;
The dwarves they heard the tramp of doom.
They fled their hall to dying fall
Beneath his feet, beneath the moon.
Far over the misty mountains grim
To dungeons deep and caverns dim
We must away, ere break of day,
To win our harps and gold from him!
Far Over The Misty Mountains Cold is a song sung by Thorin and company in Tolkien's novel The Hobbit. Often referred by fans as simply 'The Dwarf Song' features on page 14-15 of the Hobbit and is in the first chapter. In The Hobbit, the song helps to explain the back story of Thorin and his company, and plays a large role in the development of Bilbo from his 'Baggins' side to his 'Tookish' side, an evolution that takes most of the novel.
Tuesday, January 22, 2013
"At the Old Mill" by Voilet Lee, 1873
The Mingus Mill is nestled among trees, but, in its heyday, the mill was surrounded by cleared fields and crops. The present structure was completed in 1886. The mill's distinction was its metal turbine, an improvement on the traditional wooden waterwheel that made Mingus Mill one of the most advanced in the Smokies. A poem by Voilet Lee, written in 1873 is a lovely poetic expession of another grist mill where her "darling" worked.
At the Old Mill
Radiant day is slowly fading,
And the evening calm and still,
Gazing through the oak and willow,
Stoops to kiss the ancient mill.
And the evening calm and still,
Gazing through the oak and willow,
Stoops to kiss the ancient mill.
Listen to the damsel dancing
To the jig of feed and flour,
And the water-wheel revolving
With a dashing, constant power.
To the jig of feed and flour,
And the water-wheel revolving
With a dashing, constant power.
There is music in the rattle
Of the tinkling wheat that falls,
In the hopper, as the miller
Stops to heed the gristman’s calls.
Of the tinkling wheat that falls,
In the hopper, as the miller
Stops to heed the gristman’s calls.
Yes, I love this shaded building,
Love the flowing stream and flowers,
Love to hear the busy clatter
On the lingering summer hours.
Love the flowing stream and flowers,
Love to hear the busy clatter
On the lingering summer hours.
More than all, I love the miller,
For his sake, I love the rest;
Of this world and its enchantments
I adore him the best.
For his sake, I love the rest;
Of this world and its enchantments
I adore him the best.
Of these twilights I would weary
If his voice came not to cheer.
And this mill – life would grow dreary
If my darling was not here.
If his voice came not to cheer.
And this mill – life would grow dreary
If my darling was not here.
Violet Lee, 1873
Saturday, October 27, 2012
"You Look at Things"
You Look at Things
You look at things
Through his eyes.
He looks at things
Through yours,
An orange-breasted Robin,
A dark blue sky.
He is not there but
He knows and you know,
That where ever he may be,
You are tasting together
The foliage of fall,
The cold air of winter,
The warm rays of summer,
The misty showers
of early-spring weather.
It is the look
Where love dwells.
By PL Fallin
Wednesday, October 24, 2012
'The Day is Done' by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
The Day is Done
The day is done, and the
darkness
Falls from the wings of
Night,
As a feather is wafted
downward
From an eagle in his
flight.
I see the lights of the
village
Gleam through the rain
and the mist,
And a feeling of sadness comes
o'er me
That my soul cannot
resist:
A feeling of sadness and
longing,
That is not akin to
pain,
And resembles sorrow only
As the mist resembles
the rain.
Some simple and heartfelt lay,
That shall soothe this restless feeling,
And banish the thoughts of day.
Tuesday, October 23, 2012
'Wind On The Hill' by A.A. Milne
Wind On The Hill by A.A. MilneNo one can tell me,
Nobody knows,
Where the wind comes from,
Where the wind goes.
It's flying from somewhere
As fast as it can,
I couldn't keep up with it,
Not if I ran.
But if I stopped holding
The string of my kite,
It would blow with the wind
For a day and a night.
And then when I found it,
Wherever it blew,
I should know that the wind
Had been going there too.
So then I could tell them
Where the wind goes…
But where the wind comes from
Nobody knows.
Tuesday, October 16, 2012
Smoky Mountains A Sacred Ancestral Home
In the morning, the
Smoky Mountains were clear and the air crisp but by the afternoon, storm clouds
and misty rains covered the mountain range. I want to hike the trails
that the Cherokee Indians walked many years ago before the "Trail of Tears". The Cherokee Indians arrived in the Smoky Mountains about
A.D. 1000. Believed to have been a branch of the Iroquois who moved south from
Iroquoian lands in New England. Consisting of 7 clans, the Cherokee Nation
stretched from the Ohio River into South Carolina. The Eastern Band of Cherokee
Indians lived in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, believed to be the
sacred ancestral home of the Cherokee Nation. With the discovery of gold on
Cherokee lands in 1828 and Andrew Jackson's 1830 Removal Act, calling for the
relocation of all native peoples east of the Mississippi River to Oklahoma, the
U. S. government forced the Cherokees from their homes in 1838. Almost 14,000
Cherokees began the trek westward in October of 1838. More than 4,000 died from
cold, hunger, and disease during the six-month journey that came to be known as
the "Trail of Tears." About 100,000 natives, including Cherokee,
Chickasaw, Seminole and Choctaw survived the journey.
Wednesday, September 26, 2012
Eating like an Mountaineer - Maggie Valley
It was a lonesome drive down the mountain roads to Maggie Valley. One lone restaurant was opened with no cars in sight. The food was very good and the rustic environment made it a very pleasant experience. It over looked Sheepback Mountain and Soco Gap. Come back ya"ll, you hear! We will!
Wednesday, September 12, 2012
Witches Point on Smoky Mountains
It was a very misty, cloudy and rainy day on top of the Smoky Mountains. It was difficult to see the mountain range. Witches Overlook was a perfect place to stop to see the misty mountains below. There was no smoke in the mountains on this day. Misty rain was all around.
Witches Brew
On Misty Mountain
High in the clouds,
Bare trees, broken limbs,
Hanging purple sky,
Gusty winds,
Rushing waters below,
Cold, chilled bones,
Drizzling rain
Heavy Dew
Shadows all around,
A Witches brew.
By PL Fallin
Thursday, September 9, 2010
Butterfly Waltz at Lake Junaluska
We drove around Lake Junaluska and saw several "butterfly bushes" with hundreds of butterflies waltzing from one flower to another. I have never witness so many in natural surroundings. I tried to concentrate on one landing on the top of the bush. It was a waltz to remember.
There were hundreds of ducks but the grace of two swarms and their reflection in the water was simply Divine.
Two ducks were sitting on a log and the reflection of the evergreen tree and the ducks merge together in the water.
Monday, September 6, 2010
A "chautauqua" Place to be bless - Lake Junaluska
The cross with it's silhouette against the heaven is being bless with rays of sunlight. .Lake Junaluska is where the United Methodist Church has it's World Methodist Council headquarters. Many assemblies and meetings are held here throughout the year. The park around the lake is used by many local residents. People were walking, jogging and enjoying the beautiful mountain atmosphere.
This is the view from the outdoor assembly area where the cross stood. We definitely want to go back and stay longer.
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Hiwassee River, Cherokee County
We visited the Hiwassee River in Cherokee County, North Carolina. I thought Cherokee County was a poor county from the conditions of the houses and farms we saw while driving through the mountains. The homes may not be elaborate but these people were rich in the beauty and glory of their rivers and mountains.
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