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...

Friday, November 12, 2010

Fog in Cataloochee Valley (North Carolina)

On our Maggie Valley trip with friends, Neal and Patti,   we all drove to Cataloochee Valley early on a foggy, drizzly day (October 20).   As you know if you saw my ELK blog posts,  (HERE and HERE),  we went to Cataloochee Valley just to see the elk.

BUT--once we got there,  we realized just how gorgeous this little valley is..  I have about 2 more posts of what all we saw that morning,  but today,  I will show you pictures of this beautiful valley---in the fog (or mist)...





Native Americans were the first people to visit this beautiful valley.  Following Indian trails,  white settlers pushed into the valley in the early 1800's as older settlements on the outside became more crowded,  and family holdings were subdivided among heirs to their smallest limits.  Young adults had to go somewhere else to start a homestead.





At that time,  all of the valley belonged to Colonel Robert Love,  a post-Revolutionary War  land speculator who granted homesteads to those who would settle and improve the land.  The earliest known entries on the part of the Love estate were made by the Caldwells (1814).  By the 1850's Cataloochee was well-populated, but not full.






I kept telling George and Neal that the SUN was going to come out... They laughed at me!!!!!!!  Here's proof that the sun was up there TRYING to break through the fog.... HA HA!!!!





Here's a picture showing some of the pretty color around this foggy valley.   Cataloochee Valley would remind one of Cades Cove ---but Cades Cove is much more popular and easier to get to... BUT---I LOVE Cataloochee and hope to go back many more times.





Finally,  here is one last picture of Gorgeous Cataloochee Valley --taken on Oct. 20, 2010 early in the morning!!!!!    I have two more posts from this valley --which I will post sometime soon.  Have a great weekend,  and I'll be back on Monday!!!!

Hugs,

P.S.  George and I went to Hendersonville yesterday to check on his elderly parents.  We found them in pretty good shape --but Dad seemed tired...  Bless their hearts.  Keep them (and us) in your prayers.  

We also got to see George's daughter and husband who have been in Nashville on business this week.  They joined us for lunch --so that was a great time for all of us.   Kelly and Chuck live in Buffalo, NY --so we don't get to see them as much as we'd like.