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...

Monday, September 9, 2013

Day Trip to the SMOKIES (9/5/13)

SUNRISE on Sept. 5, 2013
I enjoyed my week off from blogging SO much --even though I missed each of you.  I did try to read some of your posts during the week but didn't do much commenting.  I've been working on Family History most of the week with three exceptions.

First,  on Friday,  August 30,   we met another blog friend and her hubby.  Nellie and Gene (photo below) were headed to Nashville to visit their daughter.  SO--we met them (where else) at Cracker Barrel here in Crossville for lunch... Nellie has been a great blog friend for awhile,  but this is the first time we have met in person.  Twas WONDERFUL!!!!! You can see Nellie's blog (Berries and More) by clicking HERE.

On Labor Day (Sept 2),  we drove to Ashland City (near Nashville) to visit with George's daughter and hubby --who have just moved to the Nashville area.  We had a great day with them and are thrilled to have them closer to us (from Buffalo--where they lived before).

Then on Thursday,  Sept. 5,  we got up before dawn,  took our car to Knoxville to the Toyota place for her maintenance.  After that we headed to the SMOKIES for the day.  We first did some hiking in the Tremont Area (on the Middle Prong Trail).   It was a great hike and we saw SEVERAL waterfalls along the way.  After that,  we drove on the Foothills Parkway stopping at the overlooks for more photo opportunities.  We finished the day by having dinner at one of our favorite places,  the Texas Roadhouse.  It was a fabulous day ---and we had over FOUR miles on our pedometers!

Today I will talk more about the Smokies Trip. Be sure to click on all photos for enlargements.   Above is a picture of the SUNRISE we saw while we were driving from our home toward Knoxville. 




US at LOWER LYNN CAMP FALLS
The picture above is a favorite of mine since it is 'different' from most of our photos together with the tripod.  I told George that you all are seeing our BEST side.. ha ha ...We are enjoying one of several waterfalls,  Lower Lynn Camp Falls.




George taking a photo of Lower Lynn Camp Falls
George hiked down a STEEP hill in order to get some better photos of Lower Lynn Camp Falls.   Can you see him down there??????  (I took this photo from the bench on top.)





LOWER LYNN CAMP FALLS
Here is one of George's photos taken from the bottom!!!





One of SEVERAL cascades between Lynn Camp Falls and Lower Lynn Camp Falls
We both hiked down to the bottom of several of these cascades to get photos of the falls.  Here's a cute picture of George taking photos at this waterfall.




Top of Lynn Camp Falls
Lynn Camp Falls is in layers. I took this photo from the TOP of that waterfall...




After the wonderful hike,  we stopped at several overlooks along Middle Prong for more photos.  Again,  we enjoyed seeing several beautiful cascades.  This is a photo of us sitting near one of those cascades.




See that little flower in the lower right corner in the previous photo????   This little beauty was growing down there near the water --and it was all alone!!!!  Isn't it pretty?  (UPDATE:  a blog friend said that this is a Cardinal Flower.)




Beautiful Smoky Mountains!!!
After leaving the Tremont area,  we drove along the Foothills Parkway.   Have I told you how much we love our PRIUS?  We are averaging about 55 mpg in that car!  Awesome!   AND--have I told you how much we love the SMOKIES?  We want to return to this area after the leaves change colors.




Dogwood leaves changing colors
Speaking of FALL,   I did manage to get some photos showing some of the indications that Fall is coming... Above is one showing the changes in the Dogwood leaves.




I love the colors in these leaves. They seem to turn a very very deep purple...  I think this is one of the many types of MAPLES.




Finally,  here is a neat photo I got while looking up at the top of this tree ---showing some color changes near the top.  Can you tell that AUTUMN is on the way?????   I get so excited this time of year --just like I do in Spring.

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Here's a photo of my blog friend,  Nellie and her hubby,  Gene...  WONDERFUL people!!!!!  I'm so blessed to have met them both.

Hope you had a good week...   Be sure and catch me up on anything important which I may have missed last week...  Have a fabulous Monday.

Hugs,