Fall in the Mountains

In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks. ~John Muir

 

 
  
John Muir, born in the mid 1800's once traveled through the mountains of Western North Carolina. In his writings, A Thousand Mile Walk to the Gulf, he described this area as follows:

"The scenery is far grander than any I ever before beheld....Such an ocean of wooded, waving swelling mountain beauty and grandeur is not to be described. Countless forest-clad hills, side by side in rows and groups, seemed to be enjoying the rich sunshine and remaining motionless only because they were so eagerly absorbing it. All were united by curves and slopes of inimitable softness and beauty. Oh, these forest gardens of our Father!"

John, I know what you mean. Try as I might, there is no way to capture on camera the beauty of this area. First, a lot of what you see on the windy, twisty, treacherous roads, cannot be captured on film as stopping on the road is not an option. At least not a safe option. There are no shoulders, save a two foot slice of dirt that sits next to the cliff-like dropoffs where I'm convinced many have spent their final moments on earth. But to keep tourism alive and healthy, it is a well kept secret. {Just kidding--but what if?!} 

The ample rainfall and haze that often envelopes these mountains are also formidable foes for this amateur photographer.

 
But everywhere you looked in the quaint little towns of Cashiers {pronouned Cashers} and Highlands, North Carolina life was happening. Festivals, art exhibits, flowers blooming, musicians playing, tourists by the droves roaming the streets, waterfalls spilling, and mountains bathed in shades of  yellow, red, and orange. 

We took in as much as we could in our four short days. Drove the countryside for hours and hours, shopped, ate at wonderful restaurants, and ate some more... shrimp with cheese grits, chocolate buttermilk pie, bleu cheese encrusted filets, green bean fries, sea bass...you name it, we probably ate it.

Reluctantly, I packed up the car gathering the teens who needed to get back for school and left Mr. Fun {a nickname I assigned to my husband} who is staying a few more days. "A business" meeting he says. I suppose they could draw charts and graphs in the sand traps with their putters if the need arose. Whatever it takes...

I went a little trigger happy with my camera during this trip. Lots of duds, but a few more worth sharing that I'll split into several posts. 

Comments

[~*~ Patty Szymkowicz]

Oh my how very beautiful!!! I have read my way all the way back here to get caught up with you Sue! You do such a splendid job with pictures and words!!!