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USA: Southeast favorites: KY,NC,TN,VA,WV

71 images Created 24 Mar 2011

Favorite Southeast USA photos by Tom Dempsey include:
- Virginia (VA): Shenandoah National Park orange sunset & tree silhouette, Luray Caverns (stalactites, stalagmites, & columns), Monticello (wonderful estate of Thomas Jefferson), Natural Tunnel State Park, Mount Vernon plantation of George Washington, Chincoteague Pony, Jamestown Settlement (blacksmith, Susan Constant ship replica, English Fort, firing a 1600s matchlock musket, cannon), Humpback Covered Bridge, lily garden flowers, Cumberland Gap National Historic Park.
- West Virginia (WV): Babcock State Park's Glade Creek Grist Mill; barn and silo amidst fall leaf colors; a dog peers through white fence in historic Harpers Ferry.
- North Carolina (NC): Hanging Rock State Park's spectacular fall leaf colors; Cherohala Skyway in both TN & NC; Blue Ridge Mountains and Parkway (Waterrock Knob, Grandfather Mountain, Looking Glass Rock); Durham (reflections upon Eno River State Park, Duke University Chapel, Duke Gardens).
- Tennessee (TN): Great Smoky Mountains National Park overlaps both TN & NC (Cades Cove, Clingman's Dome panorama, Roaring Fork waterfalls, fall foliage colors, poplar forest with yellow leaves); Bays Mountain Park in Kingsport.
- Kentucky (KY): Mammoth Cave National Park; green algae growing on fantastic pattern of white mushrooms on tree trunk.

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  • See a lovely sunset view of the Blue Ridge Mountains (a subset of the Appalachian Mountains) at Chimney Rock Mountain Overlook (Milepost 44.9, elevation 2485 feet) on the Blue Ridge Parkway, near Buena Vista, Virginia, USA. Local trees release hydrocarbons into the atmosphere and create a characteristic blue haze on pristine days as seen in this photo; but more often a white or gray haze obscures distant views due to air pollution. The scenic 469-mile Blue Ridge Parkway connects Shenandoah National Park (in Virginia) with Great Smoky Mountains National Park in North Carolina, following crestlines and the Appalachian Trail. This panorama was stitched from 3 overlapping photos.
    1510SE-1843-45pan_Chimney-Rock-Mount...jpg
  • Look across miles of autumn orange and red foliage at Hanging Rock State Park, Stokes County, North Carolina, USA. The eroded quartzite knob called Hanging Rock rises to 2150 feet elevation. The park is 30 miles (48 km) north of Winston-Salem, and approximately 2 miles (3.2 km) from Danbury. Hanging Rock State Park is located in the Sauratown Mountain Range, which is made up of monadnocks (or inselbergs, isolated hills) that are separated from the nearby Blue Ridge Mountains. Prominent peaks in the Sauratown range rise from 1,700 feet (520 m) to more than 2,500 feet (760 m) in elevation and stand in contrast to the surrounding countryside, which averages only 800 feet (240 m) in elevation. Named for the Saura Native Americans who were early inhabitants of the region, the Sauratown Mountains are the erosion-resistant quartzite remnants of mountains pushed up between 250 and 500 million years ago. Published in "Light Travel: Photography on the Go" book by Tom Dempsey 2009, 2010.
    08NC-2192_Hanging-Rock-SP_NC.jpg
  • Babcock State Park is located along the New River Gorge in Fayette County, West Virginia, USA. Located near the park headquarters, the Glade Creek Grist Mill is among the most photographed tourist sites in the state of West Virginia. The Glade Creek Grist Mill is a replica of the original Cooper's Mill that was located nearby. The current grist mill, completed in 1976, was assembled from parts of three other West Virginia mills. The Glade Creek Grist Mill as a living, working monument to the more than 500 mills formerly running throughout the state. Panorama stitched from 4 overlapping photos.
    08WV-1077-1080pan_Glade-Creek-Grist-...jpg
  • Beacon Heights is a scenic half-mile round trip walk with 130 feet gain from Blue Ridge Parkway Milepost 305.2 in Pisgah National Forest, North Carolina, USA. Enjoy brilliant fall leaf colors in mid October atop an outcropping of quartzite rock. Local trees release hydrocarbons into the atmosphere, creating a characteristic blue haze over the Blue Ridge Mountains, which are a subset of the Appalachian Mountains. Beacon Heights Parking Area (elevation 4220 feet) is near the intersection with Hwy 221 (near Grandfather Mountain Entrance Road). This trail also connects with the Tanawha Trail (13.5 miles to Price Lake) and the Mountains to the Sea Trail. The scenic 469-mile Blue Ridge Parkway was built 1935-1987 to aesthetically connect Shenandoah National Park (in Virginia) with Great Smoky Mountains National Park in North Carolina, following crestlines and the Appalachian Trail. This panorama was stitched from 3 overlapping photos taken October 12, 2015.
    1510SE-1303-05pan_Beacon-Heights_NC.jpg
  • Indian Rocks, fall foliage color in mid October. Walk 0.3 miles to the impressive boulders of Indian Rocks from Indian Gap Parking Area (Milepost 47.5, elevation 2098 feet) on Blue Ridge Parkway, in Virginia, in the Blue Ridge Mountains (a subset of the Appalachian Mountains), USA. The scenic 469-mile Blue Ridge Parkway was built 1935-1987 to aesthetically connect Shenandoah National Park (in Virginia) with Great Smoky Mountains National Park in North Carolina, following crestlines and the Appalachian Trail.  This panorama was stitched from 6 overlapping photos. (I digitally removed human graffiti from the rock.)
    1510SE-11008-13pan_Indian-Rocks-fall...jpg
  • Explore ship replicas Godspeed, Discovery, and flagship Susan Constant at Jamestown Settlement, in Virginia, USA. The mouth of a cannon defends the Susan Constant. The English Virginia Company sailed these three vessels 1606-1607 to found Jamestown, the first permanent English colony in the Americas. Jamestown Settlement, operated by the state's Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation, chronicles 1600s Virginia and the convergence of Powhatan Indian, European, and west central African cultures. Created as part of the 350th anniversary celebration in 1957 as Jamestown Festival Park, Jamestown Settlement is adjacent to the complementary "Historic Jamestowne" museum (which is on Jamestown Island, is the actual historic and archaeological site where the first settlers lived, and is run by the National Park Service and Preservation Virginia). (This composite photo is stitched from two overlapping images to improve depth of focus.)
    12VA-262-263pan_Godspeed_Discovery_S...jpg
  • Stalactites hang from the cave ceiling. Luray Caverns, originally called Luray Cave, is a large commercial cave just west of Luray, Virginia, USA. Discovered in 1878, the Caverns are in the Shenandoah Valley just east of the Allegheny Range of the Appalachian Mountains. The underground cavern system is generously adorned with speleothems (columns, mud flows, stalactites, stalagmites, flowstone, mirrored pools, etc). The caverns are celebrated for performances of the Great Stalacpipe Organ, a lithophone made from solenoid fired strikers that tap stalactites of various sizes to produce tones similar to those of xylophones, tuning forks, or bells. Published in "Light Travel: Photography on the Go" book by Tom Dempsey 2009, 2010.
    08VA-1022_Luray-Caverns_Virginia.jpg
  • Fall leaves turn yellow, orange, and red along the Blue Ridge Parkway (near Milepost 50) in Virginia, in the Blue Ridge Mountains (a subset of the Appalachian Mountains), USA. The scenic 469-mile Blue Ridge Parkway was built 1935-1987 to aesthetically connect Shenandoah National Park (in Virginia) with Great Smoky Mountains National Park in North Carolina, following crestlines and the Appalachian Trail.
    1510SE-1879_fall-foliage_VA.jpg
  • Stairs descend the Historic Entrance of Mammoth Cave, surrounded by trees with yellowing fall leaves. Mammoth Cave National Park was established in 1941 in Edmonson County, Kentucky, USA and was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1981 and international Biosphere Reserve in 1990. With over 390 miles (630 km) of passageways, the Mammoth-Flint Ridge Cave System is the longest known in the world. Mammoth Cave developed in thick Mississippian-aged limestone strata capped by a layer of Big Clifty Sandstone. Descending limestone layers include the Girkin Formation, Saint Genevieve Limestone, and Saint Louis Limestone. Panorama stitched from 8 overlapping photos.
    10MAM-103-110pan_Mammoth-Cave-KY.jpg
  • Humpback Covered Bridge, built in 1857, is the oldest remaining covered bridge in the state of Virginia. Humpback Bridge is one of the few remaining covered bridges in the USA built higher in the middle than on either end (with a humpback 4 feet or 1.2 meters high). The bridge spans 109 feet (33 m) across Dunlap Creek (a tributary of Jackson River), near Covington, Virginia. Covered wooden bridges averaged ten times the lifespan of uncovered ones. Sometimes referred to as "kissing bridges" during the modest era of the late 1800s, covered bridges allowed horse and buggy passengers kissing privacy. Two former non-covered bridges here (built in the 1820s and 1838) were destroyed by floods, and a third bridge collapsed in 1856 due to heavy use and weathering. All three bridges were a part of the James River and Kanawha Turnpike, a heavily traveled mountain road that connected the Shenandoah Valley with the Alleghany Mountains and westwards. The decking, unlike houses and other structures, could not be painted to prevent deterioration, as the traffic from horses and wagons would quickly remove any available paints of the era. The Humpback Covered Bridge was used from 1857 to 1929, when a steel truss bridge was built for US Highway 60 immediately to the north. The bridge was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1969. The bridge retains most of its original 1857 hand-hewn white oak and hickory support timbers and decking, but most of the walls and roofing have been replaced several times. The supports incorporate a unique curved multiple kingpost-truss system that is not found in any other surviving wooden bridge in the USA. The bridge is a unique design not duplicated anywhere else. How to reach Humpback Bridge: Take Exit number 10 off of Interstate 64 in Virginia and follow signs, 1 mile east. It is 3 miles west of Covington, Virginia adjacent to U.S. Highway 60 off Rumsey Road (SR 600).
    12VA-366.jpg
  • Atop the Unicoi Mountains in Tennessee, USA, the Cherohala Skyway reveals far-reaching views at Big Junction (5240 feet elevation) here in the Blue Ridge Mountains, a subset of the Southern Appalachian Mountains. Vibrant fall foliage colors start appearing in mid October at the highest elevations of Cherohala Skyway. Long in planning since 1958, the Cherohala Skyway opened to automobile traffic in 1996 – a new National Scenic Byway. The Skyway climbs over 4000 feet, starting at elevation 900 feet along Tellico River and reaching 5400 feet on the slopes of Haw Knob in North Carolina. The 43-mile paved road of the Cherohala Skyway follows Tennessee State Route 165 (SR-165 or TN 165) for 25 miles from Tellico Plains to the state line at Stratton Gap, then continues on North Carolina Highway 143 (NC 143) for 18 miles to Robbinsville. Cherohala combines the names of the two National Forests traversed: "Chero" from Cherokee and "hala" from Nantahala NF. The Skyway accesses various protected and recreational areas including Citico Creek Wilderness, Bald River Gorge Wilderness, and Joyce Kilmer Memorial Forest.
    1510SE-1422_Cherohala-Skyway_Tenness...jpg
  • A pattern of poplar tree trunks and yellow leaves in autumn. Little River Road on the Tennessee side of Great Smoky Mountains National Park, in southeastern USA.
    08TN-2158_Great-Smoky-Mountains-NP.jpg
  • Indian Rocks, fall foliage color in mid October. Walk 0.3 miles to the impressive boulders of Indian Rocks from Indian Gap Parking Area (Milepost 47.5, elevation 2098 feet) on Blue Ridge Parkway, in Virginia, in the Blue Ridge Mountains (a subset of the Appalachian Mountains), USA. The scenic 469-mile Blue Ridge Parkway was built 1935-1987 to aesthetically connect Shenandoah National Park (in Virginia) with Great Smoky Mountains National Park in North Carolina, following crestlines and the Appalachian Trail. This panorama was stitched from 14 overlapping photos.
    1510SE-1989-11002pan_Indian-Rocks-fa...jpg
  • White fungus, green algae, and moss grow on a tree in Mammoth Cave National Park, in Edmonson County, Kentucky, USA.
    10MAM-131.jpg
  • View the Blue Ridge Mountains from Bear Den Overlook (elevation 3359 feet) at Milepost 323.0 of the Blue Ridge Parkway, in North Carolina, USA. Black bears no longer roam this area but once had dens here. The Blue Ridge Mountains are a physiographic province of the larger Appalachian division. The mountains are known for their bluish color when seen from a distance. Trees put the "blue" in Blue Ridge, from the hydrocarbons released into the atmosphere, thereby contributing to the characteristic haze on the mountains and their distinctive color. The Blue Ridge Parkway is a 469-mile (755 km) long scenic highway that connects Shenandoah National Park, Virginia, with the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in North Carolina and Tennessee, and is located along the ridge crestlines along the Appalachian Trail. Panorama stitched from 3 overlapping photos.
    08NC-2386-2388pan_Blue-Ridge-Parkway.jpg
  • On the Blue Ridge Parkway, view brilliant fall colors in mid October, in North Carolina, USA. This photo is at Blue Ridge Parkway Milepost 455 in the Plott Balsam Range, within the Qualla Boundary between Soco Creek and Soco Gap. The Qualla Boundary is a land trust supervised by the United States Bureau of Indian Affairs for the Tribe of the Eastern Band of the Cherokee Indians, who reside on the adjacent Reservation in western North Carolina. The 469-mile Blue Ridge Parkway was built 1935-1987 to aesthetically connect Shenandoah National Park (in Virginia) with Great Smoky Mountains National Park in North Carolina. The Smokies are a subrange of the Blue Ridge Mountains, part of the Appalachian Mountains.
    1510SE-1544_Blue-Ridge-Parkway_NC.jpg
  • A costumed historical interpreter pounds hot iron into a nail in the blacksmith building at Jamestown Settlement, which recreates the 1610-14 James Fort in Virginia, USA. Jamestown Settlement, operated by the state's Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation, chronicles 1600s Virginia and the convergence of Powhatan Indian, European, and west central African cultures. Jamestown, the first permanent English settlement in the Americas, was founded as James Fort in 1607 within an area controlled by the Paspahegh tribe, which was part of the Powhatan Confederacy of tribes, Tsenacommacah, comprised of about 14,000 native people ruled by Wahunsonacock (sometimes called Powhatan). Created as part of the 350th anniversary celebration in 1957 as "Jamestown Festival Park," Jamestown Settlement is adjacent to the complementary "Historic Jamestowne" museum (which is on Jamestown Island, is the actual historic and archaeological site where the first settlers lived, and is run by the National Park Service and Preservation Virginia). For licensing options, please inquire.
    12VA-340.jpg
  • The orange sun sets in Shenandoah National Park along Skyline Drive, a National Scenic Byway in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia, USA. Skyline Drive travels 105 miles (169 km) along the ridge of this long and narrow national park, with the broad Shenandoah River and valley on the west side, and the rolling hills of the Virginia Piedmont on the east. Shenandoah NP was authorized in 1926 and fully established on December 26, 1935. Almost 40% of its land has been designated as Wilderness, protected as part of the National Wilderness Preservation System.
    08VA-1164_Shenandoah-NP.jpg
  • Fall foliage turns red, orange, and yellow from a variety of deciduous trees in Hanging Rock State Park, Stokes County, North Carolina, USA.
    08NC-2100_fall-foliage-color.jpg
  • A costumed historical interpreter fires a 1600s matchlock musket at Jamestown Settlement, Virginia, USA. Jamestown Settlement, operated by the state's Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation, chronicles 1600s Virginia and the convergence of Powhatan Indian, European, and west central African cultures. Created as part of the 350th anniversary celebration in 1957 as "Jamestown Festival Park," Jamestown Settlement is adjacent to the complementary "Historic Jamestowne" museum (which is on Jamestown Island, is the actual historic and archaeological site where the first settlers lived, and is run by the National Park Service and Preservation Virginia).
    12VA-315.jpg
  • Indian Rocks, fall foliage color in mid October. Walk 0.3 miles to the impressive boulders of Indian Rocks from Indian Gap Parking Area (Milepost 47.5, elevation 2098 feet) on Blue Ridge Parkway, in Virginia, in the Blue Ridge Mountains (a subset of the Appalachian Mountains), USA. The scenic 469-mile Blue Ridge Parkway was built 1935-1987 to aesthetically connect Shenandoah National Park (in Virginia) with Great Smoky Mountains National Park in North Carolina, following crestlines and the Appalachian Trail. This panorama was stitched from 3 overlapping photos.
    1510SE-1887-89pan_Indian-Rocks-fall-...jpg
  • Sunset rays highlight a lone tree in the Blue Ridge Mountains along Skyline Drive, a National Scenic Byway which runs 105 miles (169 km) along the ridge of long and narrow Shenandoah National Park, in Virginia, USA. To the west is the broad Shenandoah Valley. The south end of Skyline Drive connects with the Blue Ridge Parkway, a 469-mile (755 km) long scenic highway that ends in North Carolina at the east entrance of Great Smoky Mountains National Park (which spans into Tennessee). The Blue Ridge Mountains are a physiographic province of the larger Appalachians (see map). Trees release a haze of hydrocarbon gases which selectively backscatter blue light, the name source for the Blue Ridge Mountains. Shenandoah NP was authorized in 1926 and fully established on December 26, 1935. Almost 40% of its land has been designated as Wilderness, protected as part of the National Wilderness Preservation System. Panorama stitched from 3 overlapping photos.
    08VA-1140-42pan_Shenandoah-NP.jpg
  • Susan Constant, captained by Christopher Newport, was the largest of three ships (the others being Discovery and Godspeed) of the English Virginia Company on the 1606-1607 voyage that founded Jamestown, the first permanent English colony in the Americas. The voyage carried 105 colonists, all male. Built in 1991, the Susan Constant replica at Jamestown Settlement is 116 feet long from tip to stern, like the original built in 1605 England. Jamestown Settlement, operated by the state's Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation, chronicles 1600s Virginia and the convergence of Powhatan Indian, European, and west central African cultures. Created as part of the 350th anniversary celebration in 1957 as Jamestown Festival Park, Jamestown Settlement is adjacent to the complementary "Historic Jamestowne" museum (which is on Jamestown Island, is the actual historic and archaeological site where the first settlers lived, and is run by the National Park Service and Preservation Virginia).
    12VA-282.jpg
  • Fall foliage turns orange and yellow from a variety of deciduous trees in Hanging Rock State Park, Stokes County, North Carolina, USA.
    08NC-2276_Hanging-Rock-SP_NC.jpg
  • A privately owned Chincoteague Pony is displayed at a motel on Chincoteague Island, Virginia, USA. The Chincoteague Pony (or Assateague horse) is a breed of small horse (Equus ferus caballus) which lives wild on Assateague Island in Virginia and Maryland, USA. The breed was made famous by the "Misty of Chincoteague" series written by Marguerite Henry starting in 1947. They can be any solid color, and are often found in attractive pinto patterns. Island Chincoteagues live on a poor diet of salt marsh plants and brush. Legend claims that Chincoteague ponies descend from wrecked Spanish galleons. They more likely descend from stock released by 1600s colonists escaping laws and taxes on mainland livestock. In 1835, pony penning began, with settlers rounding up and removing some ponies. In 1924 the Chincoteague Volunteer Fire Company held the first official "Pony Penning Day," where ponies were auctioned to raise money, as done ever since. The federal government owns Assateague Island, which is split by a fence at the Maryland/Virginia state line, with a herd of around 150 ponies living on each side of the fence managed separately. The Maryland herd of "Assateague horses" lives within Assateague Island National Seashore and is treated as wild, except for contraceptives given to prevent overpopulation. The Virginia herd of "Chincoteague ponies" lives within the Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge but is owned by the Chincoteague Volunteer Fire Company. The Virginia ponies get twice yearly veterinary inspections to cover possible auction sale into the outside world. Only about 300 ponies live on Assateague Island, but 1000 more live off-island, having been privately purchased or bred.
    12VA-067.jpg
  • Large stamens extend from a pink lily flower blooming and wetted with water drops in a Virginia garden, USA.
    12VA-009.jpg
  • See a lovely sunset view of the Blue Ridge Mountains (a subset of the Appalachian Mountains) at Chimney Rock Mountain Overlook (Milepost 44.9, elevation 2485 feet) on the Blue Ridge Parkway, near Buena Vista, Virginia, USA. Local trees release hydrocarbons into the atmosphere and create a characteristic blue haze on pristine days as seen in this photo; but more often a white or gray haze obscures distant views due to air pollution. The scenic 469-mile Blue Ridge Parkway connects Shenandoah National Park (in Virginia) with Great Smoky Mountains National Park in North Carolina, following crestlines and the Appalachian Trail. This panorama was stitched from 4 overlapping photos.
    1510SE-1869-72pan_Blue-Ridge-Parkway...jpg
  • Stamens bear pollen in a purple and yellow lily flower blooming in a Virginia garden, USA.
    12VA-S95-100.jpg
  • Monticello reflects in a pond. Monticello, near Charlottesville, Virginia, was the estate of Thomas Jefferson, the principal author of the United States Declaration of Independence, the third President of the United States, and founder of the University of Virginia. Monticello is Italian for "little mountain." Jefferson designed the house himself on the summit of an 850-foot (260 m)-high peak in the Southwest Mountains south of the Rivanna Gap. An image of the west front of Monticello appeared on on the US two dollar bill printed from 1928 to 1966, and on the US nickel (5-cent coin made from 1938 to 2003, and from 2006 onwards). Monticello was designated a World Heritage Site in 1987, an honor it shares with the nearby University of Virginia.
    08VA-1196_Monticello-Virginia.jpg
  • The gothic spires of Duke Chapel soar into the sky. Duke University is a private research university located in Durham, North Carolina, USA. Originally founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present-day town of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco industrialist James Buchanan Duke established The Duke Endowment, prompting the institution to change its name in honor of his deceased father, Washington Duke. Besides academics, research, and athletics, Duke is well known for its sizable forested campus, Gothic architecture, and impressive Duke Chapel.
    08NC-2064_Duke-University-Chapel.jpg
  • This cascade on the Roaring Fork tumbles a short distance below Grotto Falls, on the Tennessee side of Great Smoky Mountains National Park. From its source, Roaring Fork drops 2,500 feet (760 m) over just two miles (3 km). The source of Roaring Fork is located nearly 5,000 feet (1,500 m) up along the northern slopes of Mount Le Conte, where several small springs converge. The Roaring Fork valley is underlain by Precambrian Class II sandstone of the Ocoee Supergroup, a rock formation formed from ancient ocean sediments nearly a billion years ago, as in most of the Smokies.
    08TN-2140_Great-Smoky-Mountains-NP.jpg
  • Fall leaf colors reflect in Eno River, in Eno River State Park, which is in Durham and Orange Counties, North Carolina, USA. Native Americans of the Eno, Shakori and Occoneechee tribes lived along the river prior to European settlement. Some of the tribes merged in the late 17th century and established a village near present-day Durham. Settlers moved to the area later to set up farms and more than 30 mills along the length of the Eno River.  Efforts to establish Eno River State Park started in 1965 when the city of Durham proposed building a reservoir in the river valley. A group of concerned citizens led a campaign to save the Eno and formed the Association for the Preservation of the Eno River Valley. In May 1972, the state of North Carolina approved the park, and the reservoir was not built. In 1975, the state--with help from the Eno River Association and the Nature Conservancy--acquired more than 1,000 acres (4 km²) of land for the park.
    08NC-1068_Eno-River-State-Park.jpg
  • A brown dog peers through a window in a white fence at Harpers Ferry, West Virginia, USA. Harpers Ferry is a historic town in Jefferson County, West Virginia, one of the few towns directly traversed by the Appalachian Trail. The town contains both Harpers Ferry National Historical Park and the populated Harpers Ferry Historic District (higher above the flood plain), at the confluence of the Potomac and Shenandoah Rivers where the US states of Maryland, Virginia, and West Virginia meet. Historically, Harpers Ferry is best known for John Brown's raid on the Armory in 1859 and its role in the American Civil War.
    08WV-1184_dog-fence.jpg
  • The last orange and yellow leaves drop in early November at the unique Natural Tunnel State Park, near Duffield, Virginia, where both a train and a river share the same natural limestone cave, measuring 850 feet (255 meters) long. The railroad has used this tunnel since 1890. Natural Tunnel began forming during the early Pleistocene Epoch and was fully formed by about one million years ago. The Glenita fault line running through the tunnel, combined with moving water and naturally forming carbonic acid may have formed Natural Tunnel through the surrounding limestone and dolomitic bedrock. After the tunnel formed and the regional water table lowered, Stock Creek diverted underground, then later took the path of least resistance through the Natural Tunnel, through Purchase Ridge, flowing south to join the Clinch River. Daniel Boone is believed to have been the first white man to see it. William Jennings Bryan (1860-1925) dubbed it the "Eighth Wonder of the World"; and the tunnel has been a tourist attraction for more than a century. Natural Tunnel State Park was created in 1967, and opened to the public in 1971. For a time, a passenger train line ran through Natural Tunnel, and today, the railroad still carries coal through it to the southeast USA. Published in "Light Travel: Photography on the Go" book by Tom Dempsey 2009, 2010.
    08VA-2041_Natural-Tunnel-SP-Virginia.jpg
  • From atop Hanging Rock, you can view across a sea of autumn orange and red foliage to Moore's Wall, at Hanging Rock State Park in Stokes County, North Carolina, USA. (Panorama stitched from 3 images.) The eroded quartzite knob called Hanging Rock rises to 2150 feet elevation. The park is 30 miles (48 km) north of Winston-Salem, and approximately 2 miles (3.2 km) from Danbury. Hanging Rock State Park is located in the Sauratown Mountain Range, which is made up of monadnocks (or inselbergs, isolated hills) that are separated from the nearby Blue Ridge Mountains. Prominent peaks in the Sauratown range rise from 1,700 feet (520 m) to more than 2,500 feet (760 m) in elevation and stand in contrast to the surrounding countryside, which averages only 800 feet (240 m) in elevation. Named for the Saura Native Americans who were early inhabitants of the region, the Sauratown Mountains are the erosion-resistant quartzite remnants of mountains pushed up between 250 and 500 million years ago. Panorama stitched from 3 overlapping photos.
    08NC-2170-2172pan_Hanging-Rock.jpg
  • Long pollen bearing stamens extend from a white lily flower with yellow throat blooming in a Virginia garden, USA.
    12VA-001.jpg
  • In Cades Cove, John Oliver Cabin was built circa 1822, making it one of the oldest structures in Great Smoky Mountains National Park, USA. Oliver fit the log corners with half dovetail notches draining outwards to discourage rot. The cabin roof was fitted with 3,000 handmade shakes (wooden shingles). Cades Cove, once home to numerous settlers, is an isolated valley located in the East Tennessee section of Great Smoky Mountains National Park, USA. Today Cades Cove is the most popular destination for visitors to the park, attracting over two million visitors a year, due to its well preserved homesteads, scenic mountain views, and abundant display of wildlife.
    08TN-2175_Cades-Cove.jpg
  • Beacon Heights is a scenic half-mile round trip walk with 130 feet gain from Blue Ridge Parkway Milepost 305.2 in Pisgah National Forest, North Carolina, USA. Enjoy fall leaf colors in mid October atop an outcropping of quartzite rock. Beacon Heights Parking Area (elevation 4220 feet) is near the intersection with Hwy 221 (near Grandfather Mountain Entrance Road). This trail also connects with the Tanawha Trail (13.5 miles to Price Lake) and the Mountains to the Sea Trail. The scenic 469-mile Blue Ridge Parkway was built 1935-1987 to aesthetically connect Shenandoah National Park (in Virginia) with Great Smoky Mountains National Park in North Carolina, following crestlines and the Appalachian Trail. The Blue Ridge Mountains are a subset of the Appalachian Mountains. This panorama was stitched from 4 overlapping photos taken October 12, 2015.
    1510SE-1350-53pan_Grandfather-Mounta...jpg
  • Humpback Covered Bridge, built in 1857, is the oldest remaining covered bridge in the state of Virginia. Humpback Bridge is one of the few remaining covered bridges in the USA built higher in the middle than on either end (with a humpback 4 feet or 1.2 meters high). The bridge spans 109 feet (33 m) across Dunlap Creek (a tributary of Jackson River), near Covington, Virginia. Covered wooden bridges averaged ten times the lifespan of uncovered ones. Sometimes referred to as "kissing bridges" during the modest era of the late 1800s, covered bridges allowed horse and buggy passengers kissing privacy. Two former non-covered bridges here (built in the 1820s and 1838) were destroyed by floods, and a third bridge collapsed in 1856 due to heavy use and weathering. All three bridges were a part of the James River and Kanawha Turnpike, a heavily traveled mountain road that connected the Shenandoah Valley with the Alleghany Mountains and westwards. The decking, unlike houses and other structures, could not be painted to prevent deterioration, as the traffic from horses and wagons would quickly remove any available paints of the era. The Humpback Covered Bridge was used from 1857 to 1929, when a steel truss bridge was built for US Highway 60 immediately to the north. The bridge was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1969. The bridge retains most of its original 1857 hand-hewn white oak and hickory support timbers and decking, but most of the walls and roofing have been replaced several times. The supports incorporate a unique curved multiple kingpost-truss system that is not found in any other surviving wooden bridge in the USA. The bridge is a unique design not duplicated anywhere else. How to reach Humpback Bridge: Take Exit number 10 off of Interstate 64 in Virginia and follow signs, 1 mile east. It is 3 miles west of Covington, Virginia adjacent to U.S. Highway 60 off Rumsey Road (SR 600).
    12VA-380.jpg
  • Stalactites drip from the cave ceiling and deposit stalagmites on the floor, forming columns when they meet. Luray Caverns, originally called Luray Cave, is a large commercial cave just west of Luray, Virginia, USA. Discovered in 1878, the Caverns are in the Shenandoah Valley just east of the Allegheny Range of the Appalachian Mountains. The underground cavern system is generously adorned with speleothems (columns, mud flows, stalactites, stalagmites, flowstone, mirrored pools, etc).
    08VA-1060_Luray-Caverns_Virginia.jpg
  • At Webb Overlook (4775 feet elevation) on Newfound Gap Road in Great Smoky Mountains National Park (on the North Carolina side), gaze at fall leaf colors in the Blue Ridge Mountains, which are part of the Appalachian Mountains. Panorama stitched from 2 overlapping photos.
    08NC-2456-2457pan_Great-Smoky-Mounta...jpg
  • A spiral ramp leads to a popular observation tower on Clingman's Dome, with a panoramic view of Great Smoky Mountains National Park of Tennessee and North Carolina, in southeastern USA. Clingmans Dome (6,643 feet or 2,025 meters elevation) is the highest mountain in the Great Smokies, the highest in Tennessee, the highest along the 2,174-mile (3,499 km) Appalachian Trail, and the third-highest mountain in the Appalachian range. A paved road connects it to U.S. Highway 441 (Newfound Gap Road). The summit is coated by a Spruce-fir (or "boreal") forest, common in northern latitudes, but found only in the highest elevations in the southeastern United States. Clingmans Dome, like most of the Great Smokies, consists of a type of lightly metamorphosed sedimentary rock (especially sandstone) that is part of the Ocoee Supergroup formation, created from ancient ocean sediments nearly one billion years ago. The Smoky Mountains are among the oldest in the world, lifted approximately 200-300 million years ago in the Alleghenian orogeny. Panorama stitched from 6 overlapping photos.
    08TN-2029-2034_Clingmans-Dome.jpg
  • Pinnacle Overlook (2440 feet elevation) in Virginia, in Cumberland Gap National Historic Park, rises 1400 feet above the town of Cumberland Gap, Tennessee. Tristate Peak rises to 1990 feet elevation on the middle right, where the states of Kentucky, Tennessee, and Virginia meet, as resolved in 1803. On the far right is the pass of Cumberland Gap (elevation 1600 feet / 488 meters) in the Cumberland Mountains region of the Appalachian Mountains, also known as the Cumberland Water Gap, famous in American history for its role as the chief passageway through the central Appalachians and as an important part of the Wilderness Road. Long used by Native Americans, the path was widened by a team of loggers led by Daniel Boone, making it accessible to pioneers, who used it to journey into the western frontiers of Kentucky and Tennessee. The gap was formed by an ancient creek, flowing southward, which cut through the land being pushed up to form the mountains. As the land rose even more, the creek reversed direction flowing into the Cumberland River to the north. Panorama stitched from 3 overlapping photos.
    08VA-2058-2060pan_Cumberland-Gap-2.jpg
  • See the intimate falls and cascades of Duggers Creek on a loop walk of 0.3 miles, starting from the parking lot of Linville Falls Visitors Center (run by the National Park Service), in Pisgah National Forest, North Carolina, USA. Directions: in Burke County, turn eastwards at Mile Post 316.3 of the Blue Ridge Parkway (north of where US 221 crosses the Parkway and south of where NC 181 crosses). Spared by its rugged terrain from clear-cutting in the early 1900s, Linville Gorge has some of the best remnant stands of uncut, old-growth forest in the southern Appalachians. This is one of the few places where the Rosebay, Catawba, and Carolina rhododendron grow side by side.
    1510SE-1118_Duggers-Creek.jpg
  • A barn and silo grace a field amidst fall leaf colors in West Virginia, USA.
    08WV-1108_Barn.jpg
  • View the Blue Ridge Mountains from Bear Den Overlook (elevation 3359 feet) at Milepost 323.0 of the Blue Ridge Parkway, in North Carolina, USA. Black bears no longer roam this area but once had dens here. The Blue Ridge Mountains are a physiographic province of the larger Appalachian division. The mountains are known for their bluish color when seen from a distance. Trees put the "blue" in Blue Ridge, from the hydrocarbons released into the atmosphere, thereby contributing to the characteristic haze on the mountains and their distinctive color. The Blue Ridge Parkway is a 469-mile (755 km) long scenic highway that connects Shenandoah National Park, Virginia, with the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in North Carolina and Tennessee, and is located along the ridge crestlines along the Appalachian Trail. Panorama stitched from 4 overlapping photos.
    08NC-2376-2379pan_Blue-Ridge-Mountai...jpg
  • From Upper Falls Overlook, see Linville River funnel down a turbulent chute which empties into Lower Falls hidden around the corner. Walk to see impressive Linville Falls, in Burke County, Pisgah National Forest, North Carolina, USA. Linville Falls drop 90 feet in a multi-level cascade, viewable from several overlooks along two trails starting from Linville Falls Visitors Center, run by the National Park Service. Directions: Turn eastwards at Mile Post 316.3 of the Blue Ridge Parkway (north of where US 221 crosses the Parkway and south of where NC 181 crosses). Linville River begins at Grandfather Mountain and enters the 12-mile Linville Gorge at Linville Falls. Linville Gorge, near the town of Linville Falls (66 miles north of Asheville), is the deepest and one of the most rugged and scenic gorges in the Eastern USA (qualifying for the nickname Grand Canyon of the East, along with more than a dozen chasms likewise tagged in other Eastern states). It is protected by Linville Gorge Wilderness Area, within Pisgah National Forest. Spared by its rugged terrain from clear-cutting in the early 1900s, Linville Gorge has some of the best remnant stands of uncut, old-growth forest in the southern Appalachians. This is one of the few places where the Rosebay, Catawba, and Carolina rhododendron grow side by side.
    1510SE-1157-p1_Linville-Falls.jpg
  • See the Blue Ridge Mountains and Wilson Creek Valley (2400 feet elevation), Pisgah National Forest, at Blue Ridge Parkway Milepost 302.0 at elevation 4356 feet, North Carolina, USA. Wilson Creek is one of the streams originating on Grandfather Mountain. Panorama stitched from 4 overlapping photos.
    08NC-2350-2353pan_Blue-Ridge-Mountai...jpg
  • Stalactites drip from the cave ceiling and deposit stalagmites on the floor, forming columns when they meet. Luray Caverns, originally called Luray Cave, is a large commercial cave just west of Luray, Virginia, USA. Discovered in 1878, the Caverns are in the Shenandoah Valley just east of the Allegheny Range of the Appalachian Mountains. The underground cavern system is generously adorned with speleothems (columns, mud flows, stalactites, stalagmites, flowstone, mirrored pools, etc).
    08VA-1045_Luray-Caverns_Virginia.jpg
  • An orange day lily flower with red stripes blooms in a Virginia garden, USA.
    12VA-008.jpg
  • One of the largest masses of granite in the Eastern United States, Looking Glass Rock is excellent for rock climbing and gets its name from the shimmering effects of sunlight on its surface when wet. This "pluton monolith" crystallized from magma .slowly cooling below the surface. .Fall leaves color the Blue Ridge Mountains (a subset of the Appalachian Mountains) at Log Hollow Overlook (elevation 4445 feet) at Milepost 416.0 of the Blue Ridge Parkway, in North Carolina. Local trees release hydrocarbons into the atmosphere and create a characteristic blue haze. The Blue Ridge Parkway is a 469-mile (755 km) long scenic highway that connects Shenandoah National Park, Virginia, with the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in North Carolina, following ridge crestlines and the Appalachian Trail.
    08NC-2434.jpg
  • Babcock State Park is located along the New River Gorge in Fayette County, West Virginia, USA. Located near the park headquarters, the Glade Creek Grist Mill is among the most photographed tourist sites in the state of West Virginia. The Glade Creek Grist Mill is a replica of the original Cooper's Mill that was located nearby. The current grist mill, completed in 1976, was assembled from parts of three other West Virginia mills. The Glade Creek Grist Mill as a living, working monument to the more than 500 mills formerly running throughout the state. Panorama stitched from 3 overlapping photos.
    08WV-1035-1036pan_Glade-Creek-Grist-...jpg
  • A cannon defends the English Fort at Jamestown Settlement, Virginia, USA. Jamestown Settlement, operated by the state's Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation, chronicles 1600s Virginia and the convergence of Powhatan Indian, European, and west central African cultures. Jamestown, the first permanent English settlement in the Americas, was founded as James Fort in 1607 within an area controlled by the Paspahegh tribe, which was part of the Powhatan Confederacy of tribes, Tsenacommacah, comprised of about 14,000 native people ruled by Wahunsonacock (sometimes called Powhatan). Created as part of the 350th anniversary celebration in 1957 as "Jamestown Festival Park," Jamestown Settlement is adjacent to the complementary "Historic Jamestowne" museum (which is on Jamestown Island, is the actual historic and archaeological site where the first settlers lived, and is run by the National Park Service and Preservation Virginia).
    12VA-316.jpg
  • George Washington is portrayed as a surveyor at age 19 in a sculpture at the Donald W. Reynolds Museum and Education Center at Mount Vernon, Virginia, USA. George Washington (1732-1799) was one of the Founding Fathers of the United States of America (USA), serving as the commander-in-chief of the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War, presiding over the convention that drafted the Constitution in 1787, and serving as the first President of the United States (1789-1797). Named in his honor are Washington, D.C. (the District of Columbia, capital of the United States) and the State of Washington on the Pacific Coast. On banks of the Potomac River, Mount Vernon was the plantation home of George Washington. Mount Vernon estate was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1960 and is owned and maintained in trust by The Mount Vernon Ladies' Association.
    12VA-207.jpg
  • Pollen covered stamens extend from the white throat of a pink lily flower blooming in a Virginia garden, USA.
    12VA-S95-088.jpg
  • Mount Vernon, Virginia, was the plantation home of George Washington, the first President of the United States (1789-1797). The mansion is built of wood in neoclassical Georgian architectural style on the banks of the Potomac River. Mount Vernon estate was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1960 and is owned and maintained in trust by The Mount Vernon Ladies' Association. The estate served as neutral ground for both sides during the American Civil War, although fighting raged across the nearby countryside. George Washington (born 1732, died 1799) was one of the Founding Fathers of the United States of America (USA), serving as the commander-in-chief of the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War, and presiding over the convention that drafted the Constitution in 1787. Washington, D.C. (the District of Columbia, capital of the United States) is named for him, as is the State of Washington on the Pacific Coast.
    12VA-203.jpg
  • Mount Vernon, Virginia, was the plantation home of George Washington, the first President of the United States (1789-1797). The mansion is built of wood in neoclassical Georgian architectural style on the banks of the Potomac River. Mount Vernon estate was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1960 and is owned and maintained in trust by The Mount Vernon Ladies' Association. The estate served as neutral ground for both sides during the American Civil War, although fighting raged across the nearby countryside. George Washington, who lived 1732-1799, was one of the Founding Fathers of the United States of America (USA), serving as the commander-in-chief of the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War, and presiding over the convention that drafted the Constitution in 1787. Named in his honor are Washington, D.C. (the District of Columbia, capital of the United States) and the State of Washington on the Pacific Coast. Panorama stitched from 2 overlapping images.
    12VA-172-173pan_Mt-Vernon.jpg
  • Mount Vernon, Virginia, was the plantation home of George Washington, the first President of the United States (1789-1797). The mansion is built of wood in neoclassical Georgian architectural style on the banks of the Potomac River. Mount Vernon estate was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1960 and is owned and maintained in trust by The Mount Vernon Ladies' Association. The estate served as neutral ground for both sides during the American Civil War, although fighting raged across the nearby countryside. George Washington, who lived 1732-1799, was one of the Founding Fathers of the United States of America (USA), serving as the commander-in-chief of the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War, and presiding over the convention that drafted the Constitution in 1787. Named in his honor are Washington, D.C. (the District of Columbia, capital of the United States) and the State of Washington on the Pacific Coast. Panorama stitched from 4 overlapping images.
    12VA-167-170pan_Mt-Vernon.jpg
  • Autumn foliage colors reflect in Bays Mountain Reservoir. Bays Mountain Park & Planetarium is an attractive nature preserve in Kingsport, Tennessee, USA. Enjoy walking a 2.3-mile loop (and other trails) around the old city reservoir which provided water 1917-1944 and now serves as lake habitat. Bays Mountain Park is the largest city-owned park in Tennessee and was declared a State Natural Area in 1973. As part of the Ridge-and-Valley Appalachians, the ridge of Bays Mountain runs southwest to northeast, from just south of Knoxville to Kingsport, in eastern Tennessee.
    1510SE-1046_Bays-Mountain_Tennessee.jpg
  • Indian Rocks, fall foliage color in mid October. Walk 0.3 miles to the impressive boulders of Indian Rocks from Indian Gap Parking Area (Milepost 47.5, elevation 2098 feet) on Blue Ridge Parkway, in Virginia, in the Blue Ridge Mountains (a subset of the Appalachian Mountains), USA. The scenic 469-mile Blue Ridge Parkway was built 1935-1987 to aesthetically connect Shenandoah National Park (in Virginia) with Great Smoky Mountains National Park in North Carolina, following crestlines and the Appalachian Trail. This panorama was stitched from 6 overlapping photos.
    1510SE-1903-1908pan_Indian-Rocks-fal...jpg
  • We enjoyed vivid red, orange and yellow fall foliage colors at Upper Falls Overlook in mid October. See impressive Linville Falls, in Burke County, in Pisgah National Forest, North Carolina, USA. Linville Falls drop 90 feet in a multi-level cascade, viewable from several overlooks along two trails starting from Linville Falls Visitors Center, run by the National Park Service. Directions: Turn eastwards at Mile Post 316.3 of the Blue Ridge Parkway (north of where US 221 crosses the Parkway and south of where NC 181 crosses). Linville River begins at Grandfather Mountain and enters the 12-mile Linville Gorge at Linville Falls. Linville Gorge, near the town of Linville Falls (66 miles north of Asheville), is the deepest and one of the most rugged and scenic gorges in the Eastern USA (qualifying for the nickname Grand Canyon of the East, along with more than a dozen chasms likewise tagged in other Eastern states). It is protected by Linville Gorge Wilderness Area, within Pisgah National Forest. Spared by its rugged terrain from clear-cutting in the early 1900s, Linville Gorge has some of the best remnant stands of uncut, old-growth forest in the southern Appalachians. This is one of the few places where the Rosebay, Catawba, and Carolina rhododendron grow side by side.
    1510SE-1160_fall-foliage_NC.jpg
  • Beacon Heights is a scenic half-mile round trip walk with 130 feet gain from Blue Ridge Parkway Milepost 305.2 in Pisgah National Forest, North Carolina, USA. Enjoy fall leaf colors in mid October atop an outcropping of quartzite rock. (Photographed October 12, 2015). Beacon Heights Parking Area (elevation 4220 feet) is near the intersection with Hwy 221 (near Grandfather Mountain Entrance Road). This trail also connects with the Tanawha Trail (13.5 miles to Price Lake) and the Mountains to the Sea Trail. The 469-mile Blue Ridge Parkway was built 1935-1987 to aesthetically connect Shenandoah National Park (in Virginia) with Great Smoky Mountains National Park in North Carolina, following crestlines and the Appalachian Trail. The Blue Ridge Mountains are a subset of the Appalachian Mountains.
    1510SE-1356_Grandfather-Mountain.jpg
  • Enjoy brilliant fall leaf colors in mid October atop Beacon Heights, a scenic half-mile round trip walk with 130 feet gain from Blue Ridge Parkway Milepost 305.2 in Pisgah National Forest, North Carolina, USA. Local trees release hydrocarbons into the atmosphere, creating a characteristic blue haze over the Blue Ridge Mountains, which are a subset of the Appalachian Mountains. Beacon Heights Parking Area (elevation 4220 feet) is near the intersection with Hwy 221 (near Grandfather Mountain Entrance Road). This trail also connects with the Tanawha Trail (13.5 miles to Price Lake) and the Mountains to the Sea Trail. The scenic 469-mile Blue Ridge Parkway was built 1935-1987 to aesthetically connect Shenandoah National Park (in Virginia) with Great Smoky Mountains National Park in North Carolina, following crestlines and the Appalachian Trail.  (Photographed October 12, 2015).
    1510SE-1361_Beacon-Heights_NC.jpg
  • On the Blue Ridge Parkway, view brilliant fall colors in mid October, in North Carolina, USA. This photo is at Blue Ridge Parkway Milepost 455 in the Plott Balsam Range, within the Qualla Boundary between Soco Creek and Soco Gap. The Qualla Boundary is a land trust supervised by the United States Bureau of Indian Affairs for the Tribe of the Eastern Band of the Cherokee Indians, who reside on the adjacent Reservation in western North Carolina. The 469-mile Blue Ridge Parkway was built 1935-1987 to aesthetically connect Shenandoah National Park (in Virginia) with Great Smoky Mountains National Park in North Carolina. (The Smokies are a subrange of the Blue Ridge Mountains, part of the Appalachian Mountains.)
    1510SE-1542_Blue-Ridge-Parkway_NC.jpg
  • See impressive views of the Blue Ridge Mountains from the top of Waterrock Knob Trail. Fall leaves turn yellow, orange, and red in mid October. Start walking from the scenic National Park Visitor Center at Waterrock Knob, at Blue Ridge Parkway Milepost 451 in North Carolina, USA. Hike breathlessly 1.2 miles round trip with 400 feet gain to the summit of Waterrock Knob (elevation 6292 feet), the highest peak of the Plott Balsam Range, which is part of the Blue Ridge Mountains, a subset of the Appalachians. Local trees release hydrocarbons into the atmosphere and create a characteristic blue haze on pristine days as seen in this photo; but more often a white or gray haze obscures distant views due to air pollution. The 469-mile Blue Ridge Parkway connects Shenandoah National Park (in Virginia) with Great Smoky Mountains National Park in North Carolina, following ridge crestlines and the Appalachian Trail. This panorama was stitched from 3 overlapping photos.
    1510SE-1593-95pan_Waterrock-Knob_NC.jpg
  • Fall leaves turn yellow along the Blue Ridge Parkway (near Milepost 50) in Virginia, in the Blue Ridge Mountains (a subset of the Appalachian Mountains), USA. The scenic 469-mile Blue Ridge Parkway was built 1935-1987 to aesthetically connect Shenandoah National Park (in Virginia) with Great Smoky Mountains National Park in North Carolina, following crestlines and the Appalachian Trail.
    1510SE-1875_Blue-Ridge-Parkway_VA.jpg
  • Fall colors in the Applachians. Walk 0.3 miles to the impressive boulders of Indian Rocks from Indian Gap Parking Area (Milepost 47.5, elevation 2098 feet) on Blue Ridge Parkway, in Virginia, in the Blue Ridge Mountains (a subset of the Appalachian Mountains), USA. The scenic 469-mile Blue Ridge Parkway was built 1935-1987 to aesthetically connect Shenandoah National Park (in Virginia) with Great Smoky Mountains National Park in North Carolina, following crestlines and the Appalachian Trail.
    1510SE-5169_Indian-Rocks-fall-color_...jpg
  • Kahuna Falls, in Bald River Gorge Wilderness, Cherokee National Forest, Tennessee, USA. Directions: from the Cherohala Skyway Visitor Center in the town of Tellico Plains in Monroe County, TN, drive 4.5 miles east on the Cherohala Skyway (SR-165 or TN 165); then turn right on Tellico River Road (FS Road 210) for 7 miles to see Bald River Falls from an overpass and limited parking area. At the upper end of the parking lot, walk on FS Trail 88 a short way (upstream of Bald River Falls) to see Kahuna Falls and Bald River Cascades. Beware not to touch the bark of the Poison Sumac trees (Toxicodendron vernix, not pictured) along the stream here -- hugging my inner elbow onto their trunks to lean out for these photos gave me a badly swollen skin rash for 3 weeks! This panorama was stitched from 3 overlapping photos. During the early 1900s, the forests of the Bald River and Tellico River basins were almost completely logged by the Babcock Lumber Company. The present Tellico River Road was built on the old logging railroad bed built by Babcock.
    1510SE-1396-98pan_Kahuna-Falls_TN.jpg
  • A handsome stone bridge of the Blue Ridge Parkway (Milepost 45.6) crosses over US-60 (which goes west to Buena Vista & Lexington and east to Amherst) in Virginia, USA. Notice the white stalactites forming under the old arched stones. The scenic 469-mile Blue Ridge Parkway was built 1935-1987 to aesthetically connect Shenandoah National Park (in Virginia) with Great Smoky Mountains National Park in North Carolina, following crestlines and the Appalachian Trail. The Parkway is carried across streams, railway ravines and cross roads by 168 bridges and six viaducts. The Blue Ridge Mountains are a subset of the Appalachian Mountains.
    1510SE-11040_bridge_Blue-Ridge-Parkw...jpg
  • Enjoy walking a 2.3-mile loop (and other trails) around the old city reservoir which provided water 1917-1944 and now serves as lake habitat, in Bays Mountain Park & Planetarium, an attractive nature preserve in Kingsport, Tennessee, USA. Bays Mountain Park is the largest city-owned park in Tennessee and was declared a State Natural Area in 1973. As part of the Ridge-and-Valley Appalachians, the ridge of Bays Mountain runs southwest to northeast, from just south of Knoxville to Kingsport, in eastern Tennessee. This panorama was stitched from 4 overlapping photos.
    1510SE-1060-63pan_Bays-Mountain_Tenn...jpg
  • See a lovely sunset view of the Blue Ridge Mountains (a subset of the Appalachian Mountains) at Chimney Rock Mountain Overlook (Milepost 44.9, elevation 2485 feet) on the Blue Ridge Parkway, near Buena Vista, Virginia, USA. Local trees release hydrocarbons into the atmosphere and create a characteristic blue haze. The scenic 469-mile Blue Ridge Parkway connects Shenandoah National Park (in Virginia) with Great Smoky Mountains National Park in North Carolina, following crestlines and the Appalachian Trail.
    1510SE-1843-p1_Chimney-Rock-Mountain...jpg
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