“A Walk Thru The Woods”

I just returned from a quick weekend trip to The Great Smoky Mountain National Park (GSMNP). We met up with family members and spent time hiking  a few of the many trails that wind their way up and over the many beautiful mountains and canyons that make this place so special. The weather was perfect for hiking but not photography,windy and bright, but I was able to capture a few images of this wonderful area.

I took a small hike along the road to Clingmans Dome, and came away with a few nice wildflower images to add to my portfolio. The scenery was beautiful as always but what impressed me the most was the magnificent odor of the vegetation and the lush environment that I was able to experience. The area has a mystical quality that looks like it came straight out of a  Lewis Carroll novel, the ground is soft from the moss and spruce needles that line the trails and the area was very quiet even with cars traveling the road below me.

I came across a wonderful  stand of Turk’s Cap Lilies that were swaying slowly with the wind, it may have made for a beautiful scene but it was terrible if your are trying to capture an image, but with persistence and a large diffuser I was finally ably to get a couple decent images from these wonderful wildflowers. The mountain roads and trails were also covered with an abundance of Bee-Balm and Green Headed – Coneflower that a made a stunning contrast to each other and a butterfly oasis, but the wind made any shots just about impossible for any butterfly images.

The hike was a wonderful experience and I was able to come away with a few nice wildflower images , I was also able to spend some time in the many streams that dissect the Park and I will post a few of them later. We also made a side trip to Burgess Falls and came away with a new appreciation of waterfalls, if you get a chance it is a place you have to hike sometime it is definitely worth the trip.

Turk’s Cap Lily

Bee Balm and Green-Headed Coneflower

How about a little music to set the mood for this post …