Over the past several months, I've had the opportunity to visit the Great Smoky Mountains
National Park and drive part of the Blue Ridge Parkway.
The Parkway is one of those "great" scenic drives in this country that everyone should do at least once, but please...not all at once! :) The Parkway was gorgeous with lots of fall color. We made a stop at the Mabry Mill for breakfast, and I did a couple shots of the famous mill.
Great Smoky Mountain National Park is the most visited National Park in the US, so it can get a little congested. However, both times I was there it was really nice. The fall colors were a little off last year but still very nice and the spring trip allowed for some great stream shooting opportunities.
There's one main road in the park, so it's hard to get lost. But there are lots of trails that will lead you to great vistas, streams, and awesome hiking.
One of the main attractions in the park is Cades Cove. There is a one-way loop road that takes you through Cades Cove. Depending on the traffic, this can be a slow drive but that isn't necessarily a bad thing. We saw some horses running to get somewhere; I think they just got off work at the stables. :) We also had several deer running and jumping right behind our vehicle which was cool to see.
No visit to the Great Smoky Mountains is complete without finding a couple interesting water falls. There are so many water falls to see, here are a couple of my favorite water fall shots from this year. Hopefully, I'll find a few more the next time.
When it comes to streams and flowing water, I always like to see how they look as black and white images. I use OnOne's Perfect Black and White photoshop plug-in for black and white conversions.
There are also some historic cabins and churches in Cades Cove. It's always interesting to see places like this and try to get a feel for how folks lived back in "the day."
If you go to the Smokies in the spring, there's always a chance you'll see some nice wildflowers in bloom or interesting ferns. One of my favorites was this Fiddlehead.
There's a reason the Great Smoky Mountains is the most visited park, you never know what amazing things Mother Nature will show you. If you get a chance, I highly recommend visiting this great park. Try to go in an off season, so the crowds will be smaller and, if you can, put your feet up and stay a while!