Smokies Light

It looks like the blog will go dormant a while, maybe until the leaves kick in. There could be a change of scenery for the Winter months but I'm not sure yet. I'll leave you with a song from the Moody Blues off their 1968 album In Search of the Lost Chord. The Moody Blues were an obscure rather bizarre musical outfit way ahead of their time in the 60s. They didn't become famous until the early 70s when Nights in White Satin became popular on underground FM. If I had only one album (is that still a word?) to listen to the rest of my life it would be this one. I'll be out looking for that chord. Thanks for coming by.

Tonight I pretended to be a camper at Elkmont and attended the ranger led presentation at the campground amphitheater. The subject was bears and ranger Jennifer Hale did an excellent job informing us about bear behavior captivating young and old alike. It was fascinating and heart warming to watch the very young kids with eyes wide open asking questions about bears and nature in general. Not long ago the ranger presentations were held every night but now due to budget and staff cuts they are limited to Saturday night. Yes I am loony, but I believe that a nation's wealth and power is measured not by gross national product, employment figures, and the military might to invade countries on the other side of the planet, but is measured by the number of campground amphitheater presentations in our parks and their attendance.

As I was taking these pics a car pulled in to the overlook behind me and I heard somebody say,"Look, heaven!". Gatlinburg can be a very frustrating place to live all the time with a sense of isolation. It's not that far away from a "normal" town mileage-wise but the traffic congestion makes civilization seem much further away. The advantage to living here is having scenes like these in your backyard after work.

Life is old there, older than the trees
Younger than the mountains, blowing like a breeze
-- John Denver

I read this article and thought surely it must be satire. With real news like this The Onion is likely to fall on hard times.

It was worth the wait.

Stormy weather stirs up toxic algae in the deep blue sea which is deposited on the beach. The toxicity results in fish kills, and coughing and sneezing in humans such as myself. This pic was taken this morning at sunrise. I'll be hanging my hat in the general vicinity of the terrain pictured below this Winter. Lots of different and interesting scenery, birds, boats, people, and other things to take pics of, plus a Starbucks is nearby, which is the hallmark of civilization.

Right on time this morning at 11:38am. Taken with a 400mm lens about 100 miles south north of Cape Kennedy.

A nine year old lass sails a wooden dinghy solo around a protected bay near the lighthouse. Her seven year old sister took it for a spin a few minutes later. The girls demonstrated excellent sailing skills and when some trouble arose when trying to head upwind, instead of looking to shore for Dad's help they worked with the boat and sails to get moving again on their own. As a casual bystander I was feeling proud of them myself much less the beaming papa who has taught them well.

Taken at Anastasia State Park.