A Short Vacation

So I was able to take a couple of days of vacation. On Wednesday evening we went into the Smokies with my cousin and her family. It was drizzling as we were driving up. When we got to the first overlook of the Gatlinburg bypass we were greeted by the sight of this beautiful rainbow.

It faded rather quickly and this was my last shot where it is at all visible. It was a beautiful view even though it was short.

We also went on a short hike on one of the trails. I have no idea who this couple is, but I loved the shot of them sitting on the rocks just enjoying the river on a summer day.


On Friday, I went to Dollywod to enjoy the free refills of popcorn and soda with my 25th anniversary mugs. I also wanted to play with taking some photographs of the planter people they have scattered throughout the park for Kid's Fest. This was also my first attempt at making a collage of multiple photos. It took me all Saturday night, but I was happy with the end result.


I also took pictures of a number of flowers while wandering about the park between shows.

It was a hot couple of days. But I enjoyed them nonetheless, and I hope you enjoy the photos. It was a short staycation, but I think one of the most refreshing vacations I've had.

My First Real Hike

When I set out on Saturday, I knew that I wanted to hike at least one trail. Up until then I really only gone on the paved trails, and I'm not really sure a paved trail should be called a trail. I had stopped at the second of the Campbell overlooks to take some pictures of the fall colors. This link goes to my best photo at the first Campbell Overlook. I did not end up taking any pictures at the second over look.

When I got out of the car, there were 3 young men talking together. I overheard one of them lament how the people were just enjoying the view when it was actually really great down below. I couldn't resist and asked them "What's down below?" They said there was a trail down to the valley and the river. I looked down the hill and joked that I thought I might kill myself getting down there. They said no, it was easy, the trail was just over to the left. So despite my reservations, I set out.

The main part of the trip down was relatively easy. There were just a few places where you kind of had to guess which way the actual trail was. There were a few spots where my feet got a little wet crossing the small streams coming down. The difficult part started when I wanted to get closer to the water than the actual trail led to. But I think the photos were worth it. This link is to my favorite one looking downriver. This link is my favorite one looking across the river. This link is to my second favorite one looking across the river. I also like how this zoomed-in close-up view looks.

I took this photo of myself while resting of on a rock getting ready to climb back up.

I also took this video of the river.


Before I started back up the trail, I looked around and saw a fallen tree limb that looked to have a good diameter for a walking stick. So I broke it off at what seemed to be the right height. I ended up being very grateful for that stick at I climbed back up. I still have the stick in my trunk and have used it since. It is just the right height, and so far has supported all the times I've leaned on it. Sometime soon I will try to get a picture of it.

But with many stops and rests on available rocks and against trees, I did eventually make it back up the trail. I'm not yet in good enough shape to make it on many of the trails available, but this one was just barely within my capabilities. I am glad I did it, and look forward to many more.