Maybe I’m starting to get into a holiday mode (I feel the need for something festive at this point)! I couldn’t resist participating in Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge: Purples and Violets. Lights were the first thing that flashed into my mind and I thought of these two night shots, the first of Brijrama Palace in Varanasi, India, taken from the Ganges during the Diwali Festival, and the second from the incredible Strasbourg Christmas Market. It looks like so many of this year’s Christmas Markets have been canceled or diminished in some capacity, but it appears Strasbourg will still light up its historic streets.
I’ll round-off this post with some flowers from Nuremberg and a pic of the Ganges at sunset.
Such happy colors.
Train buffs and explorers can agree that following the old railroad routes can be a great way to see parts of the USA. Today, many of the old narrow-gauge routes have been paved as narrow roads or used as biking routes as in Damascus Virginia’s Virginia Creeper Trail. We decided to follow the Tweetsie Extension route in Carter County, TN, just across the border from NC. The one-lane road looks as if it was just paved and follows the Doe River through a beautiful country route passing through impressive cuts in the rock formations. The route is well-marked, just off of US19 E in east Tennessee, a few of the markers have some graffiti, and others, as pictured here, are cattywampus, so look carefully.
Since 1882, the East Tennessee & Western North Carolina Railroad company operated a route from Johnson City, TN to Cranberry, NC and in later years it continued on to Boone, NC. Locals called the line “Tweetsie” because of the tweet-tweet whistle sounds the train made as it wound its way through the hills. Modernization combined with forces of nature to result in the closing of the line in 1950. Of the 13 original steam engines, only one remains. Engine No.12 has been running regular routes at the Tweetsie Railroad (now amusement park) in Blowing Rock, NC since 1957. The developer of the site bought the engine for $1 from famed movie-cowboy Gene Autry who had planned a California movie career for the engine. The train is now on the National Register of Historic Places.
The route is also part of the Overmountain Men Trail, which played a significant role in the Revolutionary War. You can read more about that important battle here.
A sign of the times.
Baby J wants to try my fall mask . . . I can’t imagine how we will get her to keep one on when she turns two. Enough said.
I love the way the clouds settle into the mountains, becoming part of the landscape. Grandfather Mountain is completely obscured in the background.
This year more than ever, it has felt like an escape to head north to the beautiful rolling hills of the Blue Ridge Mountains in western North Carolina. We first came up to the area knowing no one, and as the years have gone by our hideaway has been filled with new friends and existing friends who have joined us in this peaceful slice of heaven.
Jealously, I had hoped in this year of Covid, with all festivals and events canceled, that the NC High Country would be our secret. But as more Americans have sought refuge in the great outdoors, the area has actually been pretty crowded.
As the leaves have fallen, the crowds have diminished, and I feel like it’s all ours once again.
When leaves are way past their prime, off the trees, dried-up, and crinkly – then it’s time to play! These leaves are made for stomping, shuffling, jumping, and tossing in the air – who knew it could be so much fun.
