Sunrise on Granite

Sunrise on Granite, originally uploaded by Appalachian Encounters.

Via Flickr:
From atop Beacon Heights along the Blue Ridge Parkway, sunrise hits the massive granite face. Snow filled most of the cracks and scars, and wind above 40mph shook the trees and froze my fingers. It was amazingly clear and not long after the sun rose, a little farther to the southeast, the Charlotte skyline could be seen, 90 miles away.

Early Leaves Red and Green

A great early fall hike revealed more color than I thought we would encounter.

Jane Bald

Jane Bald, originally uploaded by Appalachian Encounters.

Via Flickr:
Looking across Round Bald to Jane’s Bald and beyond on a fantastic “cloud” day! The clouds just kept coming in all shapes, really bringing out what this landscape has to offer.

June Landscape

Untitled, originally uploaded by Appalachian Encounters.

Via Flickr:
AT Landscape B&W

Laying down

Laying down, originally uploaded by Appalachian Encounters.

Via Flickr:
I have no idea what plant or grass this is, but there was about a 100ft x 100ft area up near Grassy where these lifeless rigid “sticks” stood rigid, but all leaning over. Sort of looked like a graveyard!

Trout Lily

Trout Lily, originally uploaded by Appalachian Encounters.

Via Flickr:
One of the first wildflowers to be seen in spring, closes up each night to protect itself from cold night air. What’s really intriguing about this flower is that they form a colony from one seed, or corm. One seed can produce up to 10 plants. That keeps these flowers never with out a whole bunch of neighbors. Some colonies have been found to be over a hundred years old! Call me a nerd, but that is fascinating! You can also call it Fawn Lily, Dogtooth Violet, and Adder’s tongue. These were covering areas of the AT heading north towards Grassy Bald.

A Look Back at Roan

A Look Back at Roan, originally uploaded by Appalachian Encounters.

Via Flickr:
Max, and the rest of us, looking south on the AT to Roan Mountain, TN over this great striated slab. (Ok Max is not looking south…)

AT Day Trip

AT Day Trip, originally uploaded by Appalachian Encounters.

We actually had a break in the weather to get out a couple weekends ago. We headed up to Carver’s Gap, TN for a day trip on the AT to Grassy Bald. What a beautiful day it was.

Golden Fields

Golden Fields, originally uploaded by Appalachian Encounters.

On a long road trip north, I had the great fortune of coming upon this beautiful field in southeastern Ohio, of all places. I was traveling through the rural areas off highway 33, just over the Ohio/W.VA border and the Ohio River. I don’t normally stop for extracurricular anything during this long trip, but this field was so stunning on this sunny day, I couldn’t help myself.

Red Forest

BRP_Flora_Red, originally uploaded by Appalachian Encounters.

Via Flickr:
A tiny red forest grows up from moss ground cover along a trail on the Blue Ridge Parkway.

Little Signs of Spring

Little Signs of Spring, originally uploaded by Appalachian Encounters.

Everyday there’s more to see…just keep looking down.

Full Moon at ThunderHill Overlook

Full Moon at ThunderHill Overlook, originally uploaded by Appalachian Encounters.

While the big moon rise was heavily blocked by clouds, the wind finally blew enough of them away to at least give some dramatic light. From Thunderhill Overlook on the Blue Ridge Parkway, city lights in the distance, and cars traveling on the Parkway made for a complete scene. It was really a beautiful night.

Full Moon from the Blue Ridge Parkway

BRP_Full Moon_03 19 11_0297, originally uploaded by Appalachian Encounters.

Clouds finally start to break on this Saturday’s big Full Moon rise here in Boone, seen from Thunderhill Overlook on the BRP.

This Amazing Place

This Amazing Place, originally uploaded by Appalachian Encounters.

Another view whilst on the Mountains to Sea Trail between Table Rock mtn and Shortoff mtn. The stacked rocks and vegetation make this a dramatic place to visit, let alone the amazing views.

LInville Gorge North

 

LInville Gorge North, originally uploaded by Appalachian Encounters.

While hiking on the Mountain to Sea Trail, here’s a view north, looking up Linville Gorge; Roan mtn in the distance.

Moses Cone with Friends

Moses Cone with Friends, originally uploaded by Appalachian Encounters.

We’ve had a few beautiful Sundays in a row around Boone, which is giving everyone Spring fever and getting us all out. We hiked two Sundays ago on the Moses Cone trails up and back to the fire tower.

Looking Over Boone

Looking Over Boone, originally uploaded by Appalachian Encounters.

Looking Over Boone from the fire tower at Moses Cone.

Grandfather_01 27 11_0012.NEF

Grandfather_01 27 11_0012.NEF, originally uploaded by Appalachian Encounters.

A beautiful falling sun lays warm light on Grandfather Mountain. I knew it would be great tonight…had to leave work early to get ahead of it!

Bowl of Shadows

Bowl of Shadows, originally uploaded by Appalachian Encounters.

On a little know hike in Boone, I noticed this stand of trees in what looks like a small bowl, casting perfect shadows from an afternoon sun.

2010 in review

Hello everyone! I want to thank all of you for spending time with me in 2010 (and before). It’s been really fun having this blog place to contribute and look forward to. I really have enjoyed and appreciate you sharing your thoughts and comments.  I look forward to an eventful and busy 2011 out looking through the lens!

 

The stats helper monkeys at WordPress.com mulled over how this blog did in 2010, and here’s a high level summary of its overall blog health:

The Blog-Health-o-Meter™ reads Fresher than ever.

Crunchy numbers

A Boeing 747-400 passenger jet can hold 416 passengers. This blog was viewed about 5,800 times in 2010. That’s about 14 full 747s.

 

In 2010, there were 48 new posts, growing the total archive of this blog to 244 posts. There were 8 pictures uploaded, taking up a total of 3mb.

The busiest day of the year was December 2nd with 50 views. The most popular post that day was Sunrise Over Boone.

Where did they come from?

The top referring sites in 2010 were blueridgeblog.blogs.com, mail.yahoo.com, en.wordpress.com, facebook.com, and mystufie.co.cc.

Some visitors came searching, mostly for grandfather mountain, mountain rivers, paragliding, howard’s knob, and boone fork trail.

Attractions in 2010

These are the posts and pages that got the most views in 2010.

1

Sunrise Over Boone July 2008
1 comment

2

Old Man In the Mountain April 2008
1 comment

3

Boulder Flows April 2008
3 comments

4

Butterfly’s Bush July 2008
1 comment

5

Fall on the Trail April 2008