A Taste of Appalachia and the Blue Ridge Mountains....

We spent the day on the Blue Ridge Parkway in North Carolina, and up through to Skyline Drive in Virginia on Thursday - traveling through the Blue Ridge Mountains and the Appalachians.
A journey we typically do on the Harley, we decided since it was going to be a long journey done in one day that we would do it in the Jeep with the windows out - in order to appreciate the cool temperatures, the rustling of the leaves and the glorious smells.

The day started out a bit gloomy with grey and white clouds sifting down through the mountains...
I really didn't mind though, because the sky suited the day. Crisp, cool, breezy - a perfect Autumn day.

Around lunch time the sun was warm and started melting the clouds away. TheY were evaporating before my very eyes....

At lunchtime, we decided rather than eat in a restaurant - we'd eat out. So we got sandwiches and found a spot with a perfect view...

Some unusual "hitchhikers" on an expired Lady's Slipper flower. I couldn't resist bringing one of those pods home.

As the blue sky unveiled itself, the muted colors of the forest came alive. Red, Orange, Yellow, Gold leaves - everywhere. The forest was on fire!

After a leisurely day of just taking in beauty, we decided to Start heading home around 4, (we left the house at 5:30 a.m.) It began to get cloudy and cold....
Every turn around a bend, every time the sun went behind a cloud - the scenery changed, the colors changed, the mood changed. We spotted a Christmas Tree Farm along the way. I wondered if this is where our tree comes from every year??? What a cool way to make a living. I could seriously do that. Around 7:30 pm it was pitch black. We drove slowly around the twists and turns of the mountains as the night came alive with wildlife. The highlight of our journey was the sight of a black bear cub bouncing across the Blue Ridge Parkway in the dark without a care in the world. We stopped and watched him for a few minutes. I so wanted to get out to take a picture, but my husband reminded me - where there's a baby, there's a momma. It was a sight I will NEVER forget.

I so love the Autumn and the Winter.

I just can't stay indoors. The Reccas come alive with the arrival of the cold, windy, weather. I'm already thinking about our next adventure. Maybe Tennessee, the Smokey Mountains -- when the snow starts falling.

I'll be posting in a day some of the stuff I've been working on. My new header is a sneak peak. The studio's a mess - that means progress!! Now turn off that computer and go outside and PLAY!