Simply WOW! Water Release

I didn’t plan on missing all of my high school class reunion events but we’d already missed the water release once and I really, really wanted to see it and I thought I’d have time for both. The dam water release at High Falls at Lake Glenville on the West Fork Tuckasegee River near Cashiers is opened as a recreational water release just a handful of times each year. This year it fell on our anniversary which we missed because it was too soon after my shoulder surgery and it was released again on my birthday… Serendipitous? I thought so!

If you want Roan Mountain basically to yourself- go early and in the rain.

I’ve now been to Roan Mountain three times, to the gardens and Jane’s Bald twice, Round Bald and Grassy Ridge once. We walked the Roan High Bluff at Cloudland Trail once too. It’s been devilishly hot, in the 90s here lately to do much outdoors. We worked in the yard on Saturday and I ended up dehydrated and exhausted with a splitting headache by dinner time. I wanted to go up in elevation enough it was cooler.

Sharing spring photos on summer solstice

A little side trip on the way to get some strawberries at Strawberry Hill in SC had us at Palmetto and Campbells covered bridge.

Biltmore Estate

A friend, June invited me to photograph the grounds of Biltmore with her. As grand as the house itself is, the outside is more my thing… especially when I see horses.

Choooo Choooo all aboard

We saw a hot air balloon from the interstate. I think that’s the second or third time in that area. I would do that sometime but I did have a friend who had to make an emergency landing on Hwy 26.

The day started with a wrong turn close to our first stop based on directions that were a little off. We were following two sets of directions to Alarka Falls. One from a 2008 post and one from a website I visit often. We were trying to get to the Falls to see the waterfall while we were over at Bryson City. When we did find it we were pushed for time if we wanted to eat more than granola bars before the train ride.

Alarka Falls

Alarka Falls

Maxwells to Max Patch

I’ve wanted to see what Max Patch was all about. We’ve been to Roan Mountain and saw the balds there but I wanted to see Max Patch too.

WWPW2017BentCreekNC & Asheville NC

I led a walk at the NC Arboretum in Bent Creek, NC this year, which makes the 4th one I’ve led. It was Scott Kelby’s 10th World Wide Photo Walk. I started in 2010 and have been to 12 now.

Until this year you could sign up for more than one walk in your area as long as the walk wasn’t full and you were taking a spot from someone else that was only walking in one. I didn’t read anywhere that had changed but several walkers told me they could not sign up for more than one. Thankfully a few showed up to walk anyway even though not signing up, means they can only enter the contest on the walk they did sign up for or share on the for fun Flickr page.

This year Mike and I talked and separated our walks a little so walkers had time to do both if they chose.

Here are a few of my pics from my walk this year, and a few from Mike’s in Asheville. https://www.flickr.com/gp/kiminwnc/7H86es

If you’ve seen what I’ve been shooting for awhile you can tell I don’t typically photograph people. While on Mike’s walk I (asked permission) and photographed Tony Prince as he worked on a glass hummingbird. To my surprise, he liked it to enough to make it his profile picture on Facebook for a bit. It was neat to watch him work.

Thank you to those of you who came out and spent the day and especially those of you who gave to support the orphanage in Kenya. Several of you got up pretty early to travel as far as you did and I thank you. Also thank you to Tony Prince for letting me photograph your glass work.

Now, if you registered to walk you can enter their contest.  You enter on Kelby’s World Wide Photo Walk page on the walk you registered to walk at. Here is the link to mine http://worldwidephotowalk.com/walk/nc-arboretum/. Details can be found on their site under FAQ

Here are some of the walk group photos
https://scottkelby.com/group-shots-worldwide-photo-walk/

I think it’s neat to see what was happening around the world on 10/7/17. I haven’t found where you see all the shared photos in one place yet this year.

 

Scouting out for WWPW2017

http://worldwidephotowalk.com/walk/nc-arboretum/

Maybe the 3rd time will be the charm

When I was in Little Switzerland with the camera club we were told twice that the rhododendrons were blooming on Roan Mountain. I’ve always wanted to see that so Judy and I took off (the long route per my GPS) but we were too early at the end of June.

I told my hubby I wanted to go back mid-July. Well his back has been extra horrible this year and then he got a cold that just wouldn’t go away then I went thru a few days of extreme dizziness for no reason. Then between those things and the rain when we did go on the first day of summer- we were too late and the rhododendron garden was past peak.

a little bit of Switzerland

Well no I didn’t really get to go to Switzerland. Maybe someday.