I found this little gem of a waterfall along Salacoa Creek. There is no real waterfall here, just a lot of water draining off the cliffs. However, with the blisteringly cold weather we had this winter, it made some pretty good ice falls. I took my youngest along to this one. She thought it was great, but too cold. You could feel the decrease in temperature as you got closer to the ice.
You never know when you will find a nice mountain stream to take photos of. This shot was along one of the trails to the top of Blood Mountain on the Appalachian Trail. On the way up, the light was horrible. However, on the way down, the light was not too bad. It had set behind the ridge line this flows down and caused some good soft light.
Fortunately for me, the snow stayed a little longer near the creeks than most elsewhere. It gave me an extra morning to go explore. So, I took a time lapse of the sunrise and then took a walk around one of the creeks near home. I have been eying this small cascade and adding snow just made it better.
I was driving through Beasley Gap in North Georgia this last week. Due to the unusually cold weather, the sides of the creek have been frozen. The areas with small cascades have some neat ice formations. I stopped for a few shots. This was just one of the cascades.
In honor of the negative digit wind chills today, I am posting this photo from my December trek to the top of Blood Mountain. This shot was along the creek that follows the Byron Reece trail. I found a spot where there were a few icicles and the water was just right. I’m glad I did not have to ford this creek, as it was really cold just taking photos beside it.
Having a large portion of my family come from East Tennessee, it is not unusual for us to make trips though the Great Smoky Mountains. One of the places my Dad talks of growing up is the Little River and the Sinks. It happens to be a great place to stop when driving through the mountains, but be careful as it is extremely dangerous.
Today was a work inside day for me. It rained forever, so I was able to get some things done. That was until I looked outside at the lake and something just did not look right. I went to check it out. After taking a look, I decided to get the camera and take a short rainy stroll up the creeks. This was just one of the small waterfalls along the way.
My children and I were hiking up Goforth Creek at the end of the summer. It runs into the Ocoee River and for the first several hundred yards, has some really good waterfalls. After that, it levels out and has just some small shallow rapids with the occasional cascade. This was one point where all three of us were wading. I saw how clear the water was just before entering this shallow area. It was so clear that the depth of the water is deceiving.
On the North end of Market Square in Knoxville, Tennessee, sits one location of the Tennessee Valley Authority. In front of that building is a waterfall and this large silver statue that is really reflective. I tried several different angles and really like this one with the water fountain reflecting in the statue.
When you don’t get to go exploring in a state park until just before it closes, time is everything. Frozen Head State Park in Tennessee closes at sunset. All the warnings are to make sure you are off the trails an hour before sunset so that you do not get locked in. The hike from the parking area to Emory Gap Falls is about 1.5 miles, so that makes about a 3 mile round trip. I thought I had plenty of time as I was hiking to the falls, but realized I was quickly loosing time. When I finished shooting this, I had about 20 minutes to make the return trip. Luckily I made it just in time.
