Monthly Archives: July 2010

Bear Essentials

Log cabin lighting © William Britten use with permission only

I take a lot of photographs log cabins for resort rental companies. And I’ve seen every cute little thing related to bears in these cabins. Many of them are a tacky dis on the proud and mighty black bear. But I like the one pictured above.  The cheerful bear holding out the acorn lamp to…

The new Cades Cove Loop Road

Cades Cove Loop Road © William Britten use with permission only

The Cades Cove Loop Road was recently repaved.  It’s a smooth ride now, a beautiful country road! Worth the weeks of waiting while to loop was closed. The loop is closed on Wednesday and Saturday mornings until 10:00 from early May until late September to allow bicycles and walkers access to the loop without cars….

Wordless Wednesday: Stormy Ocean

storm-over-ocean

Miles Away on Monday: Clouds Floating By

Rockers with a View © William Britten use with permission only

It’s  a blue-sky morning, clouds floating by. The Smoky Mountains are shimmering in the distance. Two cheerful rockers wait for you on the deck. Take a few moments, sit down, take it all in. It’s a good day for a hike or a good day to wander the shops on Glades Rd. Please stop in…

Newfound Gap Loop

Newfound Gap Loop © William Britten use with permission only

Philosophical Friday again. This time it’s the classic situation that sometimes to go forward you’ve got to go backwards. The road up to Newfound Gap offers just such a case in point. The road climbs until it reaches a place on the mountain that is too steep for a road grade. What to do?  Loop…

Smoky Mountains Wildflowers: Turks Cap Lily

Turk's Cap Lily © William Britten use with permission only

Turk’s Cap Lily (Lilium superbum) is  a large wildflower that grows to 3 to 8 feet tall. It blooms July to September, and loves the roadside at higher elevations. Look for it along the Clingman’s Dome Road in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Please stop in and visit me to see the complete display…

Artfair Time: Gatlinburg Craftsmen’s Fair!

Gatlinburg Craftsmen's Fair Booth

Set-up today for the July 2010 version of the Gatlinburg Craftsmen’s Fair at the Gatlinburg Convention Center. Running from July 16th through the 24th, look for me at the bottom of the escalator just as you enter. Today was the usual job of starting with a blank slate … just a bunch of boxes and…

Wordless Wednesday: Butterflies on Parade

Common Buckeye butterfly © William Britten use with permission only

Back from the Beach

Beach sunrise

Spent a week at the beach, just south of Myrtle Beach in Garden City Beach, SC. My son Justin and I had a working getaway … me taking stock images most days, while he set up a water’s edge office for telecommuting. Keep an eye out for some of the beach images coming soon ……

Along the Roaring Fork: Bud Ogle Farm

Bud Ogle Cabin © William Britten use with permission only

The Ogle family goes way back in the Gatlinburg area. In fact, Noah Ogle’s great-grandparents, William  (1756–1803) and his wife Martha Huskey (1756–1826), made a life here in the early 1800s. Noah (aka Bud) and Cindy Ogle settled on this 400 acre homestead in 1879 and lived here until Noah’s death in 1913. The Smoky Mountains…

Wordless Wednesday: Putting up the Hay

Smoky Mountain Hay Meadow

Smoky Mountains Wildflowers: Coneflower

Smoky Mountain Coneflower © William Britten use with permission only

Coneflower (Rudbeckia laciniata var. humilis) blooms from July to October. Look for it along the Clingman’s Dome Road in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. It’s a large plant growing up to 5 feet tall. The yellow coneflower is more often seen at higher elevations, while the orange variation is more at home at lower…

Miles Away on Monday: Bicycling in Cades Cove

Bicycling-Cades-Cove

I can’t think of a more idyllic way to get your exercise than to bike the Cades Cove Loop in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. From May through September on Wednesday and Saturday mornings until 10:00 the Loop Road is closed to motorized vehicles, so the entire glorious 11-mile scenic road is open for…

Cades Cove: Henry Whitehead Cabin

Henry Whitehead Cabin © William Britten use with permission only

Matilda “Aunt Tildy” Shields married Henry Whitehead after her first husband ran off. Henry built the house pictured above in the Chestnut Flats area of Cades Cove in 1895. Notice the brick chimney! This structure might be called the ultimate log cabin, or sometime called a “transition house” due to its near-perfect construction from logs sawed…

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