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The last week of October 2012, the long arms of Hurricane Sandy produced a Smoky Mountains wonderland of snow in autumn. The Smokies offered stunning … Read More »
All of the Smoky Mtns photos on this page are of the Elijah Oliver cabin. Elijah was John Oliver’s son, and he was born in Cades Cove in 1824. … Read More »
Rainbow Falls has been a popular Smokies hiking destination since long before the formation of the National Park. LeConte Creek plunges near 80 feet o… Read More »
Matilda “Aunt Tildy” Shields married Henry Whitehead after her first husband ran off. Henry built the house pictured above in the Chestnu… Read More »
It’s a Spiritual Sunday again. Time to ponder whatever comes to mind. Like walking in the Smokies with your head pointed upwards. Watch the squi… Read More »
Dogwood Rain is one of my most enduring Smoky Mtns photos. This shot was taken along the Middle Prong in the Tremont area of the Smokies, which is one… Read More »
John Oliver was a pioneer who built his log cabin around 1826 in the Cades Cove area of the Great Smoky Mountains. The homestead is typical of the tim… Read More »
Lately I’ve become hooked on black and white conversions. A couple of weeks ago I posted some black and white Smoky Mountains photos from Cades … Read More »
George Washington “Carter” Shields lived on this homestead from around 1910 to 1920, although the cabin dates from the 1830s. Carter Shi… Read More »
The Roaring Fork Motor Nature Trail is a narrow, one-way loop and a wonderful opportunity for Smoky Mountains photos. Start from stoplight number 8 in… Read More »
Welcome to Friday. A weekend! Gratitude for another day. The simple beauty of dawn drifting towards the fullness of the day, weather becoming whatever… Read More »
If you follow this blog, you know that I enjoy volunteering to help shuttle Appalachian Trail hikers between Gatlinburg and the Trail. I love to get u… Read More »
It’s another Spiritual Sunday. Today we are in the Deep Woods. Something about being among Big Trees speaks to a person’s soul. If youR… Read More »
Dogwood Home is a featured photo at the William Britten Gallery. It is offered in all sizes up to 20×30. Details of sizes and prices can be found… Read More »
It’s a glorious springtime in Cades Cove. The dogwood blooms have come early, and the Smoky Mountains are dressed in their spring finery. There … Read More »
Readers of this blog know that I enjoy volunteering to help Appalachian Trail hikers shuttle between Gatlinburg and the trail. Most of these folks hav… Read More »
Greenbrier Spring was taken just downstream from the bridge leading up the Ramsay Prong Road in the Greenbrier section of the Smoky Mountains. The cre… Read More »
Morton Overlook is one of the classic locations for Smoky Mountains photos. You could stop here every day for 365 days in a row and never see the sa… Read More »
The images on this page are from a 1949 US Geological Survey Map of the Smoky Mountains, which was based on the 1931 map created at the time the Natio… Read More »
The Smokies got a short-lived winter snowstorm earlier this week. By lunchtime the weather turned warm and sunny, and the snow was but a memory. I w… Read More »
This week we awoke to what has been a rare sight this winter: a blanket of snow! However, the forecast was for temperatures in the 50s, so I scampered… Read More »
It’s definately the winter time here folks. The excitement of the holidays is a fading memory. The Smoky Mountains are currently shrouded in a h… Read More »
Place of 1000 Drips is one of my oldest and most enduring Smoky Mountains photos. This is a popular roadside waterfall along the Roaring Fork Motor T… Read More »
Smoky Mountains photos need not always be in color, as these three vistas illustrate. The photo above is the classic shot from Mortons Overlook near t… Read More »
It’s the last day of October, and it has been an exceptionally busy month in my Gallery and at the October Craftsmens Fair in Gatlinburg. I want… Read More »
William “Fighting Billy” Tipton was Revolutionary War veteran and the first of the Tipton clan to acquire land in the Smoky Mountains. Thi… Read More »
Spiritual Light is one of my Smoky Mountains photos taken from the Morton Overlook near Newfound Gap. The dramatic rays of sunset filtering through th… Read More »
Today is my wife, Sarah’s birthday. Happy Birthday Sarah! Last week we got up very early … before 5am … and drove over to Cades Co… Read More »
Noah “Bud” Ogle was a Smoky Mountain farmer who lived from 1863 to 1913. The cabin was built in the 1880′s and consists of two cabin… Read More »
Dogwood Tapestry is one of my premier Smoky Mountains photos in a vertical format. The scene is along the Middle Prong of the Little River, in the T… Read More »
These are stressful times. So much strife in the world, polarized beliefs, and intolerance. Some days it’s too much for a sensitive person, and … Read More »
A commitment is required to experience the quiet grandeur of a Smoky Mountains dawn such as this. With close to an hour drive from the Gatlinburg area… Read More »
Cades Cove Morning is a fairly new addition to the William Britten Gallery, taken from Hyatt Lane in the Cades Cove section of the Smoky Mountains. Th… Read More »
I made a late-evening run up to Newfound Gap to deliver a hiker to the Appalachian Trail. This was Moises (pictured below), who had called me from Chi… Read More »
There are some wonderful and easy Smoky Mountains hikes at 5000 feet and above that will transport you from the dense hardwood forests of the Southeas… Read More »
The Sinks is a popular Smoky Mountains waterfall stop along Little River Road. Especially after a rainfall, it can be quite dramatic to stand in the o… Read More »
It’s a moody Smoky Mtn Monday in early May. The valley is lush with spring green, while the upper elevations are still shrugging off winter. The… Read More »
Happy Friday! It’s been a while since we had a Philosophical Friday. Today’s thoughts are about living in an area like Gatlinburg that… Read More »
In April of every year the Smoky Mountains are showered with dogwood blooms like a late spring snowstorm. Everywhere you go … up in the Greenbri… Read More »
This past week I took advantage of a lovely spring morning to walk to Bud Ogle Nature Trail before my day in the Gallery began. The Bud Ogle Farm is… Read More »
Two random Smoky Mtn waterfalls today, one that you hike to, and the other is just a roadside pull-off. The photo above is Fern Branch Falls. This i… Read More »
The Walker Sisters Place is one of many Smoky Mountain homesteads. The five spinster sisters clung to the old self-reliant way of life and became lege… Read More »
Spruce Flat Falls is one of the hidden gems of the Smoky Mountains. The hike is about a mile each way, not too rugged but with a bit of a climb. The… Read More »
Driving along Little River Road in the Smoky Mountains last week, the water was high from several days of rain, and there were kayakers putting their … Read More »
In the late 1920s Gatlinburg entrepreneur Jack Huff built a 20 by 24 foot cabin out of balsam logs that was the forerunner of today’s LeConte Lo… Read More »
Mt. LeConte is the third-highest Smoky Mountains peak, but to me it represents the skyline of the Smokies. As you approach from the north, Mt. Lecont… Read More »
Can a person ever get too much Cades Cove or Smoky Mountains? No need to answer … I find myself drawn back these days over and over to see what&… Read More »
This time of year in our Smoky Mountains we are all itching to say good-bye to winter and welcome springtime and the wildflower season. These are my c… Read More »
Last week we experienced a popular Smoky Mountains view at the Oconaluftee Overlook. This time we’re enjoying the view from Morton’s Over… Read More »
One of my favorite places in the Smoky Mountains opens today after the annual winter closure. The Roaring Fork Motor Nature Trail is a goldmine for… Read More »
A few weeks ago I was roaming around Cades Cove in the Smoky Mountains and found lots of deer. More than a hundred deer. But they were all bucks. A… Read More »
A classic Smoky Mountains morning. The signature blue haze, the tops of the ridges warming with orange as the sun approaches the horizon. How man… Read More »
The photo above was taken this week in the Cades Cove area of the Smoky Mountains. The calendar says it’s still winter, but these daffodils sa… Read More »
The Smoky Mountains area had a heavy rain earlier this week, so I was out poking around the next morning to see how full the creeks were. The photo ab… Read More »
In the days before barbed wire, the traditional fencing material in the Smoky Mountains was rails split from a rot-resistant hardwood such as chestnut… Read More »
The Smoky Mountains are starting to look Spring-like on this last day of February, and our heavy winter snows may be over for the season. I really enj… Read More »
Here is the final winter wallpaper/screensaver of the season. Out in the Greenbrier crossing one of the bridges on the way to the Ramsey’s Cas… Read More »
It’s a quiet and peaceful day in Cades Cove. Winter is really special here. Plenty of time to cruise the loop road at your own pace, stopping … Read More »
In 1839 a group split from the Primitive Baptist Church to form their own congregation. The structure pictured above was built in 1915. I visited the … Read More »
Last week I headed over to Cades Cove with these deer in mind. In winter they tend to congregate in large groups in the central meadow of the Cove. I … Read More »
100 years ago in the early 20th century, the Elkmont area of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park was a bustling center of tourism for the wealthy.… Read More »
This is a short, sweet hike with a special and nearly secret destination. Jakes Creek Trailhead is the starting point, which is found by turning left … Read More »
A free winter wallpaper/screensaver in appreciation for all my blog and facebook fans. This is Bull Head on the right and Balsam Point on Mt. LeCont… Read More »
I need a short break from the relentlessly snowy pictures lately. Time to think ahead to the gorgeous green and swollen waters of a Smoky Mountains st… Read More »
Out in the Greenbrier today, stopping by a woods on a snowy afternoon to appreciate the silence of snow. Barely another visitor to this corner of the … Read More »
The Great Smoky Mountains National Park was mostly closed yesterday after a snowstorm the day before. I headed out to the Greenbrier, hoping to find t… Read More »
The picture above is Mt. LeConte and the Smoky Mountains looming over downtown Gatlinburg. Taken from the observation deck of the Space Needle two wee… Read More »
This time of year can be absolutely breathtaking in the Gatlinburg area. Both of these images show a winter panorama of the Smoky Mountains with Mt. L… Read More »
Yesterday’s Greenbrier in Winter photo was so pretty that I had to do some more. Both of these are along the trail to Ramsay Cascades. The one… Read More »
Earlier this week I was out at the Ogle Place along the Roaring Fork in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. We had a snowfall followed by frigid … Read More »
It has been frigid cold here in Gatlinburg! Temperatures in the teens for several days. The morning light has a watery winter translucent quality. Our… Read More »
In addition to a newly paved loop road for the Roaring Fork in 2010, the Reagan Mill got a brand new flume to carry the water to where the mill once w… Read More »
When you come down the hill at the end of the Roaring Fork Motor Trail in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, stop in at Ely’s Mill. ItR… Read More »
Ephraim and Minerva Bales subsisted on 70 rock-infested acres along the Roaring Fork in the early 1900s. Walking around this homestead, it’s har… Read More »
This footbridge is one of the special places in the Greenbrier section of the Great Smoky Mountains. It crosses the Ramsay Prong of the Little Pigeon … Read More »
Snow-capped Mt. LeConte with sun barely clipping the treetops. Cold! 25 degrees this morning here in Gatlinburg. This Smoky Mountain image was giv… Read More »
Alfred Reagan lived along the Roaring Fork in the Smoky Mountains in the late 1800s and early 1900s. His home is different than the other settlers cab… Read More »
A few days ago we had a thick fog in the morning. I headed out just before daylight to beat the traffic into the Roaring Fork Motor Trail. The fog was… Read More »
This picture was taken along the Newfound Gap Road in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Just stopped the car along the roadside and took this… Read More »
Here’s a simple photography technique that can jazz up an image. You’ll need to stop your zoom lens down as far as it will go, to F22 or… Read More »
Can’t get enough of the autumn roads in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The above scene was along the Roaring Fork Motor Trail just out… Read More »
Continuing the autumn road theme. The Greenbrier section of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park is such a calm, cozy, and welcoming place. After… Read More »
Here’s a stop that often gets ignored among the attractions in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. From Gatlinburg, head up toward Newfound… Read More »
Philosophical Friday here again. Always something to think about. For example, once upon a time the problem was finding a needle in a haystack. … Read More »
Dan Lawson’s place along the Cades Cove loop road in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park dates from 1856. The house is one of the “tra… Read More »
I can’t seem to get enough of Cades Cove this summer. Maybe it’s due to the renovated loop road. The photograph above was taken along Hyat… Read More »
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 … Read More »
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 N… Read More »
The Ogle family goes way back in the Gatlinburg area. In fact, Noah Ogle’s great-grandparents, William (1756–1803) and his wife Martha Huske… Read More »
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 t… Read More »
The story goes that the Methodist Church in Cades Cove was constructed in 115 days at a cost of $115 by a man who served for many years as the ministe… Read More »
The Primitive Baptist Church in the Cades Cove section of the Great Smoky Mountains was established in 1827 in a log structure that served the congreg… Read More »
Beech Grove School was built in 1901 and was one of three schools in the Cataloochee area of the Smoky Mountains. The school term, oriented to the agr… Read More »
It’s Philosophical Friday again, and we’re continuing on with yesterday’s post into the creepy interior of the Palmer House. The ima… Read More »
The Palmer House in Big Cataloochee Valley was originally built around 1860 by George Lafayette Palmer. It was a “dog-trot” house, with tw… Read More »
The Great Smoky Mountains National Park began a program of releasing elk into the Park in 2001. Elk were once native to the eastern forests, but they … Read More »
I roamed around Cades Cove on a glorious spring morning last week. Here is a collection of panoramas that were created by stitching several images tog… Read More »
Here’s a tip for those hot summer days touring around the Great Smoky Mountains National Park: the best lemonade is over in Mt. Sterling near th… Read More »
Cataloochee Valley is one of the hidden wonders of the Smoky Mountains. The best way from Gatlinburg is to schedule an entire day for the journey to C… Read More »
The weather around the Great Smoky Mountains National Park is characterized by humid days and cool nights — perfect conditions for early morning… Read More »
If you do much hiking in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, you’ve certainly found yourself in the situation pictured above. Love them or … Read More »
A spring snow dusted Mt. LeConte on Tuesday night, closing the road to Newfound Gap in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. It’s not unusu… Read More »
I was headed down the Newfound Gap Road towards Gatlinburg yesterday after scoping out the wildflowers on the Cove Hardwoods Trail. Suddenly thereR… Read More »
The picture above is from the Tipton Homeplace in Cades Cove in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. It’s a great example of the vernacular … Read More »
I came across these two male wild turkeys yesterday morning, just wandering along beside the road without a care in the world. Luckily my camera was i… Read More »
A packtrain of llamas is used to carry bed linens and supplies to Mt. LeConte Lodge. The llamas are easier on the heavily used Great Smoky Mountains N… Read More »
The picture above is from Mortons Overlook near the top of Newfound Gap Road in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Looking down the valley tow… Read More »
Whenever the creeks of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park swell with rainfall, which is often in the springtime, the kayakers come forth. It seem… Read More »
Something green for St. Patrick’s Day. Nothing greener in the Great Smoky Mountains than the moss-covered rocks of the Roaring Fork. Condition… Read More »
There are many old pioneer cabins in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Most of them were constructed from native wood, shaped with hand tools s… Read More »
Perhaps the last decent snowfall of the winter this week created a winter dreamscape up in the Greenbrier section of the Great Smoky Mountains Nationa… Read More »
Another light snowstorm through most of the day yesterday, but not enough to close the entrance to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. I drove … Read More »
The picture above is the footbridge leading to the Ramsey Cascades Trail in the Greenbrier section of the Smoky Mountains. Yes, it’s still cold … Read More »
Still plenty of snow at Newfound Gap. The road from Gatlinburg to the top of the Smoky Mountains has been closed a lot this winter, but it was open on… Read More »
I live in Gatlinburg TN, on the edge of the Great Smoky Mountains. The Smokies are a very spiritual place, and I attempt to capture some of that spirit in each of my photographs.
If you are in Gatlinburg, please stop in at my gallery .
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