Wildflowers of the Smoky Mountains

In the end of April I took my first spring trip to the Smoky Mountains.  The thing I love the most about the Smoky Mountains is that each season offers something new and magnificent to observe (and photograph in my case).  I went with an open mind and an open agenda but having two specific things I wanted to photograph – wildflowers and waterfalls.

Smoky Mountain National Park distributes a seasonal newspaper that has great tips on locations of wildflowers.  It will suggest various trails to hike and places to look.  I highly suggest reviewing this newspaper as a starting point.  There are also many great identification books sold in the park bookstore.  The one I enjoyed the most is “Wildflowers of the Smokies” by Peter White.

Photographing wildflowers is not a new subject matter to me but the identification of each flower is.  Below are a variety of what I found.  I hope you enjoy the color and intricacies of each flower as much as I do.  

Fire Pink (f/6.3, 1/400 second, ISO 400)

 

Showy Orchis (f/5.6, 1/200 second, ISO 400)

 

Columbine (f/18, 1/100 second, ISO 800)

 

Bishop’s Cap (f/14, 1/100 second, ISO 640)

 

Pretty Purple Flowers (f/5.6, 1/400 second, ISO 400) – unsure of name of this one

Travel Tips for the Great Smoky Mountains

Recently, I have had the opportunity to visit the Great Smoky Mountain National Park twice.  The first trip was during peak fall colors (third week of October) and last weekend (November 8-11).

This entire period is an amazing time to visit the park because there is such diversity in the activities you can do.  For fall colors, I would definitely recommend going during the week if at all possible.  The traffic on weekends really detracts from the beauty around you.  Traffic slows down a little in November, but remember that this is a very busy national park all year round.  One perk of visiting the Great Smoky Mountain National Park is that there is no entrance fee required whereas a majority of the other national parks around the country charge a daily fee.  However, it is a very kind gesture to leave a donation to help support the park.

In late fall, the wildlife is very active and fun to watch.  The deer are in rut which means you could see a lot of sparring between the male bucks as they fight for their choice of ladies for mating.

The bear are also active, eating as much as they can in preparation for the winter months ahead.

Turkeys are abundant as well – no worries for them about being the next Thanksgiving dinner as there is no hunting in the park.  You may get lucky and spot an un-common Smoke-phase Gray Turkey like the photo below.  This color variation is due to a recessive gene and is a very beautiful sighting among a crowd of your usual brown turkeys.

Depending on what type of activities you like, two nearby towns to consider visiting on the Tennessee side are Townsend and Gatlinburg.  Townsend is a small, quiet town with easy access to the park.  It has a few hotels and restaurants with an overall quiet feel.  Gatlinburg, on the other hand, is much more touristy with many more restaurant and shop options.

A few suggestions I have for places to visit would include Foothills Parkway for sunrise, Cades Cove in the morning fog, and Clingman’s Dome for sunset.  Head out of Townsend and take a left onto Foothills Parkway. The first pull-off on the left offers a great easterly view of the mountains for sunrise.  Find out what time sunrise is and plan to arrive at least 30 minutes prior to that.  The morning twilight can be so peaceful and beautiful.

Cades Cove is also an excellent early morning drive.  It is an eleven-mile one-way loop that has great scenery, especially when the fog settles in the morning.  The gate to Cades Cove opens at sunrise and you will see a line up of cars waiting to enter.  Cades Cove is where you will see most of the wildlife activity and just after sunrise or just before sunset is usually when the animals are most active.

A nice place to visit in the early evening is Clingman’s Dome.  This is the highest point in the park with an elevation of 6,644 feet.  Bring extra layers as the wind is often strong and the temperature is much cooler as elevation increases.  A short, half-mile hike from the parking lot takes you to the top observation tower for a nice view.  But in my personal opinion, I enjoy viewing the sunset from the parking lot.  It is a great westward view.

Thank you for your time and interest in my work and as always, your comments are welcomed and very much appreciated.

I apologize for the watermark through the middle of my photos but, unfortunately, I found it is necessary to protect my work.

Smoky Mountains Fall Color

This was only my second trip to the Smoky Mountains and I’ve realized that each trip to the Smokies is unique. The first time I was on the east side in North Carolina and only made it as far west as Clingman’s Dome.  The purpose of this most recent trip was to search out the best fall colors and see the east side of the park.

I drove north from Atlanta winding through Ellijay and Blue Ridge and connected with Highway 129.  I traveled through an 11 miles section of Highway 129, known as the Dragon, that has 318 curves.  This road is a popular destination for motorcyclist and is absolutely beautiful in the fall. I have to remember not to take it in the winter!

I entered the Foothills Parkway and was very pleased with the beautify of the colors. For much of the drive north I was concerned I was past peak color time but the Foothills Parkway proved me wrong.

One stop I would suggest along the Parkway is Look Rock Observation Tower. It is a half mile hike to the observation platform at the top. Great views of the mountains on one side and an expansive view looking west over the towns of Tennessee.

I headed up to Clingman’s Dome for a sunset photo op. The further up I drove, the more scarce the leaves got. The weather was seasonably warm, clear and low wind at the top which I was very thankful for. I arrived a little early and scoped out the best spot. Having never been up there for sunset I wasn’t sure what to expect.  Around 6:30pm (sunset was at 6:55pm) there were about 30+ photographers and tripods set up in a line facing west.

The sky showed us some beautiful colors and changed constantly as the sun sank behind the last mountain ridge. I used my 100-400 lens for these shots to bring the definition of the ridges closer. That was not originally what I thought I was going to use for a landscape sunset of this sort but it turned out just as I had hoped in the end.  The light layer of clouds allowed for some great reflection and color.

The next morning I headed to Cades Cove for sunrise.  Having only one opportunity for a morning sunrise in this trip, I was torn between a vista view sunrise or to head to the Cove for a morning of foggy scapes. I was very happy with my choice. Minus the huge line up of so many other cars wanting to see the fall colors at this time of year, Cades Cove is a wonderfully peaceful place in the morning.  It is an 11-mile one-way loop with numerous pull-offs along the way.

The morning colors were rich and vibrant with just enough fog to give the scene a little interest. One of my favorite stops along the way was for a group of bucks fighting in an open field. I’ve realized that wildlife photography is definitely my favorite and is what really excites me.  I set up on the side of the road and watched the group play for quite a long time. At one point, there were five bucks taking turns sparring with each other.

I’ll be heading back to the Smokies in early November and look forward to sharing more with you at that time!