Classic Smokies – Photo: L. Weikel

Smoky Mountains   

I’ve read about them. And I’ve undoubtedly seen photographs of them. But nothing beats seeing them in person.

Nevertheless, I’m sharing some of my own photographs with you tonight because I find these mountains simply enchanting.

Even though, intellectually, I knew I was in the midst of the Smoky Mountains, my mind balked at the idea that what I was observing was not, in fact, the smoke from campfires. I could feel my resistance to denying my imagination’s desire to romanticize those alleged campfires into hearths of people living on the land. People of the land.

But the truth is that the magic witnessed by people living or visiting here for generations is actually real. No matter how much those curling wisps of blue-ish white vapor resemble smoke, the fact remains that they are the legendary ‘smoke’ of the Smoky Mountains. And there’s not a lick of smoke to them.

Photo: L. Weikel

I know I’ve been singing the praises of Amadell practically every night, but what can I say? The views. I cannot get enough of the ever changing vistas I encounter each and every couple of minutes (much less hours or days). Nor can I hold my tongue when it comes to appreciating the lush foliage of the rhododendrons and mountain laurel, the juniper, maples, elms, and magnolias.

And the creeks. Nothing sends me into a state of calm and peace faster than the voice of a creek cascading down a mountain.

I’m cherishing the opportunity to sit with this land and immerse myself in its beauty.

Sunset Behind the Smokies – Photo: L. Weikel

(T-925)