Cherokee, NC

“May the warm winds of heaven blow softly upon your house. May the Great Spirit bless all who enter there. May your mocassins make happy tracks in many snows, and may the rainbow always touch your shoulder.”
― American Indian Cherokee Blessing

What a wonderful weekend my husband, Randy, and I had exploring and photographing in the Cherokee, NC area!  There is a great deal to explore in Cherokee.

Since I am always working to grow with my photography, I am currently taking a class.  I wanted to seek out things to photograph in Cherokee to fulfil the requirements of my class.  I was so drawn to the opportunities to photograph

bright colors in Cherokee.  Ernest Lamb is the wonderful subject of the featured image for this post.  The day we met Ernest, he told us was his first day working for the season.

Bright colors can be found throughout Cherokee.  This image was taken of a headdress that was hanging outside of a souvenir shop.

I thoroughly enjoy photographing nature.  There were many opportunities for photographing nature in Cherokee.  I had read about a bamboo forest that is located there.  I have been wanting to visit it for some time now.  I was thrilled when we happened upon this bamboo forest at Oconaluftee Islands Park in Cherokee, NC.  I took pictures in the bamboo forest in the evening and in the morning.

We wanted to find some area hikes.  Since we had our dog, Maui, with us, we were fairly limited in the hikes that we were able to take.  Dogs are not allowed on most trails in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.  We did find that the Oconaluftee River Trail was dog friendly and very enjoyable.

We found wildlife photo opportunities along the trail.

On our last evening in the area of Cherokee, we visited  Harrah’s Cherokee Casino Resort.  We went there for the purpose of photographing and having dinner.  We did do a bit of gambling while we were  there.  We played five dollars on a slot machine.  We ended up leaving the casino with full bellies and less five dollars.

We had a wonderful time in Cherokee, NC.

The next time you are in the area, I hope you will visit Cherokee, NC to explore and take advantage of all of the wonderful opportunities there are to explore history, nature, and entertainment opportunities there.