Road Trip

“We travel not to escape life, but for life not to escape us.”

— Anonymous

Randy and I took a spur of the moment road trip Sunday.  The purpose of the trip was to enjoy and photograph early fall colors on the Blue Ridge Parkway in the mountains of North Carolina.

We decided to make our first destination

Graveyard Fields.  Graveyard Fields is always a great choice for early fall color due to its elevation of over 5,000 feet.

Although we often plan our road trips to arrive at a location in time for sunrise, we decided to leave a bit later.  We would arrive in time to take advantage of the early morning light, but have a bit more relaxed start time for our day.  That being said, we still woke up at 4:30 a.m. in order to begin our day trip.

The festive fall colors and displays of a garden center along our way delayed our arrival to the parkway.

When we finally arrived at Graveyard Fields, the color did not disappoint.

While at Graveyard Fields, we ran into friends Chris and Bonnie Allen.  Chris and Bonnie lead tours in the North Carolina Mountains.  You can find information about their tours on their website, Ashevillephoto.tours.  Bonnie let me know that there were monarch butterflies migrating that could be seen at the Cherry Cove Overlook.

On our way home, we stopped at the Cherry Cove Overlook.  We were certainly not the only ones there.  It did not take long to begin seeing the butterflies.  They came sporadically, but it was such a joy to see them on their way to their winter homes.  Using the images I took of monarchs I saw at the overlook in a short period of time, I created this composite of the location with the butterflies.  It was such an incredible thing to witness.

It was a perfect day for a road trip to the mountains.  I am so thankful that I live close enough that I am able to visit in just one day.

I cannot wait for our next mountain adventure!