Great Expectations

“Life’s under no obligation to give us what we expect.”
― Margaret Mitchell

I was thrilled to have the chance to take a second day trip to the Blue Ridge Parkway Sunday.  Randy and I wanted to see if the fall colors  progressed any since last week.  When I said Randy and I wanted to see, I really mean I wanted to see and Randy is an absolute saint in helping and supporting me with my photographic adventures and endeavors.

After much thought, we headed again to the Graveyard Fields area of the parkway rather than the Grandfather Mountain area.  Although I knew there was a lot of great color near Grandfather Mountain, I also knew from friends that there were many people in that area, as well.  I chose the less populated area for our excursion.

We started our morning meeting great friends, Les and Janet Saucier, at an overlook for sunrise.  Although there were no clouds in the sky, the fog in the valleys put on quite a show.

Before we left this location, my eye was drawn to the rock face behind me as the light danced across its surface.  Randy was puzzled about what I was seeing there.

Les, Janet, Randy and I headed for another location on the parkway to see if there was fog in the valleys there, as well.  We weren’t disappointed.

After saying goodbye to our friends, Randy and I headed back to Graveyard Fields to hike to the waterfalls.  I was stopped by the beautiful, colorful reflections in the water.

As we headed from Graveyard Fields back to Brevard for lunch, we made one final stop on the parkway.  The fog was thick and the sun was beginning to break through.  I just had to find my spot and wait for the right combination of these conditions.  It did not take long.

After lunch, we finished our day trip with a visit to Jeter Mountain Farm where we bought apples, cider, apple butter, an apple slushie, and apple doughnuts.  It was my first visit to this farm, but certainly will not be my last.   It was the perfect spot to spend a fall afternoon with something for all ages.

When I woke up at 2:30 in the morning for Sunday’s day trip, I did have expectations about finding an abundance of colorful leaves on the trees.  Although I did not find what I expected, in many ways I what I actually found exceeded those expecations.