Good Morning…Robbinsville

Things were quite exciting around here for the last couple of days.  Robbinsville played host to ABC’s Good Morning America for the series, Weekend Adventures.  These segments have featured each anchor performing daredevil activities such as exploring underwater caves in Florida and cliff diving in Hawaii.  This week was Bill Weir’s turn to try his luck with a little dragon slaying. 

 

Bill Weir is the co-anchor of the weekend edition of “Good Morning America” and his reporting is seen on “World News with Charles Gibson,” “Nightline” and “20/20.” Weir has anchored several launches and landings of the space shuttle, was the first American to broadcast live from Tibet and led off 2007’s Earth Day special with an unprecedented underwater live report from the Great Barrier Reef.

 

For the Weekend Adventures segment, Bill rode a beautiful 2010 Indian Chief motorcycle.  Hitting the road in 1901, Indian Motorcycles was not only the first American motorcycle, it was the world’s best-selling bike and having introduced the first V-twin motorcycle to the world in 1907, the most technologically advanced.

 

Flying into the Knoxville airport, several of the crew had an early taste of US 129 and the twists and turns that it offers.  Jennifer Pirone, GMA Weekend Producer, has a harrowing story to tell her fellow New Yorkers about driving the dragon alone, in the dark with no cell phone service.  With the sunrise, she was excited to actually see all that she drove through!

 

Robbinsville native, Ella Mae Teesateskie, manager at Blue Waters Mountain Lodge, thoroughly enjoyed meeting the ABC crew and was flattered when Bill Weir told her “can’t wait to come back and enjoy this, when I get some time off”.

 

Please see our website, www.BlueWatersMtnL.com for more details.

26 Reason To Love Fall

26 Reason To Love Fall

Now we are past the equinox and a crisp chill is in the air…we list our reasons to be cheerful from A to Z

A is for Apples Tis the season for Granny Smith, Red Delicious and Pink Ladies: slice and bake them in with a little cinnamon and sugar.

B is for Ball  As in Football, back to the gridiron and tailgating.  Go Team Go!

C is for Curling up with a good book   Lose a day with a wonderful old book or new

D is for Driving Experiencing the twist and turns of our magnificent roads and vistas

E is for Evergreens Left to color us through the winter’s snows.

F is for Festivals They are not just for summer. These large and small events throughout the area celebrate the past year, centuries or the current crop.

G is for Goblins  Those little creatures who come to your door looking for a treat

H is for Hours  The hours spent by the fire, listening to the crackle, enjoying the smells and feeling the warmth

I is for Image  The most beautiful images of all are those of the fall in the mountains

J is for Junaluska  We give thanks for our area’s rich history

K is for Knitting  A trend that won’t die…Start with a scarf and you could be whipping up chic little iPod covers in time for Christmas.

L is for Long Walks  Long walks on a pristine forest path, top just about everyone’s list of romantic idylls.

M is for Mist  A beautiful blanketing of the lake and surrounding mountains

N is for Nutmeg  The wonderful aromatic spices of fall such as nutmeg, cinnamon and clove

O is for Keats’s Ode to Autumn: Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness, Close bosom-friend of the maturing sun;

P is for Planting your fruit trees Plant them now and the roots will be established and raring to go next spring, ready to make those vigorous new shoots.

Q is for Quilt  A quilt will warm your body and comfort your soul

R is for Reflection  Whether it is appreciating the vivid colors of the leaves reflected on the lake or the inner joy one can experience with counting ones blessings

S is for Snow  The first fall of snow is not just an event, it is magical

T is for Thyme The sweet, earthy smell of thyme will fill kitchens this fall.  It’s perfect with pumpkins or added to roast potatoes or delicious with roasted chicken.

U is for Umbrellas Always nice to have just in case…

V is for Vegetable soup  Take all of those seasonal root vegetables, put them in a pot, simmer gently

W is for Wheat  And the bountiful harvest we enjoy

X is for X’s and O’s   The love we have for family and friends as the holidays draw nearer

Y is for Yellow, gold and red Release your inner child and run and jump in a pile of those colored leaves.

Z is for Zzzzzzz Enjoying that extra hour of sleep in bed with the clocks going back.

 

Please see our website, www.BlueWatersMtnL.com for more details.

 

 

Fall Photography In The Mountains

The Great Smoky Mountains’ fall foliage is a phenomenon that simply begs to be photographed. Here are some tips to make sure your shots will capture some of the magic that occurs this season.

Think Small

The vistas are stunning in real life, but don’t always carry over the same to a 4X6 print. Often the most evocative images of fall are close-ups: a single leaf against a contrasting background, pumpkins on a wooden wagon, and cornstalks against a red barn.

Work In Thirds

A common rule of composition is the rule of thirds. The general idea is that a composition is more pleasing when the subject is placed approximately a third of the way into the image, whether that be from the top, bottom, left or right. Also remember that an image is strongest when the image has a focal point.

Pick Your Spot and Get Lost

It seems that great vantage points for photos are everywhere you turn in our area. But just a few extra steps can reward you with an out-of-this-world shot. Go off the beaten path and discover something new. These mountains are full of backwoods that lead to amazing scenery.

Get the Right Light

Photography is all about capturing light, so naturally the quality of lighting is critical to a strong photograph. The hour around sunrise and sunset is commonly known as the “Magic Hour”. During this time sunlight is soft and diffused, and produces wonderful color to complement the colors of autumn here.

Don’t Put Away Your Camera

In addition to the magic hour, the best time for shooting the autumn colors is when it’s cloudy and/or rainy. While the sky may be dark and dreary, you will notice that all the colors really pop out. Some of the richest color can be found when leaves are wet, standing out in front of dark, wet tree trunks. It’s also smart to keep your camera handy at all times, because you never know when a great photo opportunity will present itself.

Break The Rules

Rules are made to be broken. While these tips should help you on your way to better photographs, sometimes doing something altogether different or “wrong” will produce the best and most creative results. Most important is to let your creative juices flow and have fun!

 

Please see our website, www.BlueWatersMtnL.com for more details.

Fall Color Report

Our leaf color is now at approximately twenty five percent.  This is due in part to the cool nights we have experienced this week.  Fall color will continue to grow steadily as the nighttime temperatures drop.  A few individual trees have completely turned, while others only show color at the tips of their branches.  The sugar maples, red maples, black gums, sourwoods and dogwoods are leading the way with burgundy, reds and some orange.  Poplars, silverbells and buckeyes are just starting to add some nice yellow.  The sweet gums have started to turn burgundy at the tips of their branches.  The hawthorn berries have joined dogwoods, hollies and viburnums, showing off beautiful fall fruit.

 

Peak color is on its way as it slowly cascades down the mountains to Santeetlah Lake.

 

Please see our website, www.BlueWatersMtnL.com for more details.

Ken Burns Documentary Highlights Great Smoky Mountain Park

One of Western North Carolina’s most precious treasures – the Great Smoky Mountain National Park – is highlighted in Ken Burns’ documentary “The National Parks:  America’s Best Idea”.

 

Tune into PBS to see how the Great Smoky Mountains National Park was created.  The fourth installment in the series, titled “Going Home”, highlights the involvement of Horace Kephart and George Masa, men who were strong champions for the creation of the park.  Both men used their talents to capture and document the raw beauty of the region.  Kephart was the author of “Our Southern Highlanders” while George was a photographer.  It was their profound ties to the land that made them advocates for the creation of a local National Park, which would benefit future generations.

See http://www.pbs.org/nationalparks/parks/great-smoky-mountains/ for an excerpt from this exceptional series.

Please see our website, www.BlueWatersMtnL.com for more details.

Fall in the Smokies

Each year the mountains are filled with an absolutely beautiful display of red, orange, yellow, green and purple colors. This total transformation of the colors usually takes several weeks to complete due to our varying elevations. The highest elevations will usually start their changes around mid-September and the change will work their way down the mountains and finally peak around mid-October to the beginning of November in the lower elevations near Lake Santeetlah.

Though most people don’t question why the Smokies are so beautiful in the fall, they just enjoy it; it’s interesting to know that the remarkable variety of trees that are responsible for the autumn show. Nearly 100 species of trees, mostly deciduous, offer up their contribution to the timing and palette of the fall spectacular.   The trees with the most colorful leaves include the sugar maple, red maple, hickories, scarlet oak, dogwood and sweetgum.

 

If you have never experienced the fall color change in the mountains, it is well worth the drive. We invite you to join us and enjoy Fall in the Smokies.

 

Please see our website, www.BlueWatersMtnL.com for more details.