Autumn on the Blue Ridge

    Readers of Healthy Living News know that Shirley and I enjoy fall color trips to Shenandoah National Park then down the Blue Ridge Parkway to Great Smoky Mountains NP. Autumn arrives earlier in the north and at higher elevations so the color varies greatly. It is also a great route, done in reverse because spring comes earlier in the south, for flowering trees and wildflowers. But we'll get to that in another post. "A Walk in the Park" columns have space for only a few photos that can not do justice to the experience. This is my attempt to give you a more complete visual summary.

Skyline Drive runs along the crest of the mountains in Shenandoah.

Down in the Shenandoah Valley, autumn had not arrived the second

week in October. But be patient.

Not all wildflowers bloom in the spring.

We camp at Big Meadows, named for this area that was cleared by the

Indians hundreds of years ago.

Mabry Mill is a must stop on the Blue Ridge Parkway.

Between Mt. Mitchell and Craggy Gardens we ran into a little

snow on October 16, 2023.

The first thing we saw early in the morning at Oconaluftee was

this bull elk being chased away from the herd. He appeared to 

have an injured left foreleg.

This was the victor whose prize was the right to copulate with his harem of

lady elk. Except for those who were not in the mood.

Still, there seemed to enough willing to be persuaded.

Momma bears often have twins. Triplets are somewhat more unusual.