Little River in Great Smoky Mountains National Park

Afternoon sunlight lights up fall color on the Little River in Great Smoky Mountains National Park.  next

sunset in Great Smoky Mountains National Park

this sunset view was taken from Newfound Gap Road in Great Smoky Mountains National Park in North Carolina. This view looks out over the Deep Creek drainage.here are some nearby spots: Image 1

I visited Great Smoky Mountains National Park in October; the fall color was spectacular in several areas just as I had hoped. I was also hoping to get a few shots of some of the black bears that roam the park. In fact, my first evening I saw a mother and two cubs and another mature bear crossing the road just a few minutes from each other but the light was too poor to get any shots. A few days later, I pulled over on Cherokee Orchard  Road when I saw several people with cameras on the edge of the forest; a bear had just run up the hill into the woods right before I arrived. I cleverly decided to wait as the crowd dispersed and see if the bear would return; I amused myself by shooting a few constant zoom shots of some of the intense fall color. I was surprised to see the trunks of the trees in the above shot. After a bit, I slunk back to the jeep when I realized the bear wasn't coming. Luckily for me, I had only driven a short distance when I saw another crowd of people with cameras  chasing MY bear through the woods! I jumped out just in time to see the poor bear running for its life, just a patch of dark colored fur disappearing into a thicket. Counting several close opportunities with grizzlies out west, I'm 0 for 7 for getting a decent shot in the wild;  I may have to consider the zoo....

 this is the area where the bear disappeared.

this is the fall color on Cherokee Orchard Road outside of Gatlinburg, Tennessee.

this is the Noah "Bud" Ogle farmstead off of Cherokee Orchard Road.

Newfound Gap Road (US 441) runs from Gatlinburg, Tennessee up and over the crest of the Smoky Mountains and then down to Cherokee, North Carolina. From Gatlinburg to the highest point, the road gains around 3500' of elevation; watch how the trees change from lowland hardwoods to high altitude firs and back again as you descend to Cherokee. You actually leave Great Smoky Mountain National Park just before reaching Cherokee; Cherokee, North Carolina is actually on a large Indian reservation and is a great area to explore. The view shown above is from the Oconaluftee Valley Overlook just below Newfound Gap; I arrived early hoping for a nice sunrise view; instead, the mountain was locked in thick mist with 30' visibility. After almost an hour, I was about to leave when the mist began to thin out a bit; I got several views down the valley. There are numerous scenic stops along Newfound Gap Road, I will be posting several more about these   areas in the future. One other view from below Newfound Gap is below.http://paulmartinimage.blogspot.com/2011/12/sunset-in-great-smoky-mountains.html