Smoky Mountain Morning

It is a brisk star-lit morning as I walk out of the canopy of the Smoky Mountain forest.  The howling of the coyote drifts in with the morning breeze.  The sun's rays are not yet peeking over the surrounding mountains.

Cades Cove is just beginning to reveal the morning fog that seems to surround this valley in secrecy.  As I walk down the 11-mile loop road through the valley, fog leaves the air so moist that rain appears to be falling from the leaves of the cherry trees as I pass under them.

With the first bit of light forcing it's way through the morning mist, white-tailed deer begin to graze the valley's lush offerings.  

Pileated Woodpeckers go from fencepost to fencepost trying to keep up with the demands of hungry babies. 

As the sun begins to make it's way over the mountain ridge, the stars disappear but the meadows glisten with the sparkle of dew-covered spiderwebs.  All around me the morning light reveals the colors of the mountain flowers as they wait for the sun's warming rays.

Passing under another cherry tree, I am startled by what sounds like a branch breaking above me.  As I peer through the berry-laden branches,  a dark movement reveals a black bear feeding on the ripened fruit.  As I pause, he watches me warily but continues to feed.  Finally, having his fill, he quickly climbs down and lumbers off through the high grass, pausing twice to stand and look back.

By now the sun has risen above the mountain ridges and begins to burn the fog from the valley.  But the light reveals in all it's misty glory the beauty of the Smoky Mountain morning.  The remaining mist seems to separate the mountains and pull in the horizon.  Layer after layer of blue mountains surround me with impressionistic beauty.  

Within a few minutes the golden light of early morning will be replaced by mid-morning light, when the animals will retreat back into the forest to sleep off their morning meals.  Maybe it's now time for my morning meal, fresh with the thoughts and images in my mind of a Smoky Mountain morning

The Great Smoky Mountains National Park is not just a weekend getaway, it is a week long adventure or a yearly destination.  From the flowers in the spring, the colors in the autumn and the snow covered mountaintops of winter, any time of the year is the right time to visit.  And don't forget your camera.

*Originally published in the "Blue Ridge Country...Covering The Mountains Of The South" magazine in April, 1999.  A few of the pictures have been changed from the original article just to update it a little.  This article along with the accompanying images are copyrighted by T.Eric Albright.