Abrams Falls

Today’s post is of an image I took last year in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The Smokies have to be my favorite place to visit. Everywhere you look there is something to photograph! πŸ™‚ If you are a nature lover this is like Heaven. With so many trails to hike on it takes some time to really see it all. And speaking of hiking, to get to this waterfall takes a 5 mile round-trip. But it is so worth it. To get here you first have to enter Cade’s Cove, which is an exciting adventure all by itself. But once you get close to the start of the trail, you just don’t want to turn back. The trail is next to the river in some parts and surrounded by lush forest. The day I chose to go, the fog was really thick. Of course that just made it more enchanting to walk through the woods. When I arrived at the falls, I was awestruck at the beauty before me. While it’s certainly not one of the tallest waterfalls around, it definitely can hold it’s own. The pool at the bottom leads your eyes right to it with the rocky textures all around. This is a place where you can spend a lot of time just enjoying what’s around you. I actually found it a little difficult to concentrate on taking pictures because I didn’t want to miss out on seeing all the beauty in nature that was there. But I was able to divide my time to enjoy the whole experience. This day reminds me of one of my favorite quotes:

β€œLife is a journey, not a destination.”
― Ralph Waldo Emerson

Info from the web: http://www.nps.gov/grsm/planyourvisit/waterfalls.htm

Abrams Falls
Although Abrams Falls is only 20 feet high, the large volume of water rushing over falls more than makes up for its lack of height. The long, deep pool at its base is very picturesque. The waterfall and creek are named for Cherokee Chief Abram or Abraham whose village once stood several miles downstream.

The trail to the falls traverses pine-oak forest on the ridges and hemlock and rhododendron forest along the creek. The hike is 5 miles round-trip and considered moderate in difficulty.

Dolphin Resort

On Wednesday February 29th in celebration of Leap Year, Disney’s Magic Kingdom put on an event called one more Disney day. The park opened at 6:00 am Wednesday and closed at 6:00 am Thursday. 24 hours at a theme park? Awesome!! I decided I wanted to spend the daytime hours taking pictures and the nighttime hours enjoying the park with no camera. I walked around different areas for a while taking pictures here and there until I was satisfied that I accomplished my goal. This is one of the shots from that day.

Situated in the Walt Disney World area just outside of EPCOT and Disney’s Boardwalk sits two hotels across the way from each other. The Swan and Dolphin Resorts are architectural marvels. The design is something amazing to see. You kind of just stand there a few minutes taking it all in. I was standing on the beach area beside the hotel to set up for this shot. The clouds were more than cooperative for me hanging around all day so the sky would be more interesting. I am really drawn to reflections and this angle did not disappoint.