We finally found a time when we could both get away for a few days. It really seems like it should be easier to do that than it is, but then, if it was too simple it might not be half the fun. The colors in the mountains should be incredible this time of year, so it was decided that Gatlinburg would be our destination.

Since October is high season for the Smoky Mountains of Tennessee and North Carolina, our favorite little hotel was already booked. I headed off to the web to find something different. When acceptable [and available ;-] accomodations were found, the room was booked and the cat sitter called. We were ready to roll.

As it turned out, summer had lingered a bit longer than normal this year. Our best guess is that the colors will be full blown the first or second week of November this year. There was still lots of green lingering while we were there. But as always, the mountains were beautiful and hints of fall were everywhere. The weather was lovely. Pleasant days [two sunny and two overcast] and nights just crisp enough to require a light jacket. We opened the windows and cranked the ceiling fans at night so that we could have a fire in the large stone fireplace. Hey, it's part of the fall mountain experience that is not to be missed. Besides, having the windows open kept the sound of the stream outside in our ears like background music of the mountains.

Below are a few thumbnails of some of the colors. Click for larger views of these or the leaves above.

[Each image will open in a new window, just close it to return here. Some enlarged views may be a slow download on dialup due to image size.]