Last Day at the Swag

We started the week here with overcast weather and many rain forecasts.  As the week has progressed the weather has cleared and the temperature has gradually dropped. Leaf color is very slow this year.  Usually mid-October is the peak of color season, but this year there is only the barest beginning of reds and yellows to be seen.

There is more color on the ground than on the trees this year.

Each morning gives us a different view ranging from total overcast to being above the clouds to having totally clear skies.  When I was growing up here I never tired or took for granted the beauty of these mountains.  I was then and now constantly amazed that one place can fill days with such infinite variety and splendid beauty.

First View of the day from the Swag.

Our last day we hiked to Hemphill Bald, a clear mountain top on the Cataloochee Divide Trail where my friends and I spent much time in my youth.  We climbed about six hundred feet in elevation from the Swag to see wonderful views from Cataloochee Ranch to Canton and beyond.

Looking toward Asheville from Hemphill Bald.

In the afternoon I took Trish down the mountain to visit the Davis Chapel Cemetery, where multiple generations of my ancestors are buried.  The result of this visit was a commitment and a plan to do a big project of cleaning gravestones when we return later in the year.  It should have been done years ago.

The Davis neighborhood in the Davis Chapel Cemetery.

Tomorrow we go to Roanoke to see our new grandchild, Beckham!