Trip to Jonesborough, TN

We made a little fall excursion to Jonesborough yesterday via Sam's Gap. Fantastic fall colors which did not show up well in my photos. My camera wouldn't pick up the bright yellows that were almost blinding our vision as we traveled across Sam's Gap into Tennessee.

However, I did get a few good photos of Jonesborough itself. This is a little town like you would picture in a Norman Rockwell Illustration. It's the oldest town in Tennesse, home and burial site of President Andrew Johnson. If you are ever in this area, Jonesborough is a must see. This is also the Storytelling capital that will take you back to yesterday.

oh my, a bear

What do you suppose I would almost run into with my car on my way home today . . . a very large black bear. I rounded a corner, and there he was, looking straight at me. I managed to come to a stop about 15 feet from him. He startled and ran across the road into a field while I anxiously plummaged thru my bag for the camera. By the time I found the camera he was already in a field of tall grasses and fall flowers. Such a beautiful sight!

Here in the Western North Carolina Mountains we have numerous wildlife that we frequently have crossing our paths and each time I see something as magnificent as this black bear, I am in total awe. There have been so many new homes built here in the last few years and we are gradually encroaching on there territory. It's sad.

I really must take time to study and paint this magnificent creature.