Tennessee Mountain Sunrise

Once again I am thankful for the beauty of the Tennessee Mountains in which I live, and the Appalachian Mountains in general. Here is the beautiful sunrise I was greeted with this morning. Some of the pictures below almost look like a fire instead of a sunrise. I realize once again how blessed I am to live in the mountains.

Doesn’t this look like a fire? It’s just a beautiful mountain sunrise.

I took all these pictures from the same spot in my front yard, but with very different perspectives.

This inspires me to recommend books about the Appalachian Mountains. Of course Bill Bryson’s A Walk in the Woods, but also a lesser known book, Grandma Gatewood’s Walk. This book is about the first woman to walk the entire Appalachian Trail, and she happened to be a 67-year-old grandmother! This is a “can’t miss story.” I loved Bear in the Back Seat, about Kim DeLozier, a Smoky Mountain park ranger for over 30 years. My favorite fictional book about the Mountains has to be Christy, by Catherine Marshall, because it’s a close look at the Mountain people in the early 20th century. I also love Adriana Trigiani’s Big Stone Gap series, which is set in the Appalachian Mountains of Virginia in more contemporary times, and includes 8 books. And of course there are so many more. What books about the Appalachian Mountains do you like? Please comment below.

And I must leave you with a photo of my absolute favorite place in the the world, my “happy place,” Deep Creek, which is a part of the Smoky Mountains National Park, but is located in Bryson City, NC, which also happens to be my Mom’s hometown and the place to which I will retire in 3 years. This is where I go when I want to feel complete peace. The waterfall photo directly below is from the Bryson City, NC Facebook Page. The rest of the photos were taken at Deep Creek by Doug DeMoss.

Have a blessed Sunday!