On my drive back to Atlanta and my week of meetings, I stopped at LookOut Mountain home to Ruby Falls and Rock City (located in Chattanooga, TN_. You can't miss it because there are signs about every other mile for about a 200 miles in every direction telling you that you must stop! They did their work and I decided to stop and take a look. Ruby Falls was quite the surprise...its motto is "200 million years in the making". Ruby Falls is an indoor 145 foot waterfall located about 1120 feet below the top of LookOut Mountain. Pretty dramatic and [View Full Entry]

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I had a few hours to kill after leaving the Biltmore so decided to drive to the Smoky Mountain National Park since it was so close and see a little of it. Did not have a lot of time so mainly stuck to the road. Stopped at the observations points along the way for some photos and headed back shortly after crossing the state line sign halfway through the Park. Unfortunately, the Park wasn't as green yet this time of year as I was hoping so that dampered my photo taking a bit. It was also suprisingly clear so didn't get [View Full Entry]

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I've visited Chimney Rock before and so enjoyed myself the last time that I wanted to go back again. It was a nice drive as you weave your way through the trees. Things weren't as green this time of year as I had hoped but was still a lovely way to spend a good chunk of my day. Plus, got a workout! Headed off to the Skyline Trail to make my way to the top of Hickory Nut Falls. The path is a mix of dirt, roots, wood, rock steps and wood steps. You're definitely climbing up. Wasn't a lot of [View Full Entry]

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If you've ever seen an episode of A&E's America's Castles, you're going to be familiar with the Biltmore. It advertises itself as America's largest home and at over 4,000 acres of just living space, I don't think anyone is arguing against it. At this size, you get your own name and its is the Biltmore. This was my second time visiting the Biltmore and on this trip I was able to tour it over the course of two days. The first day it rained all day so I spent most of my time inside the home doing various tours. On the [View Full Entry]

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Spring had arrived but we got a dusting of snow. Was gone by the end of the day when it warmed up but was so pretty in the morning when I awoke. Went out to see my city and take some photos. Headed down to my favorite area...down by the Missouri River. The photos are all shot in color. It was just so black and white with the fresh snow and crisp morning that they look black and white (except of course the ones of the evergreen needles). Very pretty morning but I'm ready for Spring! [View Full Entry]

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This is one of my favorite bridges in Valley City, ND. Valley City has several bridges of all shapes, sizes and age but this tends to be my fave. Had wanted to stop by and see how it looked with some snow on the ground. Had a great blue sky but the white of the bridge tended to blend in with the snow more than I liked. Still a pretty scene. The Sheyenne River is mainly frozen although it was starting to break up a bit. Was worth the stop! [View Full Entry]

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After my meetings were finished for the afternoon, I had a little over an hour before a dinner meeting that evening. Headed to the National Portrait Gallery which was only a couple blocks from my hotel. Stephen Colbert of the Colbert Report on Comedy Central has had a hilarious skit running about his portrait. In the "living room" where he does his interviews, he has his portrait up. The skit was him taking the portrait to DC to get put on display since he feels he's a great American. I think he went first to the Smithsonian Museum of American History [View Full Entry]

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Was in Washington, DC on business and since my flight was only slightly late getting into town, I had a couple of hours to go see some site seeing. Decided to head over to the National Gallery of Art. Last time I was in town, I visited the Gallery in between meetings on the hill when I had to kill some time but it was very rushed. Wanted to be able to wander and linger a little more. Started out on the bottom level and worked my way over to one of my favorite artists, Albert Bierstadt. His "Lake Lucerne" is [View Full Entry]

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We're having one of those rare days of winter today. When you wake up and the trees are thick and heavy with frost. So beautiful. There's a heavy fog as well despite it not being that cold (in North Dakota terms) at degrees in the mid 20s. I was hoping for a little sun to poke through to make for some gorgoeous photos but the forecast states it's unlikely so heavy fog for the day is what I get to work with it. Headed out this morning to what caught my eye in the frost. Went straight to the Missouri River [View Full Entry]

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Theodore Roosevelt National Park is one of the prettiest places in North Dakota. I really had never gone to take photos of it during the winter months so with a nice, warm day of mid 40s on the forecast, I headed out to see what I could get for photos when there was a little snow still on the ground. During this time of year, many of the roads are closed in the Park because of ice and snow when you get into the very steep parts of the Park. However, the lower area is all open and accessible which still [View Full Entry]

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