Fall’s Last Gasp

Last week we were visiting Anita’s dad in North Carolina, and we decided to take a ride on the Blue Ridge Parkway to see if there was any color left. I, of course, was hoping to find some good photo opportunities, though the other four people in the car would have been content to simply ride and look. As it turned out, the colors seemed to be about a week past peak along the Parkway, and the strong early afternoon sun and cloudless sky weren’t optimal for photos, but I was glad we went, as I really haven’t gotten to see much color this year. Here’s what I considered the best shot of the day:

We’re back home in New Jersey now, and it looks like winter will come early this year; they’re saying northwestern NJ will get snow tonight. Hopefully, I can get out soon and catch a few more images of fall’s last gasps in the central part of the state. I’m not ready to start shoveling snow yet.

4 thoughts on “Fall’s Last Gasp

    • Thanks, Jan. I saw lots of gnarled old trees on the parkway, many even much nicer than this one – but unfortunately, I spotted them while the car was moving and there was no close place to pull over. Of the trees near the designated pull-off areas, this was the nicest I saw, though.

  1. Last week I had an appointment an hour away. Tiny bit of fog, sunshine, colors galore, but didn’t stop to take pictures. Allowed some extra time, but wasn’t sure of the location of the office. This week, I had a second appointment, left earlier, hoping to have same glorious views. Heavy fog, the two rows of young trees with bright red leaves I wanted to photograph had no leaves this week, just a few at the top. I guess the memories will have to do. Sometimes clear skies are boring, but in your picture, the blue really made the orange leaves pop (something about complementary colors).

  2. I’ve had a similar experience so many times, Christine. I see a scene from the car as I’m driving somewhere in too much of a hurry, and think “I’ll have to come back and get a photo of that sometime,” but if I do get back, the magic has passed, and the scene has become ordinary. Maybe it never really looked extraordinary in the first place, but was just made that way by some other memory that it triggered for me.

    It’s been about a year now since I was out your way, and I’ve wondered several times about what fall looks like this year in the Oregon Coast regions. Thanks for the comments.

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