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I snapped this picture of my Beautiful Bride in March, 2010. We were celebrating my birthday in a cabin at Serenity Falls near Cosby, Tennessee, in the Great Smoky Mountains. We were both learning how to use our new cameras at that time, and Betsy was on the deck of the cabin taking picture of the waterfall while I was on the ground below. I snapped this picture while we were discussing camera settings.

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While driving Newfound Gap Road through the Smokies from Cherokee, North Carolina, to Gatlinburg, Tennessee, Betsy and I stopped at an overlook in North Carolina to admire the mountains. I noticed the sun rays streaming through the clouds in the background and snapped this picture.

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When Betsy and I visited the Smokies last month, we stopped, as we usually do, to view the river. This time the water was high and very clear. I was attracted both by the white water flowing over the rocks and the unusual shape of the tree in the middle of the stream.

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Betsy and I visited one of our favorite places -- the Smoky Mountains -- in December, and we stopped just inside the Townsend, Tennessee, entrance to the park to enjoy the river. I used Photoshop to create this line drawing of Betsy from a photograph taken at the river side.

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Sometimes we get rewarded for getting up before dawn. Betsy and I got up early one day last month to drive to the Smokies so we could see the autumn colors in the morning light. It was a cloudy day, but we were treated to this sight at an overlook on the Gatlinburg Bypass.

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Earlier this month Betsy and I got up before dawn so we could see some of the autumn color of the Smokies in the morning light. It was cloudy overnight, but the sky was expected to clear during the day. The clouds were still brushing the mountain tops, but the light was breaking through the clouds when we arrived at this overlook on the Gatlinburg Bypass.

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Green moss decorates the boulders and adds a green sheen to the water at West Prong Falls in the Smokies.

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The Alex Cole Cabin is located in the Jim Bales Place along the Roaring Fork Motor Nature Trail behind Gatlinburg, Tennessee in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The cabin was moved to this location after the park service gained control of the land in the 1930s. It is more representative of the pioneer days of Appalachia than the frame home of the Bales family, which was torn down.

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Betsy and I have many favorite places in the Smokies. One such place is the Little Pigeon River near the Greenbrier Campground. It's a beautiful drive when the water levels are up and the river crashes over rocky ledges as it flows.

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Betsy enjoys a mountain stream almost as much as she enjoys waterfalls. This picture was taken in March, 2009, along the Little Pigeon River in the Greenbrier section of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

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John Oliver and his wife, Lurany, were the first settlers in what is now Cades Cove in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. They purchased their land in 1826, and later built this cabin. The John Oliver Cabin is a popular stop on the Cades Cove Loop.

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In mid-October of last year Betsy and I took a drive along the Foothills Parkway, which parallels the Smoky Mountains. The altitude on the section we traveled is fairly low, so there wasn't much color along our route. I did, however, spot this pretty red tree near one of the overlooks.

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Mingo Falls tumbles nearly 200 feet over a ledge near Cherokee, North Carolina. The waterfall is often included in the waterfalls of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, but it is technically in the Qualla tract of the Cherokee Indian Reservation.

The waterfall is reached by a fairly short hike from a parking area nearby. We visited the falls during a drought several years ago -- I would really like to go back when the water flow is greater.

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In May, 2009, Betsy and I traveled from Cherokee, North Carolina, to Gatlinburg, Tennessee, on Newfound Gap road. Along the way we stopped at an overlook, where I got this picture. According to the weather reporters these mountains are now covered in snow. I much prefer the Spring colors.

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River Road between Townsend and Gatlinburg in the Great Smoky Mountains is one of our favorite drives. Little River is always fascinating in any season, and we often stop just to enjoy the water rushing over and around the boulders in the stream. This picture was taken in March, 2010.

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On our trip to Maggie Valley last month, we took a side trip off the Blue Ridge Parkway to Balsam Mountain in North Carolina. This is the view of the Smokies from Mile High Overlook along Balsam Mountain Road.

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I had to use my telephoto lens to get this picture of this bull elk in the Cataloochee Valley of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. But those antlers were just begging to be photographed.

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Meigs Falls is the only waterfall in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park that can be seen from the road.  The picture above was taken from a pullout on Little River Road between Townsend and Gatlinburg.  It's good that the pullout provides good views, since no trail to the waterfall exists.

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Little River Road in the Smokies is one of our favorite drives. There are many pullouts that allow us to get out of the car and enjoy the view of the water rushing over and around rocks and boulders. The water is usually very clear and often, as in this picture, has an amazing color.

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One nice thing about living in East Tennessee is that it is still relatively easy to get away from 'civilization' and enjoy the beauties of Nature. The picture above was taken in a quiet part of the Smoky Mountains here in Tennessee.