The Story Teller and Toy Maker in Bryson City, North Carolina

Good morning,

Meeting these two wonderful people was a bonus to our trip to Bryson City, North Carolina.

As we strolled down the street in this old town peering into windows we saw someone inside waving back at us.  "C'mon in!" he called.

Tim Hall and his bride (as he called her) were preparing their museum/store/radio station for the coming tourist season. 

 I gravitated over to the quilts and asked about them.  They were made by Granny about 100 years ago.  Beautiful.

 Merchandise was ready to be displayed...

 ...various displays were being prepared.

 

 There were plenty of antiques...

 ...so nicely displayed to create the right setting for the story teller.

 The Story Teller exchanged some stories with My Honey, too.  ;)

 Tim and his bride have purchased the old Citizens Bank building across and down the street.  They have plans for preservation of the building and a museum there.

 These are pieces from the old bank.

 And, of course The Story Teller told us all about them.

 

 If you check out his web site, you'll see some of the above items in an old photo of the inside of the bank.

 Once a week Tim gives a radio program over the Internet...

 ...from this little corner of his big world.  You can find it via his web site.

At Christmas Tim plays the part of the Toy Maker.  He is perfectly located across the street from the Great Smoky Mountain Railroad where the Polar Express train ride is a huge part of the Christmas season.

Meeting these lovely people was one of those benefits of visiting places in the off season.  This was such a fun trip!

Now it's time for lunch!  Pictures tomorrow.  ;)

Best,
Lois

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 Bryson City Tales: Stories of a Doctor's First Year of Practice in the Smoky Mountains

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Great Smoky Mountains Rail Road - Bryson City, North Carolina

Good morning,

We left our hotel in Cherokee, North Carolina, for a short trip to Bryson City.  We passed this area where the color of the earth was visible.  We could see where the beautiful color in the local pottery originates.

The drive to Bryson City was just a few minutes.

 Here we were taking a few giant steps back in time.

 We knew the Great Smoky Mountain Railroad wouldn't be running now, but wanted to see the city and perhaps get some pictures of the train station and perhaps of some of the trains.

 We weren't disappointed.  Before we even got to the train station, we spotted this caboose.

 Just down the street is the train station.  We are in the off season so there is plenty of work being done.

 That is such a pretty little station.  It is so great to see these old buildings alive and well.

 Even the leaded glass is still intact.

 Around the other side of the station, we found what we wanted to capture with our cameras.

 This is the track side of the station...

 ...complete with a vintage wagon.

 Across the street are restaurants and shops.  We'll be back a little later for lunch...

 ...at Anthony's.  Food picture to follow in a later post.  ;)

 Across the street is another car...

 ...and more cars and caboose on down the track.  This is such fun!

 Of course, Thomas and Friends are here, too.  They are favorites of our grand kids.

So, we got to see what we came here to see.  We also met some terrific people, too, who I will introduce to you tomorrow.

Best,
Lois

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 Thomas the Train: Take-n-Play Tidmouth Sheds

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Winter Nature Photo Op

Good morning,

A quick note before describing today's images:  Yesterday was My Honey and my wedding anniversary.  He was so sweet to post an image of us on his blog.  Check it out!   He is not only My Honey, he is the love of my life. 

While visiting Cherokee, North Carolina, we spent a morning out looking for the snow we were sure we would find here - until we got here!  We had been at sea for weeks watching the news and all of the snow covering so much of the country and talked of taking pictures of snow in the mountains on our drive home to Ohio.

We are retracing our steps on this outing to Mingus Mill where we had visited in November and captured some beautiful Fall images.

We pulled into the parking lot at Mingus Mill and there it was!  Snow!  OK, not what we expected, but we were quite happy that the weather was warm so we could drive where we wanted to drive.

As expected, Mingus Mill was closed, but it was fun to come back and take pictures here in the lot.  These are the same trees that we saw last Fall.

 The moss under the trees is such a lush green.  There are signs of little plants pushing through announcing Spring.  Yes!

 So, on down the road...

 ...we stopped again to enjoy the early morning sun shining through the trees.

 This rushing stream of clear, cool water of melting snow made beautiful music as it passed.

 Mother Nature provided this picture frame.

 Winter pictures can be just as beautiful as those taken at other times of the year...

 ...and it is easy to find parking spots and views without lots of other people in them.

 We parked at the side of this bridge and walked down to the water to get pictures.

My Honey and I wandered off in different directions with our cameras.  Just the feeling of being here was so peaceful.  The clear water rushing by was certainly an attraction to many animals.  I suggested to My Honey that we should watch out for critters looking for a drink and finding us.  I found many animal tracks near the water's edge.

 Look at all of the pet rocks!   Seriously, these would make beautiful stone art.  Part of the peace pipe artwork we bought at Bearmeat's Indian Den was made of carved stone similar to this.

 So peaceful.

Enjoy,
Lois

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 Hiking Great Smoky Mountains National Park (Regional Hiking Series)

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A Place to Hide? Perhaps Witness Protection Program?

Good morning,

My Honey and I spotted this homestead near Cherokee, North Carolina.  At first, we thought it was abandoned, but after taking a closer look began to wonder if someone was living here.  Notice there are electric lines to the house (?) and some of the dried Kudzu vines have been cleared. 

A walk around to the front revealed some plastic sheeting over part of the roof.  Perhaps it leaks? 

 Here's another building next to the first....

 ...and could this be the outhouse between those buildings?

I told My Honey that we might have met with the wrong end of a shotgun if someone was home and we were out there taking pictures. 

 Further down the road we found where these folks park their truck.

In another few months these buildings and the truck will be covered with Kudzu vines once again as I am sure they have been every summer for a long, long time.

We didn't get shot, but we got some interesting shots here!

Very best,
Lois

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Kudzu Ranch 

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