by hankinslawrenceimages | Aug 3, 2008 | Photo Locations
A few years ago, Bill and I spent some time in Vermont for my sister’s wedding. While we were there, we took a little time to some photography. Along side of the Route 100 in Granville we photographed Moss Glen Falls. This is a very easy waterfall to photograph – my tripod was on the shoulder of the road for this photo.
Moss Glen Falls (c) 2005 Patty Hankins
We started displaying the Moss Glen Falls photo at shows, and people kept asking us if it was Crabtree Falls. We said no – it’s Moss Glen. We asked someone where Crabtree Falls was – and were told it was along the Blue Ridge Parkway.
With a little searching, we found Crabtree Falls in Nelson County, Virginia – about 6 miles away from the Blue Ridge Parkway on State Route 56. After a short hike on a paved path, we got to the base of falls and took some photos. Absolutely gorgeous waterfall – we just a little confused as to why people thought it looked so much like Moss Glen Falls.
Crabtree Falls, Virginia (c) 2006 Patty Hankins
You can imagine our surprise when we started showing our Crabtree Falls, Virginia photograph when people said this wasn’t Crabtree Falls. One person said – they wanted a photograph of the one in North Carolina. That’s when we discovered that there are two Crabtree Falls off the Blue Ridge Parkway – one in Virginia and the other in North Carolina.
So the next spring, we took a trip down the length of the Blue Ridge Parkway and photographed Crabtree Falls in North Carolina. The trail to the falls starts at the Crabtree Meadows Recreation Area on the Blue Ridge Parkway – about 8 miles south of the NC 226 and the Parkway. The hike to the falls is down a mile long trail – that feels like its 3 or 4 miles long on the way back up!
Crabtree Falls, North Carolina (c) 2007 William Lawrence
We finally understood why people thought Moss Glen Falls and Crabtree Falls look similar!
by hankinslawrenceimages | Jun 15, 2008 | Food Finds
Bill and I have stopped in Boone, NC a couple times on our trips photographing along the Blue Ridge Parkway. Last year, I think we ended up eating dinner at Wendy’s. Last month, we found a great place for Bar B Que in Boone – Bandana’s Bar B Que and Grill.
(c) 2008 Patty Hankins
On the day we stopped in Boone, we had started the morning in Gatlinburg and driven through all sorts of bad weather, taken detours, driven on the shoulders of the road on the Blue Ridge Parkway to get around downed trees, etc. I don’t think I took more than 20 photos all day. We were ready for a good dinner that night.
(c) 2008 Patty Hankins
Bandana’s menu is pretty standard for a barbaque place – lots of ribs, steaks, chicken, pork, and fish. Bill had the Rib and Rib Platter – since he couldn’t decide between the baby back ribs and the St. Louis ribs he went for the platter with both. The ribs were nicely smoked and moist. Without a doubt, they were the best ribs he had on our trip last month.
What won’t surprise anyone who has read any of our food finds previously – I had the barbaque chicken. It was nicely flavored if a little dry.
(c) 2008 Patty Hankins
Bandana’s is located at 1475 Highway 105 in Boone, NC. It’s about a 20 minute drive from the Blue Ridge Parkway to Bandana’s. If you’re in the area, we definitely would recommend giving Bandana’s a try.
And in case you are wondering – the photo at the top of the this post was taken the next morning as we drove north on the Blue Ridge Parkway from Boone. It was a gorgeous spring day – blue sky, a few white clouds and incredible scenery for the drive home.
by hankinslawrenceimages | Jun 10, 2008 | Flowers, Wildflowers
One of the wildflowers I photographed on my recent trips to the Smoky Mountains and the Blue Ridge Parkway was Wood Betony. It’s scientific name is Pedicularis canadensis.
Wood Betony is also known as Common Lousewort. Originally it was believed that livestock could become infected with lice after eating the plant. The plants grow to about 12″ tall and are easily identified by the two-lipped bi-colored flowers. The upper lip of the flower is hooded. It usually blooms from April through June.
In April, I photographed the Wood Betony along Chestnut Top Trail in the Great Smoky Mountain National Park. I saw a few single plants along the trail.
(c) 2008 Patty Hankins
A few weeks later, in early May, we were on the Blue Ridge Parkway south of Asheville and found several large clusters of Wood Betony. The plants were much fuller, with many more leaves than the ones I’d seen in the Smoky Mountains a few weeks earlier.
(c) 2008 Patty Hankins
As I was finishing photographing the cluster of Wood Betony, I happened to look down on the plants from directly above, and found a great angle to photograph them from.
(c) 2008 Patty Hankins
Wood Betony was one of the more unusual wildflowers I photographed on my trips this spring. Once I knew what to look for, the distinctive hooded flowers were not too difficult to find in shady areas along the Blue Ridge Parkway.
