Memorial Day Photos — Blue Ridge Parkway, NC (Balsams, Plott Balsams, Devils Courthouse)

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I had no plans for Memorial Day and no one to spend it with, and I was going stir crazy sitting around the house, with nothing to do but watch the depressing news.     So I decided to go for a drive.

I’m lucky to live very close to the Blue Ridge Parkway, so I decided to drive south along it into the Plott Balsams, about 50 miles from my house.  This range (which is east of the Smokies) contains the highest peak along the parkway (6,053 feet).    The highest peak on the East Coast is Mount Mitchell (6,674 feet) in the Black Mountains, but that’s about 50 miles in the other direction.

I moved to western North Carolina in 1993, and I remember these high peaks you see pictured here used to be almost bald and covered with the dead white remains of the Frasier firs, which were almost made extinct by an aphid infestation that killed almost all the trees at this elevation.   Now they are lush and green again, but in a few of the photos, you can still see the white trunks of the dead trees peeking through the green.  I love the contrast of the dark green of the firs and balsams against the light green of the deciduous trees (which stop growing above 4,500 – 5,000 feet).   The pink flowered shrubs are wild rhododendron.

Enjoy the photos I took today.

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19 thoughts on “Memorial Day Photos — Blue Ridge Parkway, NC (Balsams, Plott Balsams, Devils Courthouse)”

  3. These are beautiful. North Carolina is one of the states I have not been to as of yet but would like to visit both Carolinas at some point in my life.

    So nice that you ventured out on your own and it looks like you had a nice day. Up here in the south east of PA it has been rainy and cloudy. The sky is white right now as I write this and the temp is 62. That is not normal for this time of year and should be closer to 80 but tbh, I love it.

    I have a few questions about the pics:
    1. What kind of flowers are those purple ones in the first photo? Love them, they are so pretty and remind me of the lilac tree we had before we moved. I miss those flowers.

    2. Do you know what type of rock/stone that is in the fourth photo down?

    3. Who is that climbing the wall in his bare feet in the next to last photo? (I lol’d at that.)

    And one more thing, unrelated to this: Thanks for re-posting my post called “Email from my Mother.” After you did that, I realized I had the comments closed and fixed that.

    I got some really insightful comments from someone named John and I think he may have come from you sharing the post. Not sure but either way, he really added to the post and I was also able to see some stuff I hadn’t before, because of things he wrote. So again, thank you!

    Liked by 2 people

    • I’m glad my reblog of your post brought you some followers! 🙂 That’s always a good feeling.
      To answer your questions —
      1. Those are wild rhododendrons, at least the flowering shrub on the left is. Not sure what the more orangey-pink one on the right is.
      2. Have no idea , some sort of granite is what it looks like.
      3. LOL that was some stranger there — I have no idea who it was!

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  9. The High Country is the most special kind of Paradise. The one in my homestate is the most magical of all. Thank you for posting these amazing photos – they display my favorite blends of colors, ever.

    Liked by 1 person

  11. I went to North Carolina with my family back in 1990. (Has it really been 27 years ago? :O ) We visited my brother at Camp Lejeune, and went driving through the mountains. It was one of my favorite vacation spots….If you want, I can send you the travelogue I wrote about it. (I haven’t published it or much of anything about my childhood. Maybe that should be my next project after my novel… 🙂 )

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