Oh, The Mountains...

I love them!

I do, I do!

On Saturday, a beautiful fall day dawned.

The magnificent colors of fall were calling out to me... come away, come away with me!



And so we did...

We found a mountain road we had not yet explored and turned down it.  Soon we found a lovely little singing creek.  We got out and just listened to the song of the water as it danced down the mountain.  So refreshing!

And just as we got back in the vehicle, I spotted some movement in the bushes.  We stopped and watched, and I took a picture - although it didn't do much good, he was hidden well!  It was a bear cub... and we never did see momma!  So, we stayed inside the vehicle, and just watched him.  He was hidden so well, the camera could not distinguish him from the shadowy darkness.  He watched us in perfect stillness.  Then suddenly, the cub was gone, back into the dense underbrush.  Our one glimpse of wildlife on our exploration today!  Beautiful, quick, and ... sudden!  We were glad we did not encounter momma though!

On and on we drove, winding through the sunshine speckled trees, with the brilliant blue skies contrasting with the rich greens, yellows and oranges.

Finally, we reached a vista plateau where the mountains to the east of us could be seen.

We got out and climbed up the steep hillside to just view the magnificent view spread out before us. It always helps to walk and stretch our legs a bit after riding for a while...

This wasn't the top though!  We continued our climb up the mountain, with every twist, turn and bend in the narrow mountain road encouraging the suspense of what the vista would look like once we got to the top...

Little peeks of the peaks here and there drew us ever forward..

Finally, we reached the top of the winding mountain road and this beautiful view awaited us...

It was well worth the winding drive to get out and view the splendorous magnificent expanse of the mountains.

The beauty of the brilliant blues and greens of the distant horizon swelled into my heart as the gentle breezes blew around us.



Breathing deeply of the fresh breeze as the trees gently swayed... ahhh!

The grandeur of the mountains - they never, ever fail to disappoint!

Just to give you an idea of the wonderful benefits of a telephoto lens...  here is a landscape view of the mountain range (with the caption in red highlighting a rock peak far in the distance), and below...



.... my telephoto lens was able to zoom in this close to this rock, and get this lovely view for you!

In this picture below... you can see a small patch of yellow in the treeline just below Chimney Rock and to the right of it...



what is it we wondered?



Not quite sure, but it appears to be a large patch of birch that have turned yellow... my best guess. Pretty amazing though to be able to zoom in and see this far away!



The mountains far to the north... the Canadian north!

Zoomed in for a closer view... 

Incredible views from the north...

... and looking south.  I don't have an app to do the panorama vista... but I was truly interested in learning how to, and coming back here to try it out!  What a great picture that would make!

Looking to the south, and west of where we were, you could see smoke rising from the terrible fires that threatened us all summer long.

... and a closer view... just white smoke, which means the fire is contained, and just smoldering - so thankful for that!

Another view from the vista spread out before us.  I could have stayed here all day long!  Next time, we will bring a picnic lunch, and expect to stay longer.  This vista is one of the best in the area that we have visited!

An old weathered log that has seen many many years go by here on this amazing overlook ...

... all that remains of a once mighty tree...



Beautiful foliage framed with the backdrop of the brilliant blue sky.



Finally it was time to leave, as the sun was dipping lower in the sky.   One last view before we turned to drive back down the mountain.

It was so wonderful to be in the mountains, and to find this incredible vista.  How glad we were for this day filled with the beauty of the mountains.  My heart could not help but echo these refrains as we gazed out over the expanse.

I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills 

from whence cometh my help.  

My help cometh from the Lord 

who made heaven and earth. 

He will not allow your foot to be moved; 

He who keeps you will not slumber.  

Psalms 121:1-3

The heavens declare the glory of God, 

and the firmament shows His handiwork.  

Psalms 19:1

Indeed, the glory of the Lord, through His amazing creation, was declared in our hearts today and what joy we always experience in the mountains as we partake of the beauty of His handiwork!  :)