I hadn't been to White Owl Falls for many years before this autumn. That tree trunk left of the falls is the reason why. Fallen from a storm years ago, I found my way down here shortly afterward to find that intact tree occluding the face of the falls, hiding its beauty... but that's not what makes it hidden.

Heading south on North Carolina Highway 281 (Whitewater Road) toward South Carolina, there’s a pulloff on the right that fits perhaps a few cars just past Brewer Road. It’s a short hike from there though not exactly an easy one. The hike gets interesting just beyond the beginning of the guardrail across from the pulloff… there’s no definitive trail from that point. There is a concrete chute, however, that indicates you’re in the right place. Follow that chute down from the road, and be careful, as it can be slippery, and you don’t want to shoot out of the chute! Continue in the same direction paralleling the road, not further down. This seems to confuse a lot of folks, yet the faint trail becomes more evident as you move along it, as does the roar of the falls.

I wore my high Bogs boots on this hike, as I planned to work out every composition I could eke out of White Owl. Fortunately, Thompson River here isn’t quite like the Hudson River, other than the fact it’s wet and it’s a river… I can traipse around the falls in my Bogs without getting my feet wet. It was fascinating to me to be standing amid such beauty while hearing cars whizzing by overhead, with drivers and passengers oblivious to this scene.

The camera got a good workout there and I had other waterfalls to get to in my limited time there in the Blue Ridge. Yet, having packed the camera for the hike out, I just had to sit there and enjoy the reverie of this hidden beauty.

The State Funeral of President George H. W. Bush (41) just ended and the theme of “hidden beauty” throughout it struck me. There are problems here in America, but at times like this, it's evident decency is still the core value of Americans. I teared up along with President George W. Bush (43) as he eulogized his dad… the things he related to his dad spoke volumes about my dad as well, whose funeral I had eulogized a year and a half ago. That was one of the hardest things I have ever done, and I broke down as well… my heart went out immediately to 43 when he choked up, as that’s not weakness... it’s humanity at its best. The issues he stated of note: “He looked for the goodness in others, and he usually found it.” “He put character before pedigree." And, “Hatred corrodes the container it’s carried in.” Would it be too much to ask for Christmas that we all embody these things?

This gives a more intimate perspective of White Owl Falls than my previous post. Unlike many waterfalls throughout the Blue Ridge, it’s small, yet delicate and lacey, which works well for a shot like this. The rock ledge is perfectly shaped to spread the water out across the entire face of it and down 16-feet in a myriad of cascades. While not as high or powerful as many in this watershed, it’s every bit as beautiful as any of them. Photography on a rainy day only makes it better.

Here’s the total description from the previous post, well worth the time to read: Hidden Beauty. I hadn't been to White Owl Falls for many years before this autumn. That tree trunk left of the falls is the reason why. Fallen from a storm years ago, I found my way down here shortly afterward to find that intact tree occluding the face of the falls, hiding its beauty... but that's not what makes it hidden.

Heading south on North Carolina Highway 281 (Whitewater Road) toward South Carolina, there’s a pulloff on the right that fits perhaps a few cars just past Brewer Road. It’s a short hike from there though not exactly an easy one. The hike gets interesting just beyond the beginning of the guardrail across from the pulloff… there’s no definitive trail from that point. There is a concrete chute, however, that indicates you’re in the right place. Follow that chute down from the road, and be careful, as it can be slippery, and you don’t want to shoot out of the chute! Continue in the same direction paralleling the road, not further down. This seems to confuse a lot of folks, yet the faint trail becomes more evident as you move along it, as does the roar of the falls.

I wore my high Bogs boots on this hike, as I planned to work out every composition I could eke out of White Owl. Fortunately, Thompson River here isn’t quite like the Hudson River, other than the fact it’s wet and it’s a river… I can traipse around the falls in my Bogs without getting my feet wet. It was fascinating to me to be standing amid such beauty while hearing cars whizzing by overhead, with drivers and passengers oblivious to this scene.

The camera got a good workout there and I had other waterfalls to get to in my limited time there in the Blue Ridge. Yet, having packed the camera for the hike out, I just had to sit there and enjoy the reverie of this hidden beauty.

The State Funeral of President George H. W. Bush (41) just ended and the theme of “hidden beauty” throughout it struck me. There are problems here in America, but at times like this, it's evident decency is still the core value of Americans. I teared up along with President George W. Bush (43) as he eulogized his dad… the things he related to his dad spoke volumes about my dad as well, whose funeral I had eulogized a year and a half ago. That was one of the hardest things I have ever done, and I broke down as well… my heart went out immediately to 43 when he choked up, as that’s not weakness... it’s humanity at its best. The issues he stated of note: “He looked for the goodness in others, and he usually found it.” “He put character before pedigree." And, “Hatred corrodes the container it’s carried in.” Would it be too much to ask for Christmas that we all embody these things?