Cranberry Ridge Overlook

Within this region of the Blue Ridge, my place of choice for a sunset is the Cowee (pronounced co-wee, Cherokee for “place of the Deer Clan) Mountains Overlook at Milepost 430.7 on the Blue Ridge Parkway. It’s a high place looking down on a cascading mountain range. I often shoot it as a panorama. I decided to change things up this year by taking a chance further south at the Woolyback Mountain Overlook at Milepost 452.3. While cloud coverage occluded a colorful sunset, I’m quite pleased with what happened here as the low sun punches through holes in the clouds. As it does, it gives a hint of the autumn forest, layers of mountain ranges, and light streaming through the mist among the trees left of the near ridge which adds to the dimensionality of the image. You can also see some diffraction going on in the clouds. It’s deeply fascinating to me to see the atmosphere become quite tangible, as though you can reach out and touch it… I’m not certain that a colorful sunset would have been as satisfying as this heavenly view.