Dangerous Beauty

In October 2008 we visited North Carolina for our annual fall colors vacation. I wanted to make sure we visited some of the waterfalls in the area of the Blue Ridge Parkway, our main destination. I read up on the waterfalls, how to access them and their "beauty" and "photographic" merits. The fall colors from the Parkway never seem to disappoint. The vibrant reds of the Graveyard Fields are simply breathtaking. We visited Looking Glass Falls and the falls of the Yellowstone Prong at Graveyard Fields on the Blue Ridge Parkway. Other falls we visited were Toxaway Falls, Bridal Veil Falls and Whitewater Falls. The picture in this post is one I took at Cullasaja Falls.

As I mentioned, I had read a lot about the falls we planned to visit and when reading about Cullasaja, I got goosebumps when I read about pulling off the road to photograph them. Here is a quote, "Pull completely off the road! Tractor trailers use this section of road and they need both lanes to get around these curves." The pulloff is more of a wide spot in the road with room enough for two cars at the most parked nose to tail! As we pulled off into this area we were only sure it was the correct location because the view of the falls matched the pictures we saw in the books. So there we were, pulled off the road with the passenger side of the car against a metal guard rail and the driver's side of the car barely off the lane of traffic. The opposite lane is literally up against a huge rock face of the mountain the road is carved from. So there is no wiggle room for anyone passing by us. As we ventured out of the vehicle, we hugged the guard rail for dear life with our cameras dangling from our necks. On the other side of the guard rail is a sheer drop down I don't know how many feet to the river at the base of the falls. We did manage to get some decent pictures and all drivers stayed in their lanes as they passed by us. I must say I was glad to be back on the road again after that experience. It was fun in a scary sort of way.