Cool, Clear Water

I think I have collections of photos that would cover just about any subject — and today my subject is WATER. It's been so hot and humid recently here in Vicksburg (and probably where you live, too!), and I thought I would share a few refreshing-looking pictures to cool things off a bit.

From the cool, clear waters of the beautiful Ocoee River, near Copperhill, Tennessee ...

Kayakers love the Ocoee — doesn't he look like he's having fun!

Hmmm ... this is getting a little trickier now!

And then we move on to the swift and rocky Toccoa River near Blue Ridge, Georgia ...

And to really cool us off, how about a fountain in a shady lagoon?

Or even better, a frozen fountain!

(Taken at Ravennaside, Natchez, January 2010)

And a few icicles thrown in for good measure ...

But if we can't travel to the banks of beautiful rivers, or go somewhere where there are icicles, we can always just get our little plastic pools out and make our own fountains ...

Ahhh ... the simple pleasures of life!

I hope your weekend is filled with as much fun as Avery Grace was having that day!

Exploring the "Roads Less Traveled"

My next few posts will be coming to you from Blue Ridge, Georgia, which is where my family and I will be spending our family vacation. I'm looking forward to capturing some of the beauty of the North Georgia mountains with my camera, and especially want to explore the quaint downtown area of Blue Ridge.

This will be our fourth trip to Blue Ridge, and I'd like to share some pictures I took last year during a visit to the beautiful Ocoee River.

I plan to "take the road less traveled" on this trip, and can't wait to explore some of the country roads around Blue Ridge. I hope you will join me next week to see what I find.

Whitewater Fun on the Ocoee River

Before I share my post for today, I'd like to share this quote by President John F. Kennedy: Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, [and] oppose any foe, to assure the survival and success of liberty. May God bless and protect the brave men and women who are paying the price ... bearing the burden ... and suffering personal hardships every day ... to ensure that America remains out of harm's way from terrorist attacks like the one we suffered on this day eight years ago.

This is a slideshow featuring some of my vacation pictures I took at the Whitewater Center on the Ocoee River near Copperhill, Tennessee. The Whitewater Center site was constructed for the purpose of holding the 1996 Olympic Canoe and Kayak Slalom competitions.

This was the first time these events were held on a natural river, and it was appropriate the Ocoee should be chosen as the site as it was already one of the most popular whitewater rivers in the world. And, as you can see in the slideshow, they don't call it "whitewater" for nothing!

Below the slideshow, I have included some pictures of wildflowers and berries I discovered growing along the river's edge, if you would like to scroll down and see them.

Be sure and turn your sound up before clicking on "Play"

All Good Things Must Come to an End

An old English proverb says that "all good things must come to an end," and, unfortunately, that is true of our family vacation. The time passed way too quickly, but a good time was had by all, and we have lots of fun memories to last until next year's trip. Of course, we will see each other again before then, but our vacations are really the only times we have a whole week together under one roof.

And speaking of one roof, here is a picture of the Fallen Timber Lodge, where we stayed in Blue Ridge, Georgia ...

Fallen Timber is just one of several luxurious lodges available from Mr. Gary Knight at Cabin Rentals of Georgia. If you are planning a getaway to the Blue Ridge area, I highly recommend that you visit Gary's beautiful website and check out his gorgeous accommodations.

I'd like to share a few pictures I captured of the beautiful Ocoee River, near the Ocoee Whitewater Center, which is about 20 miles from Blue Ridge.

The Ocoee Whitewater Center site was constructed for the purpose of holding the 1996 Olympic Canoe and Kayak Slalom competitions. This was the first time these events were held on a natural river and it was appropriate the Ocoee should be chosen as the site as it was already one of the most popular whitewater rivers in the world. And they don't call it "whitewater" for nothing!

[I hope you will click on the pictures to enlarge them]

I'll have more pictures of the rapids (complete with action shots) in another post, but for now I'd like to share a few of my favorite pictures of the river.

I love the contrasting colors of the leaves and grasses and rocks in this picture ...

I'm not sure what the little yellow wildflowers are, but aren't they pretty growing along the river's edge and in and amongst the rocks ...

I love these drifting along with the currents under water ...

I hope you enjoyed seeing these pictures of the Ocoee River. I'm looking forward to sharing some of my action shots of the kayakers and rafters, as well as pictures of our granddaughter Avery Grace's first boating adventure.

I hope you will come back to visit soon.