On November 8, during our late-fall visit to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, the sun was shining; and it was a beautiful day. We decided to hike to Laurel Falls, probably one of the most popular day hikes in the park. The trail is paved and suitable for strollers and wheelchairs; although, like most trails in the park, it is almost all uphill going to the falls.
Along the trail to Laurel Falls
Laurel Falls
After our hike, we drove to the area of the park known as Greenbrier...sometimes called Big Greenbrier...located between Gatlinburg and Cosby. We had planned to enjoy an afternoon of reading in front of a fire in the fireplace at the picnic pavilion there. Since the pavilion was in use when we arrived, we went for a walk to the Plemmons Cemetery nearby.
I saw this leaf glowing in the sunlight on the walk to the cemetery.
The shadows seem long for mid-afternoon, don't they?
There are a number of interesting grave markers in the Plemmons cemetery. The old stones are crudely carved, and many are becoming unreadable. Many of those that can still be read contain quaint misspellings or letters printed backward. On some, interesting verses have been carefully etched. One of our favorites is on the stone marking the resting place of Charles Rafield. It says:
Remember man as you pass by
As you are now so once was I
As I am now so shall you be
Therefore prepare to follow me
There is a story about another grave with that verse on it and two more lines added by an unknown passerby:
To follow you I'm not content
Until I know which way you went
A soldier of America's Revolutionary War is buried here. This photo shows both old and new grave markers, although the old one is no longer legible.
This one marks the grave of a soldier of the Civil War.
A slender plant throws a shadow almost bigger than itself against the trunk of a tree.
Wishing you all a very happy Thanksgiving. It's a good time to think about all our blessings, and to give thanks to God, from whom they come.
Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning. (James 1:17)
I wish I could take credit for these great pictures since you took them on my birthday, but instead I'll just enjoy them. Happy Thanksgiving.
ReplyDeletei love the clever 2 lines added by someone. :)
ReplyDeletehappy thanksgiving, dear linda!
The graphical element of the trees makes for an awesome photo. Those quotes you shared are so great. Really made me sit still for a minute and think. Your posts are so inspiring. Linda, I hope you and your family have a very blessed Thanksgiving filled with love and laughter. And food, of course. :)
ReplyDeleteLet me try this again. Beautiful scenes here. Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours.
ReplyDeleteWhat lovely shots!! Happy Thanksgiving!
ReplyDeleteWe enjoy all of those places... I remember when we first saw that cemetery. We were searching for a waterfall in that area (which we never found) ---but didn't know about the cemetery at the time.... It is an interesting cemetery to visit up there in those mountains.
ReplyDeleteHappy Thanksgiving.
Hugs,
Betsy
Well, Stephen, happy belated birthday. Hope it and your Thanksgiving were special.
ReplyDeleteTheresa - Yes, someone came up with a very clever answer to the verse.
Gail - Thanks for the sweet comment. When I took that picture of the cemetery, I didn't care for the shadows in it. So I took a couple of others from different perspectives. But, in the end, I liked the first one best. Glad you did, too. :)
Thank you, Ruth. We had a nice Thanksgiving. Hope you did, as well.
Thanks, BB.
Betsy - It IS interesting to visit those old mountain cemeteries. I should have known you'd have been there before us. :)
I like the glowing leaf, Linda, its shiny golden colour.
ReplyDeleteAs far as I know, cemeteries are fenced here, so it's very interesting to see such a forest cemetery. The two additional lines amused me. :)
Thanks, Petra. That leaf was really glowing. When we walked past it later, it just looked drab. The sun had moved on.
DeleteA lot of cemeteries are fenced here, too, but not all.
We haven't visited this cemetery, although we have been to Greenbrier several times.
ReplyDeleteGeorge, I sent an e-mail to Betsy, describing how to find it. It's one of the better cemeteries we've found in the park.
DeleteCemeteries are so interesting.. so much history no matter how old they are. I love the last image... and accompanying words. I hope you had a lovely Thanksgiving, my friend.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Hilary. I'm glad you liked that shadow image. I did, too. :) We had a very nice Thanksgiving, thank you.
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