We are preparing for more beautiful snow here in East Tennessee.  There's a lot more winter ahead for use before the new growth of spring.  I'm almost ready to see spring in the Smokies.

    Despite the aggrivation and dangers on the roads we have had a beautiful January here in Tennessee.    I hope that the beauty of our mountains painted wiht snow helps you get over your cabin fever.

I have been invited to speak and share some of my images at the Winter Heritage Festival at the Townsed Visitors Center on February the 4th at 3:30.  My presentation is "Winter On LeConte."  I hope you will come and enjoy the entire Winter Heritage Festival.  Here is a link to all the information available on the festival.  http://www.smokymountains.org/winter-heritage.html .  See you there!

    From November 2009 throgh March 2010 I was the Winter Caretaker at LeConte Lodge.  During that time I published a website and blog to share my experiences at the Lodge with you.  At the request of Lodge Management I unpublised www.LifeOnLeConte.com last March and redirected traffic to this site.  Many of you requested that I republish www.LifeOnLeConte.com for you to enjoy.  As my contract with the Lodge has ended I am now able to republish www.LifeOnLeConte.com .  I hope that those of you who wanted to visit the site once more and have a look at that beautiful winter on Mt. LeConte will again enjoy the site.

    I will continue to blog here at ReflectionsOfTheSmokies.  LifeOnLeConte will only be a refrence.  I don't plan to add new content to that site at this time.  I am glad to be able to reopen www.LifeOnLeConte.com for those of you who want to enjopy it.  If you take the time to look at it and reflect back please share your thoughts with me.

    Today is 1-1-11.  I hope that you are blessed today and always.  It is the start of a new year and the symbolism in the date that starts this new year is very rich indeed.  Number one, the beginning.  Our posibilities are infinate this year.  I wish you the best.

    It's that time again when we reflect on New Years resolutions.  I try not to make resolutions personally.  Four years ago I resolved to learn Spanish and get a tattoo.  I still havn't got around to those.  I can't keep them.  I guess I havn't ever taken the whole New Years resolution thing seriously.  I do try to change and grow and progress.  But like my ole frid Bruce always said, "Don't get too good too quick."  I really try to live a day at a time so this making a resolution for a whole year seems like a really big deal.  Don't get me wrong, I have short term, mid term and long term plans in life but I'm trying to keep it simple here.  So let me thik about it.......

    OK, I have it.  I resolve to not take myself too seriously this year.  I hope you will join me in this resolution.  I guarantee that it will make the world a better place.

    Once again we were blessed to freely celebrate the birth of our Savior.  What a beautiful Christmas it has been.  The snow has painted the mountains of East Tennessee in beautiful whites.  Even thouugh I have been in town the beauty of the Smokies has surrounded me and filled me with wonder once again.  I hope that where ever you are you have been surrounded by beauty and peace this Christmas. 

    "I walk the Earth today a Free man."  A friend offered that statement to me today as a greeting.  What a rich and beautiful greeting!  And how true.  It's the time of year when we take time to reflect and celebrate the birth of our Savior.  Because of His birth, life and ultimate sacrifice we walk the Earth today as free Men and Women.

   

    I've been blessed with a few days to be out in the Smokies just me and my God.  I have had some time to stop and soak in all the peace and beauty and serenity that I can hold.  What a free feeling to be up high in the mountains and look out over the top of a blanket of clouds that covers the valley and reflects the sun back up into the heavens. I have had some time to collect up some junk that runs around in my head and let it go.  I have had the opportunity to get back to that quiet place inside.  I'll be back in town for a while but I will take it all with me and continue to share it with you. 

    Beautiful but cold today in the Smokies.  There's about a foot and a half of snow in the higher elevations and sub zero temperatures.  They say that there is more snow and ice on the way!  Well, that's fine with me.  I'll enjoy the wonder of winter in our Smokies weather I can get out in it or not.  I really enjoy winter in the Smokies except of course the super cold mornings like we had today.  In the highest elevations the wind chill was near -20 this morning.  That's nothing to take lightly.  I hope that if you are planning to get out hiking in this cold and snow that you will take it seriously.  When it's 34 and raining in Gatlinburg it can very easily be 0 degrees and snowing on top of LeConte.
    I hope you enjoy this Winter Sunset view from Mt. LeConte.  Very little compares to the beauty God gave us to enjoy in the Smokies during the Winter.