Into The Light

I'm extremely fortunate that my home in east Tennessee is close to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Although it's one of our nation's most visited parks, it's possible to escape the crowds if you know where to go... Honestly, there's no great secret to this. In fact, before I moved here, I recall a conversation that I had with a park ranger about how to dodge the masses.

His advice: "Just walk fifty feet from the road." At the time I thought, "Whoa, someone who's almost as snarky as I am."

But it turns out, he was pretty spot on. When I visit the park, I like to clamber up and down the stream banks to nab inspiration like this moment, devoid of others because they're still in their vehicles (!)