“I believe that each person has a favorite place, a tree, a mountain, or a beach which they want to come back to, even if the return can only take place in the boundaries of their imagination.”
―
I have several places that I return to again and again to photograph. Roan Mountain is one of those very special places. One of my favorite times to visit Roan Mountain is
“Adults follow paths. Children explore. Adults are content to walk the same way, hundreds of times, or thousands; perhaps it never occurs to adults to step off the paths, to creep beneath rhododendrons, to find the spaces between fences.”
― Neil Gaiman
Each year, at this time, I feel compelled to take my camera to Roan Mountain State Park to photograph the rhododendron in bloom. Due to other scheduled activities, I did not think that I was going to be able to make it this year.
For the past few days, I have seen posts from friends who were heading to Roan Mountain to photograph. I talked myself into believing it would be fine for me to miss out on a trip to Roan during the rhododendron bloom
Earlier this week, I wrote about my first official day of summer vacation spent chasing rhododendron at Roan Mountain State Park. Although the day was a time to bond with my son, Jeremy, and experience Roan Mountain State Park during peak bloom of rhododendron, I came home from the day without any of the images I was hoping to create while there.
If you missed reading my post about that foggy day at Roan Mountain State Park,
“You had a choice: you could either strain and look at things that appeared in front of you in the fog, painful as it might be, or you could relax and lose yourself”
― Ken Kesey, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest
Each year in early to mid June, I always make it a point to chase rhododendron at Roan Mountain State Park, Tennessee. I am not alone in this endeavour. When the rhododendron begin blooming on Roan Mountain, social media becomes flooded with images of fellow hikers and photographers working to enjoy and capture the beauty of the balds while covered with blooming rhododendron and flame azaleas.
Last Monday was my first official day of summer vacation. I couldn’t think of any better way to spend that day than
