Happy Halloween!

Tonight I am on yard duty periodically checking my newly replaced party affiliated sign for signs of tampering. Sure enough, I went outside around 7:00 pm and found the plastic sign hanging almost off the metal frame with one leg of the frame pulled out of the ground. No serious damage and I have a backup in my window, just in case!

John and I took a quick hike up Rich Mountain Trail this morning, to look at the fall colors. We picked Rich Mountain Trail (on the Townsend side of the Smokies) to avoid the October traffic jams. Maples seem to be in high color; the colors are good, not great. Balmy 70 something temps and warm tropical breezes were in sharp contrast the late October date. We could almost close our eyes and believe we were in Florida.

Tuckaleechee Cove

A bit of fall color

More color changes yet to go

John and I went to see "The Motorcycle Diaries" this afternoon. The movie is based on the diaries of Ernesto "Che" Guevara, written as he and friend Alberto Granndo traveled through Argentina, Chili, Peru, Columbia and Venezuela on Alberto's motorcycle, "The Mighty One". The adventure occurs in 1952 and is the awakening period for Ernesto "Che" to social injustice and the mis-treatment of the downtrodden. The focus of the movie is the travel and people met along the way. Very little is relayed about Ernesto's role in the Cuban revolution and his subsequent death in 1967.

The scenery in the movie is fabulous. Having returned from a trip to Peru in mid-July, we particularly enjoyed the scenes of Cusco and Machu Picchu. I will soon be in search of the book, "The Motorcycle Diaries." We give this film a thumbs up!

Tonight the heavens put on quite a show, a full lunar eclipse. I had some concerns from my vantage point, the skies were cloudy and at times the moon was completely hidden. At 9:22 pm by my watch, a full eclipse occured and the skies cleared to reveal a beautiful copper moon.

Beginnings of an eclipse...approximately 8:45 pm EST

The moon is shrouded in fast moving clouds...8:50 pm EST

Almost eclipsed, the cloud cover is heavy

The moon turns a beautiful copper color...9:20 pm EST

Another spectular preformance by the heavens

A bouncing moon!

Today we (the daughters, Mother and Mike) celebrated Daddy's birthday...a couple of days early, but hey, everyone was off work and we had all afternoon to discuss politics, religion and all those other taboo topics you don't discuss with anyone but family. We had a great day, we think Daddy did too. Love you Daddy...always and forever!!

Guess how old he is?? :-) This is the "oh please" face he gave us when we suggested he turn the cake around so the number read "18."

John and I took Friday off and went backpacking with his son Lee. We selected campsite 17 in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park based on the fact that we could go in via Abrams Creek Ranger station and miss the October "fall colors" traffic in Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg. We also wanted an easy hike (3.5 miles each way) and a large campground cause this is a popular time to camp.

John planned and executed quite a feast for us including fajitas and his lastest creation "Manna from Heaven." He got the basics for the dessert from a backpacker we met on our trip to Mt Assiniboine Provincial Park in September. The ingredients include melted Hershey's chocolate and tortilla shells but John added marshmellows to the mix. Oh so rich!

Lee built and tended a great fire out of some really wet wood. We had a pleasant evening sitting by the fire, no fleece needed. The temperature remained in the 50's and the humidity was a bit high for a comfortable night's sleep but somehow we managed!

All in all, we had a really good time!

Campsite 17

Abrams Creek

John and Lee enjoying a moment

Lee, looking more and more like his dad

Fall has arrived in the Great Smoky Mountains

The fire that Lee built

John's latest backpack creation "Manna from Heaven," chocolate and marshmellows melting in the pan

Just came home from an afternoon at the Knoxville Zoo and found my party affiliated yard sign missing. I suspect that my party's members would not steal a yard sign hawking our candidate so I can only assume the sign was removed by a member of the of the other party. Not talking politics here but I find the action of stealing a bit hypocritical by the group claiming to be "right with God." Do you think they just missed the "thy shalt not steal" commandment?

The weather was perfect for a day at the zoo! The grounds were decked out for the annual Halloween festival "Boo at the Zoo" and we had a lot of fun looking at the creative pumpkin and straw character decorations. We also enjoyed watching the animals including Mayor Bill, the baby rhinoceros born in June and named after our new mayor Bill Haslam.


The cute little guy is "Mayor Bill"

Hey that's not a real tortoise is it?!

Me!

A lovely headdress of lavender flowers!

A field of pumpkins waiting for Boo at the Zoo

John and his 14 year old son Lee completed their first metric century this morning, riding in the Smoky Mountain Wheelman's 31st Annual Fall Century ride. Under lightly rainy skies, they finished the 62 miles in 4 hours. Both are pretty proud as their actual riding time was 3 hours 22 minutes. The rest of the time was spent at rest stops and several incidents involving bike repair. John was rumored to have said "damn bicycle" on several occasions.



A couple of bike studs!

Tonight, the sisters and I joined Daddy for a wine and cheese gala opening of the Tennessee Artists Association's annual fall show. The show, a joint presentation of TAA and the East Tennessee Historical Society, is being held through October in the auditorium of the East Tennessee Historical Museum. The museum is located on Gay Street in downtown Knxoville.

The show theme is East Tennessee and most pictures portray scenes of downtown Knoxville and surrounding areas. Of the 30 some paintings accepted in the juried show, watercolor is dominate with a few other interesting types of medium thrown in. The show is definitely worth a visit.

Daddy's painting of "Dolly," a rhinoceros at the Knxoville Zoo, stands out in the show as original and creative. He paints in acrylic, his style strong, his colors bold. Can you tell who my favorite artist is....


The aritist and "Dolly"

A close up of "Dolly"