Misty Monday - Cool Mountain Air

Mists in the Balsam Mountains, Blue Ridge Parkway, North Carolina  © Doug Hickok


Mists in the mountains, Mother Nature's natural air conditioning, are a sure way to alleviate the heat of midsummer. On our recent road trip, we drove along the Blue Ridge Parkway, through its highest elevation, near Richland Balsam mountain (6410 ft.), where we encountered lowering clouds of cooling mist and rain. These mists enveloped the ridges of the spruce-fir forest, moving in and out of the trees like apparitions. The sight of these ancient mountains shrouded by clouds never ceases to amaze me, to leave me in awe of an event seemingly as timeless as the earth itself. The refreshment from the sweltering heat was so invigorating that it lifted our spirits. We danced a jig, ate some granola bars, and called it a good moment to be alive.

My daughter was kind enough to hold an umbrella over my head while I snapped this image of fog in the firs.