Before I moved here, I stumbled on a web site that said The Smokies are known as the mountains of new beginnings. I’ve since tried to find this article but it never materialized after that day. The message stayed with me though as we moved and settled for our new beginning here in Bryson City, North Carolina.

Our dinging-room window has a view of The Smoky Mountains and every morning I experience the magic-looking blue haze that’s given them their name. I’ve since found out, it comes from natural gasses emitted from the trees that scatter blue light from the sky. The Native Americans were the first ones to call it “shaconage,” meaning “place of blue smoke.”

It’s a breathtaking marvel to see. I can’t imagine having experienced it in those early days with no scientific reasoning to understand why these large rock bodies emit blue smoke each morning. Without science, the phenomenon really does feel magical. And if you’ve been reading, you know I’m committed to experiencing magic in 2019. I see no better way to begin this commitment than by experiencing a miracle every morning.

Life in the mountains feels like peace and looks like rippling blue fields of folded earth.

Enjoy some photos taken on a long, joyful drive through The Blue Ridge Parkway near Asheville, North Carolina.