Liz Etnier - Photo Albums

Indian Flats Falls - Middle Prong

4 images

The fall foliage wasn't as spectacular as we had hoped. Lots of rain and wind had left many of the trees bare, and most of the reds had already gone. There was still a lot of yellow foliage. The water, however, in Lynn Camp Prong and coming over the falls was beautiful.
Bald Eagles

7 images

This summer, the eagles residing on our lake seemed tamer than ever, as they seemed totally uninhibited by our presence. One eagle, in particular, would land in a tree right above my husband's fish cleaning table, and almost immediately after the carcass was set out, the eagle would come to get it.
Davenport Gap to Mt Cammerer - May 20, 2009

15 images

We didn't see a lot of wildflowers, and I feel like the early season is about over. But, it is still early for Mountain laurel and Rhododendron, at all elevations, on this hike.
Newfound Gap to Kephart Prong - April 29, 2009

32 images

This was a neat hike, as we saw early spring wildflowers at the higher elevations along the AT, and then middle to late spring flowers as we walked downhill to the road.
Piney Creek Trail - April 22, 2009

7 images

It seemed to be a little early for the show of wildflowers that we saw on this trail last year. Spring beauty and rue anemone were still in bloom, and the blue cohosh just beginning to bloom, so I think it might be another week before there are a lot of wildflowers blooming.
Porters Creek Trail - April 15, 2009

25 images

It was a cold, damp, and overcast day so we didn't get the wonderful displays of all the wildflowers along the trail. But, it was still a good day, and we saw everything that one usually sees at Porters Creek, as well as some lingering early bloomers at the upper elevations of the trail.
Finley Cane trail - April 8

5 images

We saw some of the early blooming wildflowers on this hike, but not nearly the abundance I was hoping for.
Scott Mountain

7 images

It was still pretty early, and at the higher elevations of the Scott Mountain hike, we saw a few early blooming plants, but not the profusion that will be seen in the next few weeks.
Schoolhouse Gap Trail

18 images

It continues to be extremely dry in East Tennessee, and we were disappointed in how few wildflowers we saw on this hike in the Smoky Mountains.
Piney River Trail Wildflowers

18 images

This hike was probably the overall best hike we have taken this spring for number and variety of wildflowers. We saw all of the common spring wildflowers we see in the Smokies as well as plants that are rarely or never seen in the Smokies. These latter included a yellow ladyslipper, Cumberland Spurge, Trillium sulcatum, spotted mandarin, and both yellow and red buckeye. We also saw one "Pinxster" azalea in bloom.
Wildflower Garden - mid-April 2008

10 images

In spite of the lack of rain last year and this year, to date, my garden has some beautiful flowers blooming. The trilliums have not spread appeciably, but the single blooms they have are quite nice; quite a few have the leaves up, but no flowers.
White Oak Sinks - April 21, 2008

16 images

We saw over 30 species of wildflowers on this hike in the Smokies, the bulk of them along the banks as we walked up Schoolhouse Gap Road. However, once inside White Oak Sinks, we were not disappointed by the quantities of flowers we saw. Blue phlox covered the floor of the sinks, and walking along the trails we saw Bishop's cap, Showy orchis, Shooting stars, Virginia bluebells, Catesby's trillium, Trillium grandiflorum, Larkspur, and Columbine. I have looked in White Oak Sinks for several years for a reported patch of green violet, and I finally found it. They were not blooming, however.
Porters Creek Wildflowers - April 16, 2008

27 images

Porters Creek trail in the Smoky Mountains is considered by many to be the best trail in the Park for number of species seen and for its large displays of fringed phacelia, bishop's cap, and numerous trilliums. On this day, we were not disappointed althought the phacelia appeared to be past its prime.
Little Bottoms Wildflowers - April 9, 2008

13 images

We counted 34 species of wildflowers blooming along Cooper Road and Little Bottoms trails in the Smoky Mountains.
Little Bottoms Trail - April 10, 2008

7 images

This album shows the stands of dead pines we walked through as we hiked the Little Bottoms trail in the Smoky Mountains. We were pleased to see the trail maintenance efforts the Park Service has implemented to make the trail more safe to hike. All of the areas that have been badly eroded for years have been vastly improved.
Spring wildflower garden - 2008

18 images

There are many plants blooming in my wildflower garden, with more to come in the next few days.
Stone House

15 images

This stone house was apparently the teacher's cottage for the Arrowmont school for children that was located off Old Sugarlands Trail in the Smokies.
Chestnut Top 2008

4 images

There were very few wildflowers blooming along Chestnut Top trail in the Smoky Mountains on March 12, 2008.
Lakeshore Trail

13 images

We hiked about 12.5 miles of this trail in the Smoky Mountains, and although it follows the shore of Fontana Reservoir, several sections proved very strenuous. Evidence can still be seen of previous habitation before the Little Tennessee River was inundated in 1944 creating Fontana Reservoir.
Little Bottoms and Hanna Mountain

9 images

It has been very dry in east Tennessee for several months, and there are very few wildflowers blooming now in the Smokies.