About my background image...

I took this photograph, the one you are looking at behind my profile (left), during an early morning ride one year ago.  I was riding from Greenville, SC to Pigeon Forge, TN to spend the day with my (soon to be) fiancee and her father.  They had a tradition of visiting the Great Smokey Mountains every year to kick off the beautiful Fall season, and had invited me to join them for a few days of lodging, shopping, and eating in Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge.
Since it was a Friday, and I still had work to finish up for the week, I decided to leave extra early from home and make the 5 hour bike ride through the backroads of Western NC and the magnificent Blue Ridge Parkway (BRP).  Normally this trip only takes 3 hours to make via I-26 to I-40 to Hwy 441, but when you travel the snakey mountain roads of the Blue Ridge and Smokies, it's a little slower going.  So I left the house at 4 a.m., having strapped my K2 backpack to the backrest, and lit out for the mountains!
I headed up I-385N from Simpsonville, Hwy 276 through Greenville, Hwy 11 through Cleveland, up Hwy 178 through Rosman, NC and then up Hwy 215 to intersect the BRP and follow it on to Cherokee, NC and on to the Smokey Mountain Parkway into Tennessee.
It was an exceptionally clear morning, so I was certain that I would enjoy several photo ops as the sun came up! Racing up Hwy 215 in the dark was thrilling, and I had my headphones plugged into my Sirius Satellite Radio, which is mounted to my handlebar.  As I approached the BRP, I began catching the early glimpse of deep purple light creeping over the distant peaks and through the hardwood forest.  My stomach was beginning to churn with excitement as the light went from that deep purple to periwinkle, and then began to blend with a rosey-pink.  When I got to a curvy section of Parkway with some overlook views, I pulled over onto the shoulder to capture my first image.

It took me a few attempts to get my camera settings adjusted for the light, but after a couple of shots, I caught this image.  The stoke was coming on now!
I rode onward and upward, keeping my eyes right and waiting on the perfect shot.  In the back of my mind, I knew that continually stopping for pics was slowing my commute considerably, but reaching my destination at a certain time just wasn't that important to me at this point.  I have always been one who believes that Life is all about your experiences, and in moments like these, you can only rejoice and thank God for the awesome display He is working on at that very moment.  With the continual change in the coloring of the deep blue sky, my praise was a constant this morning!
Exactly 20 minutes later, I came across the spot on the Parkway that gave me the premo shot; the ONE that I knew I had been given by God Himself.  The pic that now graces the background of this blog page!  After taking it, I sat there on the guard rail and just stared into my preview screen, and my first thought was, "People are going to think that this is an oil on canvas..."  It was the most surreal photograph that I had ever seen.
Being quite proud of my prize, but still in awe of God's Morning Spectacular, I climbed up on the rail post, and snapped a few more pics.  No cars, no gawking tourists.  Only me, my bike, and the cool mountain breeze was the only sound I could hear.  This was my Heaven on earth!  It was now 6:26 a.m. EST.

The sun came up to warmly say, "Good morning!"  The sky light was changing by the minute.  I knew each moment wouldn't last, but I was bagging a truck load of moments here!  This was one of the most memorable rides that I've experienced.  All alone, just me and Maverick (my Suzuki), and my camera.  You can't put a price on moments like these.  They are free for the taking.  You only have to make an effort to get outside and embrace them for yourself.

Have you stopped today to "take in a moment?"  When you do, be sure to thank God for it.  He is the one who gave you this day, your breath, and the beautiful painting in front of you!