• Tagged autumn, environment, fall colors, Fall colors in the Smokies, fall foliage, fall season, Great Smoky Mountains, Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Land of Blue Smoke, nature, North Carolina, Smokies, Smoky Mountains, Tennessee

Between North Carolina and Tennessee is a spectacular chain of mountains known as the Great Smoky Mountains, commonly called the Smoky Mountains or simply the Smokies. Although they are a subrange of the Appalachian Mountains, the Great Smokies encompass over 500,000 acres of beautiful scenery and are the home of America’s #1 most visited national park, the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. People travel from all over globe to the Smokies during autumn to see ridge after ridge of forest bursting with fall foliage. There are 16 peaks that rise more than 6,000 feet, more than 270 miles of roads, and over 800 miles of maintained trails were visitors can see lush forests, breathtaking waterfalls, rushing streams, and abundant wildlife. Due to the different elevations, the fall leaf colors can last for weeks, meaning the Great Smoky Mountains are especially beautiful in autumn and extremely busy during the last three weeks of October. Here’s a look at the fantastic fall season in the Smokies, the Land of Blue Smoke. [38 Photos]

• Tagged animals, autumn, autumn squirrel, cute squirrels, fall season, funny squirrels, hungry squirrels, nature, photography, seasons, squirrel, squirrels, squirrels gathering nuts, squirrels in fall, squirrels preparing for winter

Fall seems to officially be here, based the feverish pace of squirrels preparing for winter. When we went out and about to enjoy autumn, there was one constant other than the beautiful foliage changing colors, and that was the squirrels gathering acorns and other nuts. Everywhere we went, the squirrels were acting squirrelly, running around with nuts in their mouths, performing ninja-like gymnastics in tree branches, or digging to hide their winter stash. There are about 285 species of squirrels and the antics of these furry cute critters are fun to watch and to photograph. [60 Photos]

• Tagged autumn, environment, fall colors, fall foliage, fall season, nature, quotes, waterfalls

Fall’s season colors the world with every imaginable autumn color from God’s masterstroke of palette and brush. During fall, the beauty of nature is like a dreamworld, a fantasy. We encourage you to get out there and enjoy it while it lasts. You only live once and there is something about being out in nature that can balance a person and put their problems into perspective. We hope you enjoy these fantastic photos of autumn, sprinkled with inspirational quotes and words of wisdom. We love these pics! [40 Photos]