The Wild Gardens of Linville Gorge

Table Rock is very recognizable part of the North Carolina skyline when driving towards the Blue Ridge Mountains. It draws you towards it. I’ve been drawn towards it whenever I see it from any vantage point, no matter how far.

So I keep coming back to Hawksbill Mountain, to see Table Rock surrounded by the wild rhododendron gardens. In this painting, this is a spot that made me gasp in awe when I saw it for the first time, because I could barely believe it was real.

But it is. Every May, it looks like this. Have you been? Have you seen the Gorge in person, witnessed the blooming rhododendrons, seen how the bottom of the canyon turns to teal in the distance, how the mountains behind it are blurred by fog?

I can’t wait to go back again. Time and time again.