Picture of the day - November 7, 2005

Autumn In Damascus, Va

The Damascus, Va area is very beautiful any time of year, but in autumn the views are simply stunning! As the days become shorter and the air becomes ever more brisk, the leaves begin their magical transformation from various shades of green to spectacular mosaics of red, orange, yellow and brown. God's autumn masterpieces could be seen everywhere yesterday afternoon as my wife and I took my mom on a "leaf peeping" trip. We started out driving down to Backbone Rock, one of the region's most beautiful and interesting places. As expected, the fall colors were bright and varied in the forests surrounding "the rock", but many of the leaves had already fallen leaving the trees looking relatively bare. So we decided to look elsewhere... Next, we took a drive up U.S. Highway 58 along Straight Branch and on up to Konnarock...where we found the trees almost completely bare. I suppose the high elevation caused the leaves to turn and fall sooner than those down in the valleys. Disappointed, we figured that we must have missed the season's most beautiful vistas so we gave up and took mom home. But as Cheria and I were traveling back to Damascus along Route 91, we rounded a curve just a mile or so outside of town and saw an amazing scene - the one in today's picture. Bright, colorful leaves were everywhere - on the ground, falling through the air and hanging on the trees. Better yet, the late afternoon sunshine was backlighting the leaves just perfectly, giving them a look not unlike smoldering embers. It was as if God had decided to create one last spectacular mosaic just for us. Autumn in Damascus...a special time in a very special place!   Picture Of The Day Homepage | Submit a photo Interesting Articles