Another DRG day...

DRG, or Doe River Gorge, is a favorite short-distance-away field trip.  We always love basking in the beauty of the Gorge and enjoy connecting with the staff there who have become such good friends over the years.

The season of the year doesn't matter....there are always beautiful sights to see and photograph...

 And a hike up the tracks is always good for lifting the spirits....

We headed into the second tunnel.....

 ....and as we exited, who was there to greet us but the infamous Gorgeous Gertie.....

 This was our first time seeing her "up close and personal"....

 ....and I do mean "up close and personal"!

I don't think she was too interested in the bear spray on Willie's hip, but she was definitely looking for something....

....and when she didn't find any treats, she showed her displeasure when she gave Willie a gentle butt with her head....horns on either side of his leg!  He wasn't too sure of her intentions, so with the help of a stick behind her horns he guided her away from himself.

 She wasn't too sure she wanted to go, but go she did....

After all the excitement of meeting up with Gertie, our walk up the track was cut short by the report of an active yellow jacket nest on the tracks up ahead.....so we turned around and headed back down.  Even tho' the trek back down was a lot less excitement filled, it WAS beauty filled....

And fall is definitely in the air....

Since our trek up the tracks was cut short, we headed down toward the bridge and the cabins....

Looking up the river, you would never guess that just a moment before a heron had flown up the gorge....not what we were expecting, but beautiful nonetheless.

Since we were down the river, I thought I'd take advantage of the time to try some different settings on my camera.....

You wouldn't expect us to pass up a chance to relax on one of the cabin porches, would you? 

After a peaceful afternoon, it's time to begin our walk back to the car to begin our ride back home, but I thought I'd share a couple more from our day....

Beautiful sky, beautiful day.....so thankful that God allows us the privilege of living in such a beautiful part of the country....we are so blessed!

As promised, it's time for another "Looking Back" post.

We had made plans to head up to Bristol on the day of the night race at Bristol Motor Speedway to meet a couple of friends, Wes and Doug Poff, from my high school days in Roanoke.  Shortly before we had planned to leave to meet them for lunch, Willie received a phone call with an offer of two free tickets to that night's race.  His answer....well, duh!  So instead of a trip of just a few hours, we started throwing things together to be gone for the rest of the day....

But first things first....it was great to see Wes and Doug as they came striding into the church gymnasium where we were to eat lunch!  It had been a looooong time since we had had a chance to be together and share how our lives had changed and to where life with God had brought us.  Again, it was a unanimous decision that we needed to do this again soon, rather than later!

And then it was time to go our separate ways....their seats were on one side of the Coliseum and and ours were on the other.  But Bristol is always a sight to appreciate....

A beautiful night for a race....and we were blessed because our seats were in the shade!  Thanks, Steve!

The University of Tennessee Volunteer Band...wonder if they were there to advertise for the upcoming game pitting UT again Va Tech in 2016?  Hmmmm.....

 ...and of course, you have to have a horse and chariot if you're at THE Coliseum....

 There were the expected patriotic salutes....

And then it was time for some racing.....

 And the winner is......

 Joey Legano!

And, let's put another great day in the books!