An hour to the east - and down significantly in elevation - we found ourselves in a different season. Look at this tulip poplar, already flowering - and with such big leaves! Our destination was Chimney Rock, from which a splendid eastward vista greeted us - with greens
more summery than springlike. Even more splendid was the view up the steep mount as we went our way to 400-foot Hickory Nut Falls (through what may be an old growth forest), which was full of blooming Carolina rhododendrons among more spring-like greens!
