For the past two years I've owned and used a Canon Digital Rebel. Last month, I upgraded to the Digital Rebel XT. It arrived on the 10th. On the 11th, I took the morning off of work to drive up to Great Smoky Mountains National Park. I've posted some of the photos I took that morning on Flickr.

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This photo is my favorite from the drive. It was taken from Newfound Gap. Ordinarily, you would see Fontana Lake, but on that day the surface of the lake was completely covered by fog.

The next week, my wife and I spent a weekend with some friends in a cabin up in the mountains near Pigeon Forge.

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This photo is one that I took of the view from the deck of the cabin. Unfortunately, it was rainy the entire weekend, so I wasn't able to get out and photograph much else. But even with the inclement weather the view was still awesome.

Lastly, the week after that, I brought the camera to work and took some photos around campus. The following photo is of the Torchbearer statue in Circle Park on the University of Tennessee, Knoxville campus.

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You can view all of these photos in my Flickr Archive for January.

I recently spent a morning visiting Cades Cove in Great Smoky Mountain National Park to see the autumn colors. The scenery was absolutely spectacular. I couldn’t have asked for a prettier day, nicer weather or more glorious colors on the trees. I have posted some photos on Flickr. Although, they really don’t do justice to the incredible scenery.

Here’s a teaser from the photoset:

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Last spring, Rachelle, her parents and I spent an afternoon at Cataloochee in Great Smoky Mountains National Park in search of elk. In 2001 and 2002, two separate herds of elk were relocated from Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area to Cataloochee in the western/North Carolina portion of Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Cataloochee is a relatively isolated portion of the national park, similar to the much more frequently visited Cades Cove in the eastern/Tennessee portion of the park.

The name Cataloochee is a corruption of the Cherokee name for the area, "Gadalutsi," which means "standing up in a row," and could refer either to the mountains which surround the valley, or the abundant trees which cover them. Cataloochee was comprised of two separate communities, Big Cataloochee and Little Cataloochee.

After our previous trip, I wanted to head back in the fall during the rut (mating season) in the hopes of hearing the elk bugle. So, my wife and I planned an October trip to the mountains. Like our previous visit, we spent our time in Big Cataloochee. We picked a spot on the side of the road, unpacked our stuff and waited for the show to begin.

As the sun began to fade, our vigilance was rewarded. We spotted a group of five elk come out of the protection of the trees into the field near us. The group was composed of three bulls (male) and two cows (female). The male elk in the photograph above was very agressive and chased the other two bulls away from his harem.

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Rachelle, her parents and I decided to enjoy the recent wonderful springtime weather by driving out to Great Smoky Mountains National Park in search of elk. In 2001 and 2002, two separate herds of elk were relocated from Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area to Cataloochee in the western/North Carolina portion of Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Cataloochee is a relatively isolated portion of the national park, similar to the much more frequently visited Cades Cove in the eastern/Tennessee portion of the park.

The name Cataloochee is a corruption of the Cherokee name for the area, "Gadalutsi," which means "standing up in a row," and could refer either to the mountains which surround the valley, or the abundant trees which cover them. Cataloochee was comprised of two separate communities, Big Cataloochee and Little Cataloochee. We spent our time in Big Cataloochee.

Just after we entered the park, we pulled over at an overlook to take in the view.

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