Fog holds its own 'mysterious beauty'

I rarely win arguments with Elizabeth Gardner about fog. She is the expert.

I sometimes get fog and low clouds mixed up, but WRAL’s morning meteorologist always sets me straight. Elizabeth and I both love the mountains and the fog and clouds that come with that beautiful region of our state.

Over the weekend I spent a lot of time in the fog along the Blue Ridge Parkway. One of my mountain joys is taking photographs. At first I cursed the fog. Later I embraced it for its own mysterious beauty. A wide array of wildflowers was in bloom in Doughton Park along the parkway. The fog seemed to make some of the colors pop. The fog also kept the crowds down along the hiking trail. My family and I pretty much had the mountains to ourselves. Well, almost. It was grazing time for cattle on Bluff Mountain Trail. My dog, Rufus, really enjoyed socializing with the cows, as you will see in this musical slideshow.

I dug around for some foggy quotes. I could recite the one from Carl Sandburg. Here are a few of my favorite foggy reflections. Feel free to share your foggy thoughts.

“I really love fog. It hides you from the world and the world from you. You feel that everything has changed, and nothing is what it seemed to be. No one can find or touch you any more.” - Eugene O'Neill

“Under the thinning fog the surf curled and creamed, almost without sound, like a thought trying to form inself on the edge of consciousness.” - Raymond Chandler

“Trying to remember a dream from a decade ago is like trying to catch fog in a coffee filter.” - Jarod Kintz

“The fog comes in on little cat feet. It sits looking over harbor and city on silent haunches and then moves on. “- Carl Sandburg