Waterfalls in the Appalachian mountains

For Labor Day weekend, my wife and I (and the dog) went to western North Carolina to visit her mother. While there, I drove into Tennessee and Georgia for some photos of a few waterfalls.

First was Helton Creek Falls in Georgia.

Upper falls:

Also upper falls:

Lower falls (with "ancient Native American rock tower"):

Lower falls at Helton Creek Falls, Georgia

The next day was a trip into Tennessee. I left the house well before sunrise to get to Bald Creek Falls before the crowds showed up, but decided to take the shortest route, if not the quickest. It turns out the mountain roads in the area are unpaved and quite dark. It was ... interesting. Anyway, I made it to the spot just after sunrise and it was beautiful.

View from the bridge:

Also from road level:

I scrambled down the side of the road to get here. In my youth, I would have climbed down the far side of the river, but on this day I looked at the steep terrain and thought better of it.

Now that I have a free place to stay on North Carolina, I can use it as a base for regional safaris into the Appalachians whenever I want. I foresee lots of new waterfall photos in my future.