The past few weekends I've been drawn to the mountains. Two weeks ago I went up on Holston mtn after the snow had melted down here, and enjoyed a snowy hike on the AT. From there I drove over to Shady valley, and found the only gas station I've seen with a wood stove in it. I've never enved a gas station attendant their workplace before, but that was nice.

Last weekend Maggie and I went up to Roan mtn. On road up we began to get glimpses of the peak in between the fog, and it looked strange, almost like there was snow, but not as white as you'd expect. While the ground was clear of snow, the windward side of each pine, rhododendron, and leaf of grass in the balds was outlined in a thick coat of frost. Gorgeous. As a sheltered Southerner, I've never seen anything like it, but I think it was soft rime, formed from the fog.

We wished we'd brought a camera, but thanks to the magic of the 'net, here's a similar rime on Roan: