Artist’s Palette

As we left Tray Mountain, the skies settled into a permanent overcast that permeated the day. It felt like drizzle but didn’t, the skies heavy about leafless trees. Climbing the long ascent to Kelly Knob, a new perspective lay before us: the colors of the Blue Ridge. In that moment, I understood the artist’s palette for the Appalachians, blues and purples and pinks in a watercolor haze around us as if perfectly painted across the skies. Soon after, it started to rain.