For locals and visitors alike, Bass Lake and its carriage road system is a favorite spot. Literally less than five minutes from Blowing Rock restaurants and shops, the lake and surrounding lands are part of Moses H. Cone Memorial Park, donated to the National Park Service by the family of textile magnate Moses Cone after his death. In total, over 25 miles of carriage roads wind around and down the mountainside from the grand Cone Manor, ending in a loop encircling Bass Lake. For most visitors, the Bass Lake loop--just under a mile in length--functions more as the beginning of the carriage road system. Almost perfectly level, the loop is an excellent walking or jogging trail with plenty of width to accommodate the foot traffic its popularity brings. Those looking for a more challenging physical workout can branch off onto sections of the carriage road system that climb the slopes to the Manor and beyond. Nearby, equestrians find a convenient staging area for horseback rides (horses are not allowed on the loop around the lake).

This shot, made on a heavily overcast day in light drizzle, is from about a quarter mile from the pedestrian parking area. I liked the way the yellows and browns of the autumn leaves--more of them on the ground than remained on the trees--contrasted with the wet grays of the road's cinder-like surface, the gray, forbidding sky, and the lake's waters reflecting the sky's gloomy shades.