One more picture from our Roan Mountain excursion. This flaming azalea was in full bloom on the Appalachian Trail near Carvers Gap. If you look closely, you’ll see a rainstorm on the mountain behind.

We went to Roan Mountain yesterday at the height of the rhododendron bloom, and it did not disappoint. But the Helene damaged areas were a striking contrast. Storm microbursts destroyed certain areas but left neighboring spots untouched.

Har!

How do we keep it cool with all that power? Using what I think is one of the coolest features of HFIR and one that is rare in the nuclear reactor world -- involute fuel plates! There are hundreds of individual fuel plates, and each is curved so that the coolant gap is constant everywhere.
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HFIR is a special for a lot of reasons, but the main one is a ridiculously high power density. We generate 85 MW in a volume equal to maybe a half of a 55 gal drum. High power density means high neutron density, which is how we make critical medical isotopes that can't be made anywhere else.
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I filled my bird feeders for the first time in a couple of weeks due to travel. This cardinal was the first to find it, and he’s sitting on his personal hoard, unbothered, like a dragon laying on his gold.

My wife and I honeymooned in Highlands NC 30 years ago (plus a few days). We’re here again for a short weekend trip. It’s a pretty little tourist town with nice restaurants and some of the best waterfalls you’ve ever seen.

Here are a couple of my favorite pictures. I’m the one hamming it up on the nose of the raft. This is on the Ocoee River from a couple years ago.

This was a couple of weeks ago in Cades Cove, GSMNP. We’ve been fortunate to see bears several times this year.

Debord falls in Frozen Head State Park from a couple weeks ago vs last fall. Amazing difference! Tennessee has fantastic state parks.