A man and his family were enjoying the view from Mills River Valley Overlook on the Blue Ridge Parkway this past Friday evening. Evidently seeing the two cameras strapped around my neck, he correctly deduced that I was a photographer. He approached and, in broken English, asked whether there was a chance that the then gray, wispy clouds on the horizon could produce a colorful sunset “para mi familia.”
Ten minutes prior to sunset
I told him that I could speak a bit of Spanish (thanks in large part to two years of Ms. Baugh’s language class at Knox Central High School in ’71-’73). I explained that the gray clouds had a 50 percent chance of exploding into magnificent colors in about 10 minutes. He said “Gracias,” and I watched him approach his family, who appeared to be ready to go.
He conferred with his wife and children, who pointed at me. The family members then smiled at me. My words were apparently enough to convince them to stay. It may have helped that I was staying as well.
Then, lo and behold, the sky exploded into a palette of pinkish red and gold, set against a pastel base, which explains why people travel the world to witness our Southern Appalachian autumn sunsets. As I clicked the shutter to capture the colorful image, I looked over toward him, and his smile was huge; he and his family appeared awed by the scene.
Badger lives for these special moments in time where I can share the gift of predicting color based on viewing hundreds of sunsets. Of course, it helped that the fickle sky cooperated in such a grand manner in October 2025.
Many of the Honey Badger Images are on display at instagram.com/honeybadgerimages.
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