Nice work, Jerry, you are correct!
That's Grandfather Mountain, located in the Blue Ridge Mountains in northwestern North Carolina. The English name arises from the "profile" suggestive of an older man in repose and can be envisioned in the picture with the forehead at the summit and the brow, nose, and chin descending to the right of the summit. Indeed, NC 105 ascends to Linville Gap just barely out of view on the right of the frame and the "profile" is rather more distinctive from that angle. The Native American name is in fact Tanawa and is recognized by a trail of that name roughly paralleling the Blue Ridge Parkway for several miles along its slopes.
At 5,947', Calloway Peak is the highest of several summits atop Grandfather. The Blue Ridge Parkway skirts the eastern slopes just out of view to the left of the frame here, with the famous Linn Cove Viaduct carrying the Parkway for +1,200 linear feet over some very rugged territory.
The snapshot here was taken at 0700 on a Sunday morning in late October 2008 so shows the pinkish early morning light illuminating the mountain from behind the photographer.
The shot was taken from the deck of our family's vacation home near Blowing Rock. That house happens to be where much of Charles Frazier's novel "Cold Mountain" was written as he sat just inside from the deck and took in the view exactly as depicted here. Although Frazier's Smokey Mountain hometown and Cold Mountain itself are well over 100 miles to the southwest of this spot, he drew much inspiration from the view here and said as much in the credits in the book.
I expect to arrive at this spot (the house) not long after sunset this evening. Weather permitting, by around 2pm Sunday afternoon, I'll be atop Calloway Peak, having hiked up from the Boone Fork Trailhead along the Parkway. It's only some 3.5 miles to the summit, but that route gains 2,000' of elevation so is a less-than-easy hike. Wish me luck!
Foy
Let's leave 'pretty' for something darker...
What is this?
Where is it?
Why is it like this now?
http://donandlindacasey.com/images/MysteryLocation.jpg
Photo: Don Casey
Yes, this IS a tourist attraction, of sorts.