Spring Visit to Newfound Gap - April 2012

Here is the view from one of the interpretive panels.  This view will be blocked as soon as the leaves start to come in because the deciduous vegetation is so close to the top of the vista.

You can how close the vegetation is along the top of the vista.  There are several interpretive panels along this walkway that describe the diversity of the Park's resources and the history of those who once called this place home.

Visitor enjoying the view

From the interpretive panel in the picture above, you can see pretty clearly underneath the tree's branches.  With a few lower branches trimmed, this tree is a great foreground feature.

As you can see, some views along the walkway are very panoramic...

...while others are pretty obscured.

However, if you move slightly to the right of the previous view, the spruce tree becomes an aesthetic frame along the edge of the view.  This just goes to show that only vegetation that has to be removed to open the view should be removed.

In some views vegetation has to be removed to restore the integrity of the view.  The right side of the vista is significantly more obscured then the left, probably because most of the interpretive panels are on the left side of the view.