Off the beaten path with the "mountain man"!

We have had a wonderful vacation.  It has been so unlike our "normal" vacations (which tend to be beach and/or museums/attractions).  Neither Ken or I tend to be "outdoor" people.  Yes, we do like to visit botanic gardens/arboretums and parks.  This vacation spent mostly in wooded mountains was something new and amazing for us.  A number of people asked me why we would ever consider a vacation to North Carolina. It has been a wonderful, peaceful time spent in nature. And the best part of the trip is that nothing was more than a two hour drive!  You really can't beat that!

Yesterday we decided to drive across the Great Smoky Mountain National Park to visit Gatlinburg TN and see the top half of the National Park. To start the day, we stopped at a very hidden waterfall that is actually on the Cherokee Indian Reservation.  By the way, that reservation is worth a visit!  We were surprised to find all of the signs written in Cherokee!  The Soco Waterfall is not shown on most maps and we just happened to see it on Google Maps (when we happened to have phone service - which was spotty at best).  There was only one small sign for the waterfall from one direction.  There was a small pull off and then a trail between the guard rails.  It was a short walk - straight down - and Ken was thankful for that walking stick we purchased a few days ago.  ***Side note - we both totally forgot that we are FLYING on this trip and really didn't consider how we are going to get that very big stick home!  

The Soco waterfall was so worth the walk.  Ken and I were totally alone on the viewing platform - just the sound of that water.  It was awesome!   So secluded and unspoiled.  By the time we left the viewing area to walk back up that treacherous path, a stream of people were on the way down to see the falls.  It felt like such a gift for us to be there, alone and have time to soak it all in.  

We proceeded into the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.  We had visited a few days before and were planning on just driving through (as I mentioned before).  We didn't get very far into the park when we found out that the only road through the park was closed!  Apparently there had been a serious accident and there was an ongoing investigation.  The only way to get to Gatlinburg was a LONG way around the outside of the park.  So, the best laid plans of man sometimes don't work out. 

We decided to drive another stretch of the Blue Ridge Parkway instead.  We had already driven several different sections.  But this stretch has the highest point of the Parkway. 

When we got to this viewing site, there was a path leading up to a viewing platform.  It was almost straight up!  We never made it to the top.  We stopped at this point and took a few pictures.  The actual high point of the parkway is 6,200 feet.  So much beauty and so many breath-taking views.  The clouds are so close you can almost touch them.  The mountains go on and on.  Around every turn is another picture perfect view.  I can't wait to actually see the photos that Ken took.  My Iphone pictures will be nothing compared to his, I am sure. 

The Blue Ridge Parkway was a surprising, wonderful part of this trip.  This two lane road zigzags up and down through the mountains in North Carolina and Virginia.  The average speed limit is about 35 miles per hour, so this is not a "quick trip" route.  We drove from mile 460 to 390 and that 70 miles took us about 3 hours including many, many stops for photos.  But there is literally NOTHING along the road - very few spots to get on or off of the parkway - no gas, no food and also only a couple of "comfort stations" (think restrooms).  What there is - TREES AND MOUNTAINS.  Also lots of wild flowers, butterflies, bees and even an occasional bird.  Also very frequent overlooks. 

All in all, this was a really wonderful trip.  We managed to snag a great deal on a really nice hotel in Asheville, that provided a "base camp" for some of our adventures.  As I mentioned, we never had to spend more than a couple hours in the car (with the exception of the Blue Ridge Parkway - which was worth it).  Today we began our trip back to reality with a drive mostly on the interstate.  It was also raining.  What a contrast to the wonderful days of sunshine and quiet roads. 

I am very glad that we have a couple of "buffer" days between those mountain days and our arrival home.  Tomorrow Ken will be visiting with a friend and former co-worker.  And then we will be driving (two hours) back to our airport location for our trip home.  It has been a long time since I visited mountains.  As a matter of fact, other than a few short trips through smaller mountains, driving on interstates, the last time I actually saw mountains was when I was 9 years old.  I needed this trip to remind me just how majestic mountains are.  And also just how deep the valleys are.  One morning Ken and I had breakfast at a really fancy McDonalds (that may seem like a contradiction of terms -but it was the Biltmore McDonalds) there was a grand (player) piano filling the room with music.  Suddenly "How Great Thou Art" began playing.   Yes, a perfect song.  Listen to How Great Thou Art performed by Home Free to catch a bit of what I was feeling.

I have done so much praising, just thanking God for the beauty of His marvelous creation. Everything seems so green and so fresh and the air is so clean and crisp.  We had some twists and turns and some of our plans didn't work out.  But it was a wonderful time of rest and relaxation and lots of photo taking.  All in all, just a wonderful vacation.

Jesus, I am so thankful for the opportunity to spend time in your creation.  Holy Spirit, remind us all to step outside, to look up and down and to see and celebrate the world around us.  When things are moving so fast around us, give us places and spaces for rest.  Thank you for waterfalls that remind us of your living water.  Thank you Jesus.  Amen

From the depths to the heights...and a bit in between!

What a busy and wonderful couple of days this has been into a much needed vacation.  I decided to begin this blog at this wonderful spot.  As usual, I have found my flowing water to just refresh and relax me.  This wonderful waterfall that I am standing behind and under was in the butterfly house of the Botanic Gardens in Huntsville, Alabama!  And here is a butterfly that I actually captured OUTSIDE of the butterfly house!

So this is the "in between" I mentioned in my title.  We had a wonderful visit to this garden as a welcome quiet retreat this afternoon.  Yesterday we started out "in the depths" - well sort of!

We visited the National Corvette Museum.  We have seen this place many times on our drives to south, but we have never stopped.  In 2014 they had a major disaster when a sink hole actually happened inside the museum and they lost many, many of the cars on display.  This is what it looks like today when you walk inside the area that was destroyed.... tape lines on the ground.  It reminded me of "crime scene" tape.  It was a LARGE area of the main part of the room.  As you can see, they discovered an under ground cave during the repair.  This is no big surprise since Mammoth Cave is a short distance away.  But it was very odd to walk over that line and think about the ground just opening up and swallowing the cars.

And here is one of the few cars that they were able to pull out of the hole......

As you can see, it is a mess.  There were three cars like this on display.  Quite an interesting place to visit. There was even a place where you could look through a glass window, down into a deep tunnel into the bottom of the sink hole.  It was really looking into the depths!

This morning we visited the US Space and Rocket Center.  And we did a lot of looking into the heights!  Because we are really old, (you know - the age when astronauts and space and the moon landing was a really big deal) this really interests us!  We have visited the Kennedy Space Center more than once, but this was our first visit to this center.  While it was interesting, there was a lot of similar stuff that we have seen in Florida.  It was still a really neat place to visit.  

So we went from looking into a really deep sinkhole, deep inside the earth to peering out into space. With all of that to consider, we wandered the paths and breathed in the warm air in the quiet Botanic garden.  It was good to stop and reflect on all that we had seen in the last two days.  I was so glad to find that rushing waterfall.  I stopped and sat on a stone bench beneath that flowing water.  All I could think about was how amazing this world is and how wonderful our Creator is!  There is no other way to explain the ground just opening up. Or to imagine the wisdom and patience and courage that God has given to man to discover how to blast into space and come back again.  

That amazing butterfly started off as an ugly worm, crawling on a branch.  And now it is a beautiful creature, flying free!  How thankful I am that Jesus has promised us a transformation - a metamorphosis - not unlike that butterfly.  We can look forward to a new, wonderful body and a whole new world opening up for us.  Yes, we have so much to look forward to!  The greatest news is that this Eternal Life starts as soon as Jesus becomes your Savior. We just need to learn how to live!

Jesus, thank you for speaking to me through all of these things.  Thank you for time away from our routines.  Holy Spirit, help us all to remember that our eternal life doesn't start when we die - but rather it is ours now!  Thank you for butterflies that remind us of your working in us all to transform us into your likeness.  And thank you Jesus for rivers of living water!  Amen 

When you need a little help.....to get around!

This morning my feet were slightly better.  I could walk to the bathroom without cringing the entire way.  After my shower I used the new "Blister Bandaids" that I bought yesterday.  And with the cushioned ball of foot insoles I got for my shoes, I could ALMOST walk normally.  I could still feel the pressure of those blisters, but I wasn't in as much pain as last night.  We had already planned to use UBER (which is a really neat, almost taxi like service that has people using their own cars to shuttle you all over) today to get to the Zoo.  The really cool thing is that you request a ride, tell them the destination and your location, they arrive, take you to where you want to go and they get paid automatically through the credit card that you set up on your account.  So no fooling with payment or having cash.  We could not believe how quick, easy and CHEAP it was to use this service!  We took three different UBER trips today and it only cost us $22 (our first trip was free for starting the service, but it would only have been around $10).  Each time we waited less than 5 minutes for a pick up!  MY FEET LOVED THIS SERVICE!  I highly recommend using UBER!

We started our day at the National Zoo.  Our goal was to see the Pandas and the Elephants (sadly the two Zoo's in Chicago no longer have elephants).  We entered the Zoo nearest the Pandas, and went there immediately.  There was a volunteer talking to some people at an overlook, so we went there first.  And there was BoBo, the baby (2 years old) Panda eating his breakfast.  We got a better view of BoBo from the actual Panda viewing area.  So Ken got some great shots of BoBo eating a frozen snack that had been given as a treat!  The two adults were never out when we were there, but we were just glad to see any Panda!

  The Elephants are right next to the Pandas and we saw several!  One was even taking a bath.

 We saw lots of amazing birds and then a real "highlight" of the trip was watching this orangutan cross the zoo on this high ropes course kind of thing!

It was interesting that this was totally out in the open!  I really wondered why he didn't just jump down (although it was really high)!  There were Zoo employees watching very carefully and reminding people not to stand directly underneath her as she crossed the walkways!Orangutans are not "potty trained" and will relieve themselves whenever and wherever they are! It was amazing to watch her swing along, sometimes using her arms and sometimes her legs!  

The Zoo reminded me a bit of the San Diego Zoo.... it is built on a hill.  Thankfully we entered at the TOP of the hill and the entire trip was downhill!  We exited at the bottom of the hill and got picked up by the UBER car within minutes!  We headed off to the Botanic Gardens.  This was a good place to visit today since I could sit and rest my feet at benches around every turn.  It was quiet and peaceful and really is an incredible display of plants, flowers, and trees.  I saw this.....

Yes, this is a Banana Tree!  I don't think I have ever seen one before.  It is interesting that the Bananas grow UP! Around one turn I saw this waterfall.....

I stood and stared at the water for a long time.  I love waterfalls!  The flowing water always brings me back to my life verse...... John 7:38  Jesus said, "Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them". Yes, it was a day of lots of quiet prayer and people watching for me!  It was a perfect spot to spend several hours on a Sunday afternoon.

We ended our day at the Museum of the Native American people.  We had a wonderful lunch at the cafeteria there (thanks to a recommendation from a friend....Buffalo Chili and Elk burgers!) and then toured the museum.  We got deposited back at the hotel by Uber much cooler and far less tired than the previous days!  As a matter of fact, we went for a rooftop swim!  Yes, a wonderful day.

That UBER ad is actually on our very well used map of Washington DC.  We have used that map over and over as we have walked the city.  I know that we could just use our phone maps, but there is something so satisfying to me about actually seeing clearly exactly where we are going.  I am kind of "old school" about this.  I have only recently stopped bringing a paper atlas when Ken and I take these road trips!  As I was reading the Bible today, near that waterfall, I was thinking about this exact thing.  I could read my Bible because it is an App on my phone!  Without that, I would not have been lugging my Bible around with me.  So, I have grown and changed in many ways.  I have graduated to a digital Bible (for when I am away from home....I still like to hold my favorite Bible in my hands and read from that).  And I use Goggle Maps on my phone for directions.  But I also love that crumpled map of the city.  And I am thankful that I can even find my way around on that paper map!

Jesus, thank you so much for this day.  Thank you for new, innovative services like UBER and the wonderful drivers we met today!  Bless each of them as they go about their days.  Holy Spirit, thank you for provision for hurting feet...quiet benches and wonderful gardens to relax and catch our breath.  Thank you for the animals of the world!  Jesus thank you for reminders of all that we often take for granted.   And Jesus, thank you for your continue healing of my feet!  Amen

Sometimes it is just worth it! And sometimes, it is NOT!

 

Usually when Ken and I travel, we are very frugal.  We watch each and every penny.  Since this vacation was to celebrate our 40th Wedding Anniversary we decided to splurge and upgrade more than usual.  We have been known to opt for an ocean front room in Florida and we know - IT IS WORTH IT!  So the decision to get a Falls view room was pretty easy.  We even choose a room that has both American and Canadian falls view.  That picture above is from our floor to ceiling windows in our room.  We have two easy chairs positioned to the window and this view.  I can't wait for the light show and fireworks tonight!  Yes, there is even one window that opens and you can clearly hear the falls (and we are on the 17th floor)!  We have had a spectacular day.  Another perfect weather day.  What a blessing!  Our hotel couldn't be more convenient- we walk out, cross a road and take the "Falls incline railway" down to the Welcome Center. 

That is our Hotel at the top and a shot up the incline railway!  We were able to get a pass for the entire day so we could go up and down as often as we wanted.  There were lots of people on our first trip down.  At one point when I was sitting in the shade waiting for Ken to take some photos, I counted 7 different languages that I heard passing me by.  This is really a seeming hot spot for tourists.  And there are so many things that are simply NOT worth the money.  From the time we checked into our hotel, we have been pressed to get a "package deal" for attractions.  The hotel wanted to sell us a tour on a bus for $150 each!  Really!  Not going to happen.  The welcome center package deal ended up to NOT be a deal for us, since we had no interest in several of the attractions that were included in the price.  I think we have decided to just buy individual tickets for the couple of things that we really want to do and forget the package deals.  I am thankful for the CHOICE and the wisdom to know what is not worth it!

 

On our second trip down to the falls today, there was an amazing full arc rainbow over the Canadian Falls!  It just took your breath away!  It was so bright and so clear you could see every color.  



 



We walked up river to see if we could get a different angle of the rainbow.  I stood very close to another smaller waterfall while Ken was taking pictures, I realized that I had the same feeling in my spirit as when I sit on the beach and listen to the waves.  That powerful water, cascading down over those rocks, pouring down in an endless stream, reminded me of the ocean.   I told Ken that we either needed to vacation at an ocean or a very big waterfall from now on! 

 

Yes, there are times when it is just worth it for the experience.  In  the couple of days on this vacation we have said more than once, this is so worth it!  The hassle for the passports, the expenses, the crowds.  Yesterday was about seeing an amazing house created by a man.  And it was worth seeing. Today, it is all worth it to see this natural wonder.  There is something about the contrast (didn't I just write a blog post on this???) between the man made and the God created.   Nothing can really compare to all that is in God's creation.  There are flocks and flocks of birds and they live on a small outcropping of rocks just before the Canadian Falls.  Other than bigger birds, they are most likely safe from predators. They swooped and soared over the falls all day.  I have several pictures in which I caught a bird in flight, without really intending it!  And I can't help but think of my life verse - John 7:38 - "...Out of his belly will flow rivers of living water"!  Sitting here, looking out at the falls, it is a picture of all the power that flowing rivers contain.  And another reminder of just how powerful we are, when we are filled with the promise and presence of the Holy Spirit. 

 

More vacation updates will follow, I am sure.  Time for light show and fireworks!

 

Jesus, thank you for your guidance and direction that helps us discern what IS worth it and what is NOT worth it.  Thank you for the picture of your power displayed before us in these falls.  Holy Spirit, help us to grasp the power that we have within us, so that we may open the gates and let your love and grace and peace and the presence of Jesus flow out to the world. And Jesus, thank you for unexpected rainbows.   Amen