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| Headed for the mountains of western NC. |
This weekend my husband and I spent 22 hours with my sister and her husband. Their schedule and ours was a bit limited so that's all we could squeeze in.
But it was quality time. Besides just the enjoyment of being with them, we were able to have, literally, a mountaintop experience. Make that two! One on Friday evening and the other on Saturday afternoon.
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| Sunrays on our way up the mtn. |
Soon after we arrived there in
Asheville, we headed 3000 feet higher to the area of
Mt Pisgah nearby. Located on the
Blue Ridge Parkway, the drive was of course lovely, especially now during the Fall season although the peak of colors has already passsed. We arrived at the 5000 feet elevation where the
Pisgah Inn and restaurant is located. What a view! We arrived at about the sunset hour. Not very colorful but it was breathtakingly beautiful nonetheless. I mean, let's face it, North Carolina's mountains need
nothing extra to make them an unforgettable scenery experience!
Ok, I'll quit chatting and just show you a few of the 125 photos I kept of the 200+ that I took...
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| Definitely gives the feeling of being on top of the world! |
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| There were lots of rocking chairs outside for people to sit in and enjoy the view. |
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| Looking to our future? No, just drinking in the amazing scenery. |
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Our mountaintop restaurant. We sat by the windows on the left. A gift shop is on the right, some amazing stuff in there...
Have you ever seen a 24-kt gold-covered maple leaf nightlight? I didn't think so. |
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| The view from our table. Difficult to get a good picture at that past-sunset hour. |
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One more pic of a photogenic rocking chair.
So. After sleeping in a bit the next morning, having a pancakes (think pumpkin, walnut and cranberry), sausage & strawberry breakfast...with MY coffee in a red rose, fine china cup (what? didn't I take a pic??), relaxing and talking, we headed out to take a short hike. Destination? Tom's Creek Falls, a 60-ft high one at the end of the 1/2 mile hike through a lovely forest. And with the Fall foliage still in abundance, although past its peak, it was a feast for the eyes.
Allow me... |
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| Yes, yes, I'm back here taking pictures. |
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Picturesque little bridge. Don't you love the carpet of leaves? I love that sound beneath our feet as we walk
through the still forest. |
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Some lichen...or maybe what they call shelf or horizontal mushrooms. Probably bad news for the tree but they
were rather impressive. |
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| First glimpse of the Falls. |
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| It might look small but it was the decent height of 60 feet. |
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| The falling foamy water made a great background for the sun-filtered leaves. |
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| An old mine nearby. |
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| This gives more of an idea of the depth of it. That's Fritz and his companion. ;) |
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It may have been a micah mine because there were bits of it all around it, including big pieces
embedded in the rocks. |
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| A natural "cathedral", yes? |
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| Sunshine through leaves is a magnet for my camera. |
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I know my DH enjoyed the mountain experience but I have a feeling that his six speaking opportunities
for the next day was on his mind. |
Isn't that just like life? Once in awhile the Lord gives us a mountaintop experience which, indeed, refreshes us and gives us strength to go on, but sooner or later we have to come back down to the reality of life in the foothills or even in the valley. As someone has said, "He is God of the mountain but He is also God of the valley." Look at this interesting verse:
“Thus says the Lord: ‘Because the Syrians have said, “The Lord is God of the hills, but He is not God of the valleys,” therefore I will deliver all this great multitude into your hand,
and you shall know that I am the Lord.’ ” (I Kings 20:28)
"Let them praise the name of the Lord,
for his name alone is exalted;
his splendor is above the earth and the heavens."
(Psalm 148:13)
