Today the Vespa turned over 6,000 miles, a big milestone to be sure. I bought it a year ago and 5,300 of those miles are mine. I've enjoyed every single one of them! Laughing, singing, riding the crooked roads, having a ball. I bought it to bring me joy, and it has. Oh, and I rode another 80 miles today, mostly on the parkway.
Another milestone: just realized that this year I have lived in my mobile home more than my nonmobile one. And that feels very good. Life on the road is suiting me just fine, so far.
I decided to ride up to the parkway, via Davidson River & hghwy 276. It's beautiful & curvy & requires some concentration. What a great ride. Graveyard Fields was in mind as a destination, but I couldn't remember which way to go & didn't bring my map. So I headed south & in a little while, there it was. As I turned I realized I was at an overlook for Cold Mountain, yes, the real one. Not the fake one shown in the movie. That was filmed in Europe. Yuck....
Many, many times I've said "one of these days, when I have the time, I'm gonna ...". Walking to the upper falls at Graveyard Fields was one of those days I spoke of, and today was the day.
It was a long walk, about 1 1/2 miles, with the last part steep & rocky. Several times I started to turn back & remembered something I tried to teach Barbara & Derick: If you want to see the view, you have to climb the mountain. I had taken them to Mount Pisgah & we were walking to the top, with them complaining every step it seemed like. So we would stop & rest & I would say this to them, again. Today I said it to myself several times, & you sort get to see the view from the pics. I also walked to the lower falls, all total it took me almost 2 hours, excluding rests. I was whipped! I later realized that I was at 5100 feet elevation & that surely made a difference.
At both falls I lay down on a rock on my back & tried to listen to the stone people. There were several splendid butterflies about that kept lighting near me. They reminded me of LaVerne, as I had read in a grief book that the butterfly symbol was everywhere in the Nazi death camps. It reminded people that there was a life after this one. We just don't know exactly what it will be like. So here's a butterfly & the rock, and a butterfly & wood.
What another fine day this has been. Tomorrow may go to DuPont state park & see if I can catch a fish. Look out Alan! It's fly rod time!
Another milestone: just realized that this year I have lived in my mobile home more than my nonmobile one. And that feels very good. Life on the road is suiting me just fine, so far.
I decided to ride up to the parkway, via Davidson River & hghwy 276. It's beautiful & curvy & requires some concentration. What a great ride. Graveyard Fields was in mind as a destination, but I couldn't remember which way to go & didn't bring my map. So I headed south & in a little while, there it was. As I turned I realized I was at an overlook for Cold Mountain, yes, the real one. Not the fake one shown in the movie. That was filmed in Europe. Yuck....
Many, many times I've said "one of these days, when I have the time, I'm gonna ...". Walking to the upper falls at Graveyard Fields was one of those days I spoke of, and today was the day.
It was a long walk, about 1 1/2 miles, with the last part steep & rocky. Several times I started to turn back & remembered something I tried to teach Barbara & Derick: If you want to see the view, you have to climb the mountain. I had taken them to Mount Pisgah & we were walking to the top, with them complaining every step it seemed like. So we would stop & rest & I would say this to them, again. Today I said it to myself several times, & you sort get to see the view from the pics. I also walked to the lower falls, all total it took me almost 2 hours, excluding rests. I was whipped! I later realized that I was at 5100 feet elevation & that surely made a difference.
At both falls I lay down on a rock on my back & tried to listen to the stone people. There were several splendid butterflies about that kept lighting near me. They reminded me of LaVerne, as I had read in a grief book that the butterfly symbol was everywhere in the Nazi death camps. It reminded people that there was a life after this one. We just don't know exactly what it will be like. So here's a butterfly & the rock, and a butterfly & wood.
What another fine day this has been. Tomorrow may go to DuPont state park & see if I can catch a fish. Look out Alan! It's fly rod time!
I love that area up there. I grew up going there as a kid to my Grandmother's house in Little River.
ReplyDeleteGo to Hooker Falls if you go to DuPont State Park. :-)
I had planned to go there today but it's raining, so I'm in a coffee shop with WiFi enjoying my time on the web. Put a pic of you on facebook today. Enjoy!
ReplyDelete