Monday, November 26, 2007

THE MOUNTAINS

Thanksgiving vacation just isn't complete for me until I take my annual ride through the mountains near my home, so Saturday afternoon, Tom, Chintu, and I took off on some backroads and around the Grandfather Mountain Viaduct on the Blue Ridge Parkway to savor the beauty of the land.
The picture to the right is of the back side of Grandfather Mountain. As I gazed up at the huge, outcropped rocks, the sky served as a soft background to the starkness of the leafless trees and few evergreens.
When I did a 180 degree turn, and the view below awaited directly behind me. Miles and miles of rolling, purple hills down in the valley, unobstructed by houses, roads, or anything else manmade that would interrupt the sight.
And then, to top it off, I looked directly above me and saw a huge red-tailed hawk circling in the distance. I did my best hawk call, and sure enough, the bird floated my way and circled directly above my head for a long, long time. Note: I tried to get a photo of the bird as it soared in circles so effortlessly above me, but 1) I got dizzy trying to keep it in view long enough to get the camera adjusted for a shot, and 2) I came close to falling off the trail and down the hillside.
Needless to say, everytime I am in the mountains I feel very, very humbled by the majesty of my surroundings and very, very grateful to have grown up in this beautiful area. I've always felt protected and embraced by the mountains, and it is among them where I feel most at peace and grounded.

4 comments:

Very Mary said...

C'est magnifique!

Anonymous said...

Hello again, your classmate here. I love this post about the mountains. I too am very grateful to have grown up in Boone. Thru the years, I have tried living in other states, but have never been happy or felt at home, so now I am back to stay. (Not exactly in Boone, but only about 45 min away)
Wondering if it is ok to continue posting clues here on your blog or would you prefer my email address?
Either way is fine with me.
mollybme@embarqmail.com

Tanya said...

Posting clues is fine with me..I just can't figure out who you might be. Did we have classes together? Give me a couple more hints. If I can't figure you out, then I'll give up...:0)

T.

Anonymous said...

I really don't remember us having any classes together at all. Only speaking Hello when passing in the halls. But I'll make it a little easier. Go to www.eons.com
Click on the little circle that says "People" Then on the left where it says Members ...type in
Mollyb123 and click search.
This will take you to my profile,(then click the strange picture). This still doesn't give my real name, but there are several recent pictures of me there. If you still can't tell from the pictures (since it has been almost 40 years since graduation ...ARRRH...can you believe that!! ) then I will give you my name. :) ~Cheers~ ~"Molly"