Black Balsam Knob to back home!

Black Balsam Knob 

For our last day, we finally got to go to Black Balsam Knob off the Blue Ridge Parkway.  We were going to go several times, but the weather had other plans for us.  Which, as usual, the timing, when not based on my time but God's, was absolutely perfect!!
What a glorious day we had on this vista walk.  We got to "take in the medicinal air" as Jan would say as we were huffing and puffing up previous walks!  And truly enjoy God's great creation as we gazed upon the vista.

In this first picture, you can see someone we met on the path.  He is from Spain.  We failed to get his name, but he was very kind and got us excited about our plans for Spain.  He told us that there will be some wonderful picturesque views on hikes.  His pace was, of course, a lot quicker than ours, so we had to let him go it alone.

This picture does not grasp the beauty of these red flowers.  They were spectacular.

The obligatory picture of me, sitting down.

We fell in love with the fauna up here.  The fields were incredible.

Some parts of this hike, we were walking on a path only inches wide.  It made us feel as if we were going to be the only ones walking on the path, though we did meet several other hikers.

We love how the wind has shaped this tree/bush.

 

We did not get to Tennant Mountain, after two miles in, we decided to turn around because it was getting late. 

Here is proof that Roger was with me on this hike!  

Along the hike we met up with some wonderful people, whom instantly became friends.  Jay and Lori were hiking with their beautiful greyhounds, Mia and Luca.  We enjoyed their company as we descended the mountain.  We met up with them again at Pisgah Inn and enjoyed dinner together.

After dinner, on our way home, we realized that we were seeing a lovely sunset, so we stopped at one of the pull-offs and took it in.

We arrived at our Home Away From Home (HAFH) Saturday afternoon.

We only truly felt like we were home upon entering our church.  We so appreciated the loving embraces and the catching up.  We also were so fortunate to have been able to celebrate the Ordination Service to a dear friend, whom we will miss terribly.
So, now as we prepare for our next portion of our journey, we have been given several things to mull over in our hearts and minds.   One statement that I continue to hear in my thoughts was that no one is below our dignity to serve.  Our Lord bent down to wash the apostles' feet.  The Lord of the Universe washed feet.  And I am to do likewise, metaphorically.  I pray that I remain open to opportunities to serve.  

More Hikes in North Carolina

Grilling in the Rain

There are some times when you just want a burger!!  Or maybe just need to hang on with the guys.  Roger says that charcoal grilling is an event, not something just to get done.  I must admit, they did a great job.

We were very sad to have to say good-bye to Bob and Jessica.  They had to go back to the "real world" and go to work.  Sad face emoji, (I do not know how to insert one.) 

Carl Sandburg house

We decided we wanted to go on a nice, easy hike today so we chose the Glassy Trail at the Carl Sandburg house.  We were lured into contentment when we began our walk!

Lake at the beginning of the path for Glassy Trail

 It was quite nice, and then we started going up and up.  We ascended 650 feet in 1.5 miles.  Of course I complained!!  However, the view was totally worth it.  These pictures just do not grasp the grandeur.

God continues to amaze me with His artistry of this earth.  I am so thrilled and blessed with the opportunity to experience all His greatness.

So when we completed the ascending and descending of the trail we decided to check out a bit about Mr Sandburg!  Ingrid and Jan did the house tour while we (anyone who knows me will be so shocked and amazed) decided to go play with the goats!

Carl Sandburg's home
Mr Sandburg came to North Carolina to retire, but ended up publishing about 1/3 of his work while down here from Illinois.

The goats were Mrs. Sandburg's project.  She milked them and made cheese.  They were just so cute!

Summit Trail

We decided we needed to enjoy a day taking in the views of the Blue Ridge.  We chose to hike the Summit Trail.  I was quite grateful we had a warm up with the Glassy Trail.  This one ascended 750 feet in 1.6 miles!

But again, totally worth it!

We had to say good-bye to Ingrid and Jan.  Sad emoji again!

More Cousins!!

Russ and Janice met with us at Papas and Beer in Hendersonville.  Great time swapping family stories!

Sunset on way home from Hendersonville!

Grandfather Mountain

We decided we had to carry-on in our pursuit of God's glory even without our hiking buddies.  We set out for Grandfather Mountain today.  It is a quite grand ole mountain!

Here are two peaks of Grandfather Mountain.

We are awed by the size of these boulders!

 Some views from the mountain

We walked up to the Swinging Bridge.  Here are some views from the bridge

We were at this altitude here.  Roger liked the fun of having feet in the picture that tells us the feet!

 Roger went beyond the bridge to the side of the mountain and took some more pics!

I stayed behind!

Roger then continued on another trail that led to more peaks on the mountain.  He said some parts of the trail they used cables to pull themselves up.

We then went on to the Animal Habitat.  I enjoyed the bears.

 In the museum, they had this tree tumor on display.  It was quite magnificent.  Amazing that something that is considered a tumor can become so beautiful.  Kind of like God taking our ugliness and making us beautiful!

Linville Falls

On our way back from Grandfather Mountain, we stopped by the Linville Gorge for a hike.

Prayers for the people of Italy as they heal from the tragedy of the earthquakes.  Our hearts are breaking for the people who have lost loved ones.  It is amazing how fragile life is.  We never know, we have never been promised tomorrow.


Pictures taken from an online newspaper

God bless them all.