Mosaic of Life

On the first morning of my annual pilgrimage into the Smoky Mountains for a mental reset and some great hiking, I was greeted with the scene below.

A gentle breeze took away any coverings of an inspiring morning.  Morning’s light, full of hope and new beginnings, faded in and out from behind a thin sheer of clouds off to my right, above a high ridge line. After a while the sun lit up the side of my face and felt like a warm cloth. The trees were bare, leaving a mosaic of the winding road below, and the hills beyond.

The road below; it was there before me and will likely be there long after I am gone. Beauty is carved out through time, following natural terrain. Nature’s flow. A beautiful life should follow that pattern with the natural mountains and valleys (our belief systems) carving out a boundary for when we step out too far. But not too rigid. It’s okay to have the hairpin turns to slow us down from imminent disaster, and we can go around a mountain when it serves no purpose to climb it.

The view can be spectacular along this twisted journey, but we can’t see too far ahead with the upcoming turn. Be spontaneous, enjoy your road trip, stop along the way, and soak in a good dose of life.

Alum Cave to Mt. LeConte

I took a whirlwind vacation around July 4th weekend this year. The main attraction was a long-planned family reunion in North Carolina, but I took advantage and headed up into the Smokies on Wednesday afternoon 7/2, catching a quick hike at Clingman's Dome.

The next morning I headed to the Alum Cave trail head, and after listening on on a ranger's instructions for a large group she was leading up to the bluffs I headed out.

Sounds of the river are mesmerizing on this first section of the trail. It's enough to put me into another world. The water whispers its secrets to anyone who takes the time to properly tune in.

                                          The bluffs are a sight you have to see in person. Not an easy place to express with a camera. On up past the bluffs I passed Gracie's Pulpit, and thought of her singing her hymns here as she rested and took in the views. Further up the steel cables become common, and you get to experience the rock ledges that are perfectly safe in July with no ice or snow, but they just might catch your breath if heights bother you.

This turned out to be my second trip to the LeConte Lodge, the other being a 13.8 mile hike last spring with my daughter, up Rainbow Falls and down Bullhead. This time I started solo, but met up with a gentleman who turned out to be a good hiking partner for the day. Lots of interesting stories, and someone who enjoys nature as much as I do.

Despite it being 7/3, the temps were milder than normal with no rain. At the top the fog was packed in so thick I thought I felt rain. The llamas were camped at the top, resting for their journey back down Trillium. Seems they got the holiday off on Friday, so a rare Thursday delivery of supplies was scheduled.

The trail is a classic. My first trip to the lodge via Alum, and it's one I'll do again.

The next morning I got up early, with maybe four hours of sleep, and drove across North Carolina on Friday 7/4. In between a great reunion I also visited Fort Macon and the Outer Banks on days trips from the house. As I drove past Alligator River Wildlife Refuge I looked down a dirt road on my right and watched a black bear go across the road. Another place I'll return to for a second pass.

Key West Visit

I finally visited Key West last week. It’s been on my bucket list for some time, but I haven’t had a chance to go down long enough to justify the long drive. This time I ended up with an abbreviated eight hour visit, courtesy of my first cruise, with Key West as the first stop.

Only twelve hours into the cruise we stopped at Key West, which began with a shuttle tram through a military base where the Navy Seals train. No pictures during the ride through the base, but I got plenty of shots later, which I have added below.

Eight hours is just enough to touch the edges and not get into the depths of what the town is all about. I put my backpack on and walked for hours. I like seeing details, and I don’t see as much of that from a tour bus, although the commentary is interesting. Walking through a few shops and checking out the historic seaport covered my first couple of hours, and then I headed into the neighborhoods, where numbers of tourists began to thin out.

At a crossroads where fencing marking the base I turned right and headed back up toward the crowds, passing the lighthouse and Ernest Hemingway’s house, then on to Duval Street. If anything happens in Key West it happens on Duval.

Walked in St. Paul’s Episcopal Church. A beautiful building, it may have been open because our stop happened to be on a Sunday.

Stopped in for a slice of key lime pie. One of my favorites, and it doesn’t get more authentic than here.

Feral chickens run loose on the island. They're protected by local law. And keep an eye out for a six-toed cat. Descendants of a cat owned by Hemingway, according to legend, they are in and about his house.  

The locals aren’t out until later, according to someone I spoke to. The bars fill up after the tourists leave, and the bars on the windows are to keep the residents from falling out. Guess there’s nothing like living in paradise.

The Key West sunsets are supposed to be legendary, but that’s one major drawback of a stop on a cruise. You arrive by daylight and leave the same way. Maybe next spring? I’d like to stay long enough to see Dry Tortugas National Park, by seaplane.

 Taken from the cruise ship as we left Key West toward Cozumel, Mexico

 St. Paul's Episcopal Church

 Key lime pie

 Wall outside Ernest Hemingway's house

 Lots of feral chickens live in Key West

 Shells in the concrete walk area

Responsibility

My daughters wanted off work for spring break next week, and both were told they had to be at work Friday and Saturday of their week off from school. First thoughts are why should a minimum wage job, and barely part time at that, get in the way of a week together during their final year of high school? But this is where responsibility begins. If you can’t be counted on when the stakes are low you just might set a pattern that will hold you back further down the road. They both committed to weekend hours so they could take care of school work on weekdays, and now is the time to follow up on their agreement.

Responsibility increases as we grow older and more mature, at least that’s the best laid-out plan. It makes or breaks us. For their current job my daughters show up and have someone tell them what to do, but even at their age they’re picking up the fact that their ideas can make things better, albeit within a very narrow avenue outside of the strict rules set in front of them. That’s the first step to having a life that isn’t full of setbacks and failures that outweigh the successes.

We can’t stay at the starting post. Standing in the gate all the horses are equal, but that changes quickly. Sitting around and waiting to be told what to do will push you out the door before long. Make yourself valuable to your employer or customers and you’ll stand a much better chance of enduring slow times and staying employed. We aren’t supposed to stay where we begin. Be prepared for bigger failures when you step out, but also glow in the possibility of rich rewards that are a distant thought for many. And with something to dream about and actually seeing the possibilities….that makes life more palatable.