13 women...

Mostly strangers, together for a week and we all survived. Actually we thrived. The journey began at noon on a hot Saturday in mid-July. We met, introduced ourselves, shared a meal and hit the road. Women in Service – that’s us. Headed for Lott’s Creek KY. Three vans with luggage, food, donations all headed south on I-75. 64 east out of Lexington, Mountain Parkway past Koomer’s Ridge Campground to the Campton exit. As we passed through Campton we stopped for a visit with Sister Amy who has served the people of the area for many, many years. She shared with us her knowledge of and love for the people. She talked of programs, progress, trials, natural disasters, and of people. People who are in need. People who come to serve. People who are like people everywhere. Sister showed us around the church and the grounds. The grounds were a little soggy but filled with people doing good things. We then headed down RT 15, past Jackson, Lost Creek, Hazard and on to Lott’s Creek. Our first sign that we were truly on the right path was the sign that read Lott’s Creek Community School 6 miles. We found the drive and took the branch to the right. We passed a cabin and at the end of drive we discovered the cinder block dormitory that was to be our home for the next 7 days. On the second floor we found the shower room (2 showers) and the bathroom (3 toilets, one without a shower curtain door that didn’t get much use). There were a number of bedrooms with 2 to 4 sets of bunk beds in each. On the ground floor there was the kitchen, dining room and small sitting area. The chairs were all cane chairs. There were rockers outside that faced across the road, pass the school and looked out on to a wonderfully green mountain side. Two of us were dealing with respiratory issues and decided to separate ourselves for the rest of the group at night for the good of all. We slept in the cabin which was the original house of the founder of the school, Alice Slone. The house was full of character and positive energy. The tasks for the week included, but not limited to, painting the inside of a four room house where 11 people presently lived, helping to mud and sand drywall in a new home being built, sanding and staining bleachers in the school gym (they recently hired a new coach which some people might appreciate-Rodrick Rhodes who played for UK and the MBA), working in organizing clothes and books for the thrift store and library. Meals and clean up were a group effort. Prayer was a part of our days. Evenings were spent watching DVDs of local interest, talking and learning. …….. It has been two weeks since I wrote the above entry. A lot has happened since then, most notably being the fact that we had to put our dog Comet to sleep. She had developed a cancerous tumor which caused a stress fracture in her hind leg. There is probably more that could be said about Lott’s Creek but at this point it will be sufficient just to let it pass in to an experience that will be reflected as part of my life’s journey.

The past week....

was an interesting one.  Last Monday we packed up the tent and headed to the Shenandoah Mountains National Park where we were to meet some friends for a few night of camping.

 We took an extra day and pitched our tent along the way at Greenbrier State Forest in WV.  This was the same place we camped on our way home for out Hostel trip back in May.  Same campground, same campsite, ate at the same diner.  The purpose of this side trip was to be able to visit Green Bank WV.  home to the National Radio Astronomy Observatory.  It is a couple of hours off the expressway but well worth the trip.  I don’t pretend to understand much of what I heard but the little that I was able to comprehend was truly remarkable.

We left the site in awe and wonder.  We headed to the National Park, crossed about 5 mountains on the way.  Ah, mountain roads, huge trucks, fog, a little rain, at one point a plane passed over and we both ducked – really we were that high.  But the pink mountain laurel was in full bloom – well worth the trade offs.  It was an exhausting journey.

Thanks to the senior pass we were once again admitted to the National Park fee free.   Now the Shenandoah National Park is a long one.  The road is 105 miles from north to south, not many turn offs.  We got to the campground found our reserved site and decided to look for another one.  We happened to meet our friends at the sign in booth so we searched together for those two perfect sites.  Sites found, tents pitches, dining canopy in place we headed for a ranger lead program in the evening.  Oh yea, there were pesky nats everywhere.  Seem like they might need to import some more bats.  These little critters did not give up – under the hat brim, in the ears, in the eyes, in the hair….  Luckily when the sun went down so did they, for the most part.

The second day we did another ranger lead hike along part of the AT.  It was good.  By chance Jerry just happened to wear his AT shirt so the ranger gladly let Jerry talk a lot about his experience.  I happened to remember that it was the summer solstice so we kept our eyes out for hikers – rumor has it that that day is celebrated as ‘hike naked day’ by some.  All the hikers we saw were fully dressed and loaded with their packs.  The day was a hot one so the afternoon we spent in the AC of the van enjoying the scenic views.

The next day we decided to look for water.  Having a fly fisherman with us proved interesting.  So the park is on a ridge top - but the water isn’t.  After a bit of searching outside the park we ended up at Shenandoah River State Park.  What a great place!  The river was beautiful – wide, clear, clean and shallow enough to walk across it (if you’re a little taller than I am).  We sat in the shade on the river bank and watch our friend show off his fly fishing skills.  The fish were fairly quiet until the sun moved down a little in the sky then the catch mounted to four.  Turns out that there was a heat advisory that day in the park that day so they were advising everyone who wanted to hike to stay on the AT since it is pretty level there in the park.  Guess it was a good day to wet a line instead.

Rain/storms were predicted that night so our friends had sense enough to pack up and head out in the evening.  We on the other hand decided to take our chances.  The night sky did not reveal the Milky Way to us as it did the night before and about 4:30 the wind kicked up.  Realizing that we could pack up and get an early start or go back to sleep and maybe be packing up in the rain we decided to see how quickly we could get thing broken down.  We pretty much have this down to a science so we were pulling out of the campground in less than 30 minutes.   It was a safe non eventful trip home – the best kind.  So ended another wonderful road trip.  Good friends, out in the woods, learning something along the way.

Sunday evening we went to be part of ‘the nuns on the bus tour’ event in Cincinnati.  You can google that if you do not know what that is and are interested.  It was a good experience.  I was hoping to see more people there that we know – but we’ll take what we can get.  Basis message – come on folks (politicians) what we need is ‘reasonable revenue for responsible programs’.

As an aside one of the speakers was talking about meeting Martin Sheen and although this was not a Vatican bashing event by any means she quoted Martin Sheen as saying that ‘the trouble with the Vatican is that it is the only nation in the world without children’.  Interesting point.   Thought it deserved a mention. 

While at the event we met an AT hiker, evident by his AT shirt and duct-taped shoes.  He is a section hiker but is also involved with the AT Conservatory.  He is also an author and composer of classical music.  So he has composed a piece of music from his experience on the AT.  It is due to be released next year.  Should be interesting.

More and more I’m realizing how in so many little (and not so little) ways the AT has touched our lives.  Conversations/connections/experiences/future plans/appreciation of people, nature, events……  Thanks Jerry for having the courage and craziness to do it all and for letting me tag along.

observations

Things of nature no matter what name we give them, no matter what our expectations are of them will always respond to what their nature calls them to. 

Our Christmas cactus is blooming in June. 

We have one blueberry on our blueberry bush. 

Our beans decided to produce only two beans.

Our redbellied woodpecker, after we build a special feeder for it decided not it show its self anymore.  It is still in the neighborhood , we can hear it calling.  Perhaps wants the old feeder that it shared with the starlings.

The humming birds have also made themselves scarce now that we’ve freshened their necter. 

The beets are alive and well - enough to put some up.

Peas are so green and sweet.

Tomatoes are poppin'.

And Venus is about to dance across the surface of the sun – or so it seems.

OH MY GOODNESS !

Yesterday a group of friends from days gone by were coming to the house for dinner, dominoes and conversation.  It is good to be reconnected again.

Before their arrival I went in to our garden to see how things were doing.  My hope was to pick some sugar snap peas to be eaten raw with our light meal.  There were so many peas just hanging there whispering ‘Pick me. Pick me’.  So I put my ‘pea eyes’ on (as my sister-in-lay Judy instructed us to do when dealing with peas) and went to work.  Yummmm! 

Next, I wanted to pick some lettuce for our sandwiches.  Greens, purples, yellow – what an array of colors.  Yummmm! 

Next, there was some little shoots of broccoli appearing, the ones that pop our after the big head is removed.  Yumm! 

Next, a little carrot called out to me ‘I’m ready!’  I had a hard time convincing the carrot that it had to leave its nice warn home in the earth in order for us to enjoy it – to fulfill its destiny as it were.  Finally with a few gentle words and gratefulness on my part it let go.  All 6 inches of it.  Wow and Yummmm! 

I so enjoyed cleaning and preparing all of them.  I was feeling excited and somewhat proud but mostly grateful.

Our visit was good.  We were so busy talking that we only made it through one round of dominoes.   The surprise of the night was that it was Sue T.’s birthday.  So we lit the tree (that will only make sense if you’ve been to our house), sang Happy Birthday and Sue blew it out.  A little later a candle found its way to our dessert so we sang again and Sue blew it out.   

It was a good night and a great display of healthy garden vegetables.

Simple pleasures!  Powerful blessings!

To Kayak or not to Kayak....

Monday Joanna wanted to go Kayaking.  Jerry was up for it.  I wasn’t too sure.  Our Kayak hadn’t been in the water for a very long time.  You could almost see it dehydrating.  The weather forecast was for rain morning and afternoon.  There were clouds in the sky but nothing threatening.  So we loaded up the kayak we had and headed up to Morgan’s at Ft. Ancient.

Joanna and I rented kayaks.  The three of us hit the Little Miami River

and we saw…

-          a gentle current that moved us along ever so slowly

-          tiny whirlpools left behind and created by our paddles

-          turtles who would have been sunning themselves on the downed trees, if the sun had been out

-          Little snake heads sticking out of the water every now and then

-          a mother ducks with  her 7 little quackers  close behind

-          fish trashing around near the shore

-          rapids, just enough to keep things interesting and to remind us where we were

-          blue herons, one perched in a tree, two others flying up the river over us

-          clouds, all unique in their shape and size

-          sun/shadows,

-          leaves drifting down from the trees, something they must have forgotten to do last fall

-          pedals from the tulip poplar trees floating on the water

-          a snake feasting on a fish, nature in action

-          welcomed cool breezes as the sun came out to keep an eye on us

-          river banks lined with roots, rocks and cabins

-          an indigo bunting

-          a man fishing in his waders

-          water dripping from the ends of the paddle and we worked to go with the flow

So if the question ever comes up ‘to kayak or not to kayak’ the answer is always “KAYAK!”

I don't get it...

and I suspect I never will.  Perhaps it is because I have never fallen in love 
with the A.T. as others have. 

Jerry and I went for a short journey this past week. Jerry had made reservations for us at Wood’s Hole Hostel near Pearisburg VA for two nights.  (http://www.woodsholehostel.com/ I encourage you to visit the website if you have time. This is a hostel is located ½ mile from the A.T. He stopped by there in 2010. At that time it was Trails Day Weekend in Damascus VA, a little further south and not much was happening at the hostel. Jerry continued to talk about the hostel and so two years later he made reservations for us to visit. We arrived about 4:00 in the afternoon after traveling almost 7 hours on the interstate, state routes, a gravel road and finally a one lane dirt road with cattle guards. The yard was in the process of collecting hikers for the night. 
The ‘house’ consisted in part of the original log cabin built in 1880. The couple running the place, Neville and Michael, were both very high energy and welcoming peoplethe place showed it. Raised bed gardens were everywhere along with bee hives, chickens, pigs, goats and an ever growing number of hikers. There is a bunk house where the many hikers sleep upstairs. The house included three guest bedrooms, a massage room, a living room, kitchen and two baths. We were in one of the upstairs bedrooms and shared a bath with a three bed room. The porch had two porch swings, 4 rocking chairs, two sling chairs, one table, about six other chairs, a hand carved 6’ bench with guitars carved on either side, a sign that said ‘leave shoes here before entering’ and one computer. Oh - and about 4 dogs, 4 cats and at one point the pigs got out and there were two pigs on the porch also. (The pigs were kind of cute and thought they were part of the family.)
So for the price of a nights stay the hikers got a full breakfast. A hiker size breakfast! There was coffee, juice served in Mason Jars, homemade bread with homemade apple butter, strawberry jam, eggs from the chickens with fixins’ from the garden, peach crisp, orange slices. All served up by Neville and a few volunteers. A person could also purchase dinner. Our first dinner was a wonderful salad from the garden, pasta and homemade tomato sauce and homemade bread. All hiker size! After clean up ---oh yea, clean up ---was done by Neville and a few volunteers.  The first order of business was to put the plates on the floor for the dogs to lick clean, then they went in to the dishwasher-the plates not the dogs. Then the huge cooking pots went on to the floor – for the dogs to lick clean. That was an interesting sight, their heads were completely in the pots. I was helping to dry the things that would not fit in to the dishwasher. Neville was washing. When you’d pick up an item to dry Neville would call out directions as to where the item went. ‘Right of stove, door on left, top shelf, middle stack.’ This when on for about 30 minutes. She did not miss a beat. After clean up she brought out the box on 100 ice cream cones and the 5 gallon bucket of ice cream. Bucket of ice cream went on the table and she stood on a step stool to scoop it out. The whole meal was quite an experience. Did I mention that this meal served 28 people? The meal was eaten off of real plates and people sat outside any where they could. Before the meal we joined hands in a circle and each mentioned something they were grateful for.
Neville mentioned that this was the beginning of their peak season. For the next 6 weeks or so they would keep up this pace every day. Did I mention that they were high energy people? Did I mention that she did Yoga sessions during the day and meditation session in the evening?
During the day Jerry and I hiked for a couple of hours on the A.T.. We were in search of some of his favorite wildflowers from the trail. As it turns out we are about a week too early. But he remembered the trail and was happy to be back on it even if I was slow and clumsy. At one point he stopped, looked off to the right of the path at a fallen tree and said something like ‘If I remember correctly there was a lady slipper blooming by this tree two years ago.’ Off he went to look for it while I stood wondering how a person could remember something that exact from 2 years ago when they can’t even remember to write dates on the family calendar. 
Jerry was able to provide some of the hikers with information about things that were just down the trail or in the next state or during the next six months of their journey.
The trail is not my thing. I do not have or ever will have a love affair with it – but apparently a lot of people do. 
We met some interesting hikers with interesting names and interesting stories. It was good to be a Wood’s Hole if only for a short time. 
On the way home we took an extra night and camped at a state forest in WV. It is always good to be outdoors!!
So what don't I get? People who are so generous as to open their home and their hearts to hikers
to so many stranger.  People who set out on a six month + journey through rain, hot sun, ups and downs, risking injuries and life changing moments - oh, okay, maybe I do get it...

Spring Break with...

the granddaughters to a cabin at Natural Bridge for two nights.

We hiked to Whittleton Arch, Rock Bridge, our favorite Frog Pond, Natural Bridge. Roughly over 5 miles in all.

We saw…
…wild flowers - wild geranium, wild ginger, red and white trillium, chick weed, bishop’s cap, bellwort, solomon’s seal, the beginnings of the pink lady slippers, wood betony, foam flowers, a tiny maiden hair fern, may apple (not the flower just yet), dwarf iris, jack-in-the-pulpits, violets, columbine all in full bloom.

… wild life (besides the kids) – frog eggs, tadpoles, salamanders,(found a great bargain on a little fish net that we used at the frog pond – probably terrorizing nature at its finest) a tiny snake, butterflies, turtles, life in the streams, a crawdad or two, flying squirrels, all kinds of insects, a jumping spider.

We heard…
….thunder in the evening as a number of storms rolled through the valley Tuesday.

…grandpa’s lessons on rocks, trees, flowers, water, and did I mention rocks?!

…grandpa’s motto: “You can learn something new every day, if you pay attention.”

….”Have they worn you out yet” spoken by a man on the trail when Autumn announced that we were her grandparents. We weren’t sure if he was talking to us or to the kids.

…”Thanks for bringing us here.” Spoken at the Frog Pond.

...”Here again next spring break? I don’t think so. We’re too tired. “ Spoken by Destiny at the end of the second day.

…”You alright Grandma?” Spoken by Deasia many times. I tried to convince her that I enjoy bringing up the rear, more time to take it all in.

The girls were a delight. Even after Deasia fell in to the stream and came up soaking wet she handled it well. Hiking in wet clothes cannot be fun. But she dried off and kept up the pace.

Maybe Destiny along with Autumn and Deasia will only remember the fun times and not how tired they were and they’ll be ready for another trip next Spring Break. Maybe Grandma and Grandpa will be too.