Time for a hike

Yesterday was the first day of our weekend....and while I caught up on laundry and some household-type chores, Willie took a hike....starting out from the camp, going through the tunnel and then was met with this sight....

It took a minute or so before the deer knew he was there, and then it headed up the mountain, and he continued on through the beauty of God's creation

until he reached the first signs of civilization

Instead of calling for me to come pick him up (like he did last year) when he reached the highway, 

he just kept on walking making his round trip at least 12 miles!   Not bad for someone who keeps talking about how out of shape he is!  Then we finished the day with a dinner with the other SOWERs on the project, plus another SOWER couple who live in the area (FINALLY got to meet the Webergs).  Talk about yummy food....curried pork tenderloin with jasmine rice, spinach salad with manadarin oranges, garlic monkey bread, topped off with almond cherry cheesecake....oh, my!!

Today we headed out for a day of exploring....leaving the camp mid-morning and enjoying the blue skies and white clouds

We drove some of the most crooked roads through some beautiful mountains, but Willie wanted to check out the trailhead for a portion of the Appalachian Trail that he is thinking of hiking.  Thank goodness I'm not so prone to motion sickness as I was as a child....we'd have been in big trouble!  As it was, I thoroughly enjoyed the ride, and then we saw a sign for a tunnel ahead...not so unusual in the mountains, but when we saw this

we just had to stop.  Would you believe, the world's shortest tunnel?  Originally, it was a railroad tunnel through Backbone Ridge, and was later converted to a road.  See those people on top of the ridge....

well, when we made our way to that same spot, this is the view that awaited us...

It's also a VERY good thing that I am overcoming my fear of heights!

We also hiked up to Backbone Falls

....with no mishaps, thankfully. 

We even enjoyed an impromptu lunch of cheesesticks and clementines down by the river

where I was capativated by the crystal clear water and the reflections in such shallow water....

Then it was time to "hit the road" again

as we headed for Damascus, VA and information on the Virginia Creeper section of Rails-to-Trails.  Willie and I both were astonished at the incredible number of vehicles there...it's a VERY small town, but it obviously owes its existence to the Trail.  We are very excited about making this one more thing we check off our "list" of to-do's.  Then we made our way through Abingdon, home of the Barter Theatre,

and Bristol, all via any road we could find that was NOT an interstate.  After all, this was a day for exploring and we did...explore, that is, even stopping at this Flea Market (where just about everyone was packing up for the day)

until we finally returned to our current home, which was being enjoyed on this Labor Day weekend...

Looks like while we were out and about having fun, they were having fun right here!  

We are looking forward to the Lord's Day tomorrow, and to another productive week ahead....you never know what God has in store for those who serve Him!