The New Years Surprise

Cliff sure had quite the itinerary planned out for us the last three days and it kept us dancing the line between total relaxation and total busy-ness that is the ebb and flow of our life. I can't tell you how wonderful every moment of the last three days were, though. I mean, really. From the very beginning, Cliff had thought out everything with such a mind for balancing the things we love with the convenience of places nearby (which certainly kept things a little less expensive).

Wednesday morning, we hit the interstate with me having no clue as to what direction we'd be heading. A turn onto 65N, then 440E, and finally 40E left me guessing only a couple of places, none of which were correct. Almost the entirety of "Call of the Wild" by Jack London on CD later, we ended up in a tiny little town called Wartburg, TN, which happens to be close-to-home The Obed... otherwise known as the Obed Wild and Scenic River. B-e-a-u-t-i-f-u-l. Cliff had been to another part of the river once before to do some climbing with Aaron, but this time around he took me to a proper campground (the only one by the river) where we grabbed this great little campsite overlooking the rapids and the pedestrian bridge from the day use area. Getting this spot was easy because until about 6PM, when a true mountain man rolled up with his old pick-up truck and tarp tent (yes, I half considered our safety for like 5 minutes), we were the only people there. Cliff started a fire that lasted us well into the evening, over which we talked about our favorite memories and biggest challenges from the year. We dined lavishly on "cups of noodles" and roasted marshmallows, while drinking hot chocolate under a night sky full of stars. Even with temperatures near the high teens (which sure pushed our 15 degree sleeping bags to their limit), it was a perfect night and there's nothing like falling asleep and waking up to the sound of a rushing river by your bed. For certain. And that was our New Year's Eve. The quietest and least "festive" but probably one of my favorites so far.

Thursday morning we took our time getting and packing up. Cliff fixed another fire while I tidied up our gear and prepared our first meal of 2009. Hot chocolate and homemade instant oats. Mmm, mmm. Just enough to fuel us for a short jaunt along the trail that led from our campsite, along the river, and up onto a bluff with some pretty cool climbing spots. Definitely a place we'd want to come back to, is what we decided. Only next time, with kayaks and climbing gear in tow. Soon enough, we were back to camp, all loaded up, and we hit the road (not without a lunch break at gool ol' CB) for our next surprise location. Which turned out to be Chickamauga Battlefield in Georgia. Now, if you are at all surprised by this... you probably don't know us as well as you thought. Because we have been to more Civil War battlefields together than either of us can probably remember, and we've got the National Parks Passport cancellations to prove it. And Chickamauga is now probably my second favorite of them all (I really, really like Fredricksburg). The thing about Chickamauga is that it's got this really simple driving tour, a ton of monuments and plaques to read, and is the kind of place that's easy to enjoy no matter what your interest level is in the civil war, because the scenery is gorgeous and there's a ton of paths for hiking and biking. We're definitely looking to go back, because the driving tour was just a snapshot of all Chickamauga has to offer.

After Chickamauga we head back north towards downtown Chattanooga, which left me absolutely bewildered as Cliff hands me a mapquest printout and tells me to read him directions. I can't make out our destination from the address, and before I know it he's pulled into the roundabout in front of the downtown Doubletree Hotel. "SWEET!" I thought. Delicious chocolate chip cookies and a night's stay at a hotel in a wonderful city? He sure knows the way to my heart. Our room was great! But I mean, put a plush king-sized bed I don't have to make in any room and I'll fawn and fuss over it. We, after not showering in the previous 24 hours, cleaned up and then headed out from the hotel on a short walk to one of my favorite restaurants for dinner. Another great evening, it goes without saying...

And finally, today, being Friday, was probably Cliff's most masterfully planned day. We left our hotel mid morning and headed down Broad Street south of downtown on our way to find the McDonald's that we had been told was down the road. Or, at least Cliff had been told. McDonald's never appeared and before I knew it, we were at the base of Lookout and Cliff was taking a turn onto the scenic road that leads up the eastern side of it. He's faking the "I'm just trying to find us a place to eat" ploy while I'm sensing something else is going on, I just don't know what. Finally we see a sign for a Starbucks near Rock City so we stop off and grab a small bite to eat and some much needed caffeine. We hop back in the car under the guise of maybe heading to Point Park and he makes a quick right turn (across the street from where we were, mind you) into the Rock City parking lot. And there we have it, folks. The first surprise of the day, in more ways than one. I've always given Cliff a hard time about not taking me to the biggest tourist attractions in his home region and here we are, embarking upon a visit to one of them. And it was nothing like I expected... and that's a good thing. It was so cool!

So a good visit to the garden of boulders, canyons, overlooks, and even a swinging bridge, and we're on our way back down the mountain. But what do you know, we hit the base and we pull into the parking lot of the Incline Railway... a marvel of engineering that's going to take us back up the mountain? Indeed! A mile up the mountain in an electric car we go, and this time we're at the northern most point of the mountain, making our way to Point Park, the most well-known portion of the Lookout Mountain Battlefield - which is a part of the same National Military Park as Chickamauga. Now, I should mention this whole day has been overcast and we, each time we ascended Lookout, were literally in the clouds. But to add some unique perspective, the battles fought on the mountain were under the same weather conditions as well, so this visit - while not full of its famed vistas - was very unique in that sense. After a good walk around the Park, we walked a few blocks back to the Railway station and caught the car back down the mountain. Next stop, my pick: Mojo Burrito in St. Elmo for lunch. I went here once with Natalie years ago when we stopped by her dad's work and have dreamed of coming back. So when I saw the bright orange building hiding behind a warehouse at the base of Lookout Mountain, I jumped for joy and said "that's it!" And let me tell you what, it was as good as I remembered. It did not disappoint.

Post lunch, we were headed back into downtown, this time I had a stronger hunch than ever what was in store because I knew it was time sensitive. That only led me to believe we were on our way to watch an Imax showing of Jean-Michel Cousteau's Dolphins and Whales 3D. And I was right!!! So now, not only have I camped, spent the night by a river, hiked, eaten some of my favorite foods, slept in a luxurious hotel room, played around in rocks on mountaintops, and visited historic battlefields... but now I'm sitting in a theater watching my favorite animals in the world on the biggest screen possible with glasses on that make me feel like I can reach out and touch them? Kill me, this guy is good. I actually cried approximately six times during the forty minute movie and there wasn't even a plot (there wasn't supposed to be). When it was over, I didn't want to move. In fact, I wanted nothing more than to jump in a wetsuit, strap on some scuba gear, and find an ocean. Fast.

But I guess, a trip back up Lookout Mountain was my next best option or so Cliff thought, so we hopped back in the car. I stared him down quizzically as we ascended once again, this time on the northwestern side. I had another hunch but was surprised he managed to fit in something else in an already full day. But here we were, pulling into the parking lot of Ruby Falls, another East Tennessee landmark. And again, I was surprised not just by the gesture but by the actual place itself. I had no idea that Ruby Falls was a 145 foot underground waterfall reached only by a long walk through a really interesting cave system. The billboards just don't do the place justice. And I got a lot of practice time in for using my new external flash, which was a whole lot of fun!

As we finished up our hour and a half long tour and then worked on making our way back down the mountain, I couldn't help but feel that fullness of heart that comes from knowing that I am incredibly blessed to have a man who is so caring... so creative... and so content to spend time with me going to the places and doing the things we love... whether nerdy, fun, challenging, or all of the above.

Great Weekend!

As usual, fall in Tennessee does not disappoint. Especially when you're spending your evenings wrapped like a mummy in your sleeping bag and your days enjoying the sunshine and climbing up the more mountainous regions of the state.

With a halfway point in mind, Friday night we snagged one of the last two campsites at Cumberland Mountain State Park, located just outside of Crossville, TN. That night we enjoyed a headlamp-lit dinner of chili, and then roasted marshmallows and made s'mores well into the night. We woke up, grabbed a fueling breakfast at Cracker Barrel, and headed off for our main destination, Great Smoky Mountain National Park.

I had done some research on the campgrounds and decided we should go with the "hidden gem" that is Abrams Creek Campground. There are only sixteens sites at this campground and most of them line the creek itself, named for the old Cherokee chief of the town Chilhowee just down the road. With several main trails in the western portion of the park leading out from this campground, it seemed a good fit. We ended up (praise, Jesus) getting the last available site at Abrams Creek just across the way. We explored for awhile (about 4 miles worth) of a connector trail called Cane Creek before heading off to Knoxville for the UT game.

And BOY what a game that was! I am still hoarse from all of my yelling. I have yet to go to a losing game at Neyland and Tennessee (or at least their defense) did not disappoint. Kim and Jamie seemed to enjoy their first college football game, for sure!

After the game we drove the hour back to the campground and called it a night. Good thing we did, because we had a nice 10.5 mile hike to Abrams Falls the next day. After our hike, which was nice and tiring (but beautiful!) to say the least, we took a windy drive out to Fontana Dam to see the sites and let Kim and Jamie get their first taste of the AT.

All in all, a great weekend!

Weekend Plans

We're off here pretty soon on our camping weekend with Kim and Jamie... This should give you a pretty good lay of the ground we plan to cover in the next two days.


(Notice the little person kicking the ball? Yeah, that's the closest I could get to football. We're finally going to our first Vols game of the season, thanks to Jack and, ultimately, Dave!)

Hope you all have a great weekend!

Run (Walk...Hike) For the Fallen

I know I've had a chance to tell some of you about this, but I don't know why I didn't think to use this is a platform, either. I guess I forget that people really read this, and don't put a lot of faith in my reach. But oh well, it's never too late.

Today, we'll be participating in the Run for the Fallen final day event, which basically involves anyone, wherever they are, running or walking one mile (or more) for a fallen soldier service members killed during both Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom. The organization's goal is to have Americans run together, with a common purpose, across the nation. Their hope is to have everyone who goes out to contact them to let them know how far, where, and for whom you ran. They've already done a run across the nation where they placed a flag in honor of a service member at every mile along the route. It was a hot and blustery day when they came through here, but I had planned on at least doing something on the final day event.

Our plan is to run/walk/hike in honor of my cousin, Michael Glover.
We had planned to count our normal workout, plus a little more as our time. But instead, we're going out to the trails at Henry Horton this afternoon with some friends of ours and it should be a good time. It's not often that I take time out like this to remember and to honor Michael, but something like this is a great way to do so.

I would encourage you all, if you know of any service members to walk/run in honor of or if you go out for your usual run and decide you want to honor Michael with us, please feel free to do so. It would mean a great deal...

A New Year Begins

We're nine days into the new year, and I can hardly believe it. I can hardly believe all that has taken place, too, in just month's time since I last wrote. The semester ended and I finished with all A's, Cliff and I went out to Park City and had a great time skiing and hanging out with Aaron (you can look at the pictures on my Flickr account if you'd like), I travelled home and spent much needed time with the family, celebrated the start of 2007 over the course of a few days with Casey and Sara, went for an overnight hike up to Big Frog Mountain and got engaged at the summit, celebrated with family, got my wisdom teeth taken out, and have spent the last two days recovering and lounging around Cliff and Aaron's new dorm-like apartment in Nashville.

Class starts tomorrow night, Belmont's Homecoming is Friday night, and life is only bound to get busier from here on out, with work, school, life, and a July 21, 2007 wedding to plan for. I can't complain though, especially when I am reminded of God's faithfulness and His sustaining care. I wrote today in my paper journal about the hope that this year would be one not bound by calendars and clocks, nor carelessly lived with no regard for others and for what is taking place beyond my own little world (no matter how exciting and consuming it may be sometimes). I am excited for what is to come, realizing that everything takes time and that most things turn out best when I am least in control.

I have been so blessed, truly. This year will be challenging and yet so rewarding as I venture into a new stage of life, of love, and of commitment - as I join with my family in preparing for an event that will start a lifetime of adventure, struggle, and joy with my partner in crime. We sat at the top of Big Frog just six days ago, with the sun setting behind us and the full moon rising in front of us, and I said yes a thousand times over to a question I had only ever dreamed of being asked. But I was and I am more thankful, I believe, than I let on sometimes... thankful to God's bringing us together and preparing a path for us to walk down together.