“SAVE YOURSELF!!!”
From a philosophical point of view, this expression can mean so many things as a mother and a wife. But, when you’re floating down the Deep Creek valley in an inner tube with a pack of mother/wives, it really does mean “SAVE YOURSELF.”
Last week, a group of old friends and new got together to rent a house in a little Smoky Mountain town called Whittier, NC, a “suburb,” if you will, of the quaint one-horse town Bryson City.
Despite the treacherous, switchback gravel driveway, we decided to strike out on a Saturday morning for what turned out to be a gorgeous hike in the Deep Creek valley. Gorgeous as in waterfalls, rainbows and butterflies gorgeous. I couldn’t wait to get home to tell our daughter that I saw first-hand where the fairies surely must live.
After the hike, the bright yellow and blue tubes were too hard to resist. One of our crew ran ahead to rent them for $4 each. After a quick-change in the public restrooms, we double-backed to start our “refreshing” downstream adventure. Naturally, hilarity ensued. I couldn’t help but think of how much our 8-year old son would love to do this.
That night, the stars were quite literally aligned. We got to sit on the deck and enjoy the stellar Perseid meteor shower. Catching even just one shooting star gives you that happy-lucky feeling that’s a notch above finding a shiny penny. Catching a meteor shower on a clear night in the mountains? Well. That’s just waaaayyy above. And, I thanked my lucky stars to be with such a great group of women. I also thanked my family, who I was really starting to miss, for letting this old mom have some time off for good behavior.
Butterflies and rainbows? Waterfalls and shooting stars? Are you kidding me?! Self - consider yourself saved.
I wanted to give a special shout-out to Yellow Rose Realty in Bryson City – this trip was supposed to take place nearly a year ago, and when the ringleader got hurt at the last minute and had to postpone the trip, they gave her a year to re-book. So, thank you for that unexpected act of class.
For more information about hiking in the Smoky Mountains, visit: http://www.greatsmokies.com/hiking.php
For more information about Yellow Rose Realty, visit: http://yellowroserealty.com/
