recap: the Gorge

#naturalbridgestatepark

My overnight in the Gorge commenced as soon as I left Tazza Mia for the last time. Half celebrating the closing of the coffee shop and half pondering the future, I aimed to spend as much time in meditation and nature as I could muster. The drive down was only about an hour and a half, and as soon I checked into the Li'l Abner's Hotel, I threw on a sweatshirt did the long roundabout trip up to Natural Bridge Arch. I've found that when it comes to hiking, I don't leisurely stroll: I hike. I kept passing groups of people, couples ambling about, and more than once had to slow down because a slow group was taking up the path. The guidebook said my hike time should've been three hours, but I reached the Bridge in twenty minutes, and after admiring the beautiful vista, the trip back took me about another twenty minutes. A three hour hike in less than an hour? I'll take it. But, boy, was I winded; but that's the point: I want to feel exhausted after a hike, so I push myself and don't let myself slow down no matter the terrain. I left Natural Bridge and headed out to Chimney Rock (one of my favorite little trails). The trail follows the top of a narrow cliff, and at the end there's a beautiful stone-work look-out with a fantastic vista of rolling wooded hills and monolithic rocks jutting from the earth. I spent half an hour there, all alone, watching the sun as it set, lost in thoughts and prayer; my time was ruined by a Wedding Party looking to get some pictures at sundown. 

I got back to the motel around 8:30 and spent the evening reading the psalms and praying over my future. I had so many thoughts that I filled a couple pages in my journal. I went to bed confident of this: I'm more at home in the country than in the city. I need woodlands for the sake of my soul. I woke early in the morning, and after coffee and my devotional, I headed out for Round 2 of my Gorge trip: lots of driving and lots of hiking.

#thescenicdrive

I took the Scenic By-Pass (a forty-mile road) around the Gorge, hiking small trails jutting out onto the road (Military Wall Trail and Tower Rock). I pulled off the side of the road along the Red River, and I climbed atop a boulder leaning out into the water and sat with my legs dangling, sipping a slender bottle of Ale-8 and admiring the red-hued water splashing against the side of the rock as it made its way downstream. I did some more pondering and praying and then left the Gorge behind.

I would call it a successful short weekend trip.

And financially easy, too: only about 120 bucks.

I'm thinking I'll take another in October. 

Hocking Hills, maybe?