On Rainbow Falls

My friend Lee told me about her favorite place, Rainbow Falls in Gorges State Park in Western NC, and so I had to make it one of my last mountain adventures. Scooter and I found it a few weeks ago in an area farther west than I'd been before in the Blue Ridge, and we took the 1.5 mile hike down to the gushing waterfall. Full with recent rains and, likely, snowmelt, the force of the water was mesmerizing, spray dampening everything in the valley.

You come at it from the valley and then can go down. Had it not been so cool and wet, I would have ventured lower.

 

And then you climb above, to see the water break around a bend, Turtleback Falls, and head for the drop.

We were right there on the edge, feet from the fall. But not scared. My time with these mountains has taught me that you have to test your willingness to reach a cliff, to have the full experience of living and trying to comprehend the force of nature. This is real life. This, the movement of water on rocks, the rush of air in your face, the heavy scent of green and nothing manmade, this is home.

On the edge

Back in March, Phillip came for his last visit before the move, and so we made the most of it. He saw, heard, smelled the ocean for the first time, as we walked along Folly Beach, SC, near sunset. The sand was cold, the water colder, but we walked together and listened to the waves.

Next weekend we walk together into a new chapter of our lives, as I move back to my hometown to live with Phillip and start teaching English at Hutchinson Community College.

There's so much more to say but, for now, let's just think of the beauty of the world, and the promise for tomorrow. Life is wonderful.