Shadrack Campground, Bristol, Tennessee
For the LORD is the great God, the great King above all gods. In His hand are the depths of the earth, and the mountain peaks belong to Him. The sea is His, for He made it, and His hands formed the dry land. Come, let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the LORD our Maker! Psalm 95:3-6
Addendum: I forgot to add our mileage this time – 427 miles and 7 1/2 hours from Mogadore to Bristol.
Before I get into today’s adventure, let me start by saying, “HAPPY HALLOWEEN!”
I enjoyed Halloween as a child. I enjoyed it as a mom. We carved pumpkins (turns out that’s an Irish tradition to ward off evil spirits from the home), we dressed in homemade costumes (nothing evil or bloody), and went door-to-door (in the dark) asking (begging in my day) for a treat. My Mom used to tell this Halloween poem every year – and probably during the year, because we all enjoyed it so much. She can still remember it!
I still enjoy a good scary or fun movie (like Sixth Sense or Beetlejuice), but never slasher or gross or most of what passes for scary today. Today, it’s just gotten out of control (in my humble opinion). Nowadays too, the costumes are almost always store-bought and many are violent. And the adults have these elaborate decorations and parties. And haunted houses, etc. are all the rage. Some even advocate violence by having people sign waivers so they can be attacked in various forms and not hold anyone responsible for it. Seriously? People pay for this? Strange world we live in.
I looked for the origin of Halloween and found that it most likely started with the Irish. The Celts to be precise. Over 2,000 years ago, they celebrated the festival of Samhain (Druid religion) as the beginning of the Celtic year, which was November 1st. Besides being the time to start preparing animals, crops and homes for winter, it was said to be a magical time when important battles were fought and fairies cast spells, and barriers between the natural world and the supernatural were broken. They believed the dead could walk among the living at this time, and the living could visit with the dead (who they believed held secrets of the future). In later times, people would leave out food and candies for the dead, in the hopes that the spirits would leave them alone. They also carved out turnips and rutabagas and put burning embers in them to ward off the evil spirits of the dead.
In the 800’s, the Roman Catholic Church created All Saints Day (November 1st) and two hundred years later, All Souls Day (November 2nd) to honor Saints and pray for the souls of the dead. It was their attempt to try to incorporate the church into the pagan holiday.
In the United States, Halloween originated with the early settlers who came from England and brought with them various beliefs about ghosts and witches. In the 1800s, immigrants from Ireland and Scotland brought their traditions. Following were the Germans with their vivid witchcraft lore, and then there were also the Haitian and African peoples who brought their native voodoo beliefs about black cats, fire and witchcraft.
Today, Halloween is second only to Christmas in terms of spending. Over $2.5 BILLION is spent on Halloween every year. No wonder the stores come out with their stuff earlier and earlier!
So that’s my Halloween take. Have fun with the holiday! Not gross or violent, but spooky fun!
Here’s my Mom’s poem the way she recites it – make sure you read/tell it with feeling. Mruh-hah-hah-hah . . .
Little Orphant Annie – by James Whitcomb Riley in 1885, as told by my mother (a few variations from the original, but not many)
Little Orphan Annie’s come to our house to stay,
To wash the cups an’ saucers up, an’ brush the crumbs away,
An’ shoo the chickens off the porch, an’ dust the hearth, an’ sweep,
An’ make the fire, an’ bake the bread, an’ earn her board-an’-keep;
An’ all us other chillins, when the supper things is done,
We set around the kitchen fire an’ has the mostest fun!
A-list’nin’ to the witch-tales ‘at Annie tells about,
An’ the Gobblins’ll git you!
If’n you
Don’t
Watch
Out!
Onc’t they was a little boy wouldn’t say his prayers,–
And when he went to bed at night, awaaay up stairs,
His Mammy heerd him holler, an’ his Daddy heerd him bawl,
An’ when they turn’t the keevers down, he wasn’t there at all!
They seeked him in the rafter-room, an’ cubby-hole, an’ press,
They seeked him up the chimbly-flue, an’ ever’wheres, I guess;
But alls they ever found was his pants an’ roundabout–
An’ the Gobblin’ll git you!
If’n you
Don’t
Watch
Out!
And oncst they was a little girl who’d always laugh an’ grin,
An’ make fun of ever’one, an’ all her blood an’ kin;
An’ onc’t, when they was “company,” an’ ole folks was there,
She mocked ‘em an’ shocked ‘em, an’ said she didn’t care!
An’ just as she kicked her heels, an’ turn’t to run an’ hide,
They was two great big Black Things a-standin’ by her side,
An’ they snatched her through the ceilin’ ‘fore she knowed what she’s about!
An’ the Gobblins’ll git you!
If’n you
Don’t
Watch
Out!
An’ little Orphan Annie says when the blaze is blue,
An’ the lamp-wick sputters, an’ the wind goes whoo-oo!
An’ you hear the crickets quit, an’ the moon is gray,
An’ the lightnin’-bugs in dew is all squenched away,–
You better mind yer parents, an’ yer teachers fond an’ dear,
An’ cherish ‘em ‘at loves you, an’ dry the orphant’s tear,
An’ he’p the poor an’ needy ones ‘at clusters all about,
Er the Gobblins’ll git you!
If’n you
Don’t
Watch
Out!
First stop today – a gas station. Intending to fill up on the way, we headed out. However, the drive turned out to be void of stations, and soon the ‘ping’ of the low fuel warning permeated the interior of the Jeep, becoming more and more frantic as we moved down the road. As we approached Elizabethton (founded in 1799), we were relieved to see gas stations!
Entering Elizabethton.
That’s quite a monument.
But, remember what I told you yesterday about the road? Yeah. An extra half-mile down and then back. All the while – ping….ping….ping…… We know! We know!
Sometimes it just doesn’t pay to tow empty (less weight to pull, better fuel mileage on the coach). But we made it, and were able to continue on out scenic drive through the color-filled mountains.
Today’s destination was a 30-minute drive to a portion of Cherokee National Forest,
to a place called Laurel Falls. Billed as a moderate, 5.8 mile trail, there was nothing in the description to indicate the stunning beauty we encountered! Unspeakable! Glorious! God-designed beauty!
We’ve arrived!
I’m thinking this sign will need replaced before too long . . .
Interesting facts they had posted
It turned out to be a practically perfect hike with plenty of Fall color, alongside a rock-strewn river, temperature a little cool to start, but warming, oftentimes relatively flat, with just enough rocks and hills thrown in to make it interesting. And the views! Just wait!
Although we did well, we’re still a bit out of shape from a month of inactivity – not even jobs to keep us running around.
By the way – my doctor informed me that I’ve lost ten pounds since last year! I had no idea! I highly recommend my weight-loss program. It sure beats dieting and going to the gym.
I wish you could experience the day we were blessed with, but pictures are the best I can do. It was one of my favorites of all time – probably because of the Fall color.
A teeny, tiny discovery of a teeny, tiny cave. : )
Good thing we wore our boots today – – and took our poles!
What’s that?
A marker for a “bearing tree”.
No, it doesn’t mean it bares fruit, silly.
It’s a marker so surveyors can get their true bearing.
If you go back to the previous picture, there’s a red-painted pole in the ground, too.
Everywhere we looked was gorgeous!
Blaine’s creative photography. Pretty cool!
Rest time!
Looks worse than it was. Honest!
Even the tiny fungus was beautiful!
These things are probably about the size of a fingernail.
Believe it or not!
We had to traverse a narrow rock ledge.
Our first look at Laurel Falls.
Wow!
We took a different route part of the way back.
We didn’t really know anything about it, but turned out to be along the ridge rather than the river. The climb was tough, but there were rock steps.
I feel for whomever put those in! Hard work!
The picture is straight.
It’s the rock that’s crooked. : )
The narrow ridge trail – – right along the edge.
Incredible! Simply incredible!
This evening, we Facetimed with family that was at my mom’s today. My brother, David and his wife, June were up from Alabama for the day. Unfortunately, they remembered to take the picture a little late and missed including our older son, Chris and his family.
We were sad to miss out! I accused my brother of trying to avoid us. . . . : )
June, David, Mom, Lance, Logan, Kyle, Shena and Kelli
What a wonderfully, blessed day!