The Beautiful Mountains of North Carolina

Yes, a little more background about me and not for any other reason than, I've been doing a lot of family trips recently! Last year, this year, and possibly as a tradition, we have gone on trips as an extended family: my Dad's family including my two sisters, Mom, and I, and my Dad's Brother's family, his three daughters and wife. Hope that's not too confusing! Anyway, this year we camped at Turkey Creek in Clyde, NC which is where I born and then lived for only a couple of years before we moved to Raleigh, Nc. It was very neat to be back in a place where I was born, many years ago, even though I don't have any memory of it.

The whole area, the mountains, the rivers, and the campground were all so peaceful, and makes me wonder what kind of culture-shock my parents went through when they got to Raleigh! My parents and I decided to get up before sunrise one morning and drive to Cataloochee, Nc which is a valley in the area where about 1200 settlers created a township until it was decided that Catalooche was a perfect location for a national park, and it truly is a gorgeous area. We went to watch the elk that inhabit the valley.

I've decided to break down the Cataloochee trip into a few posts. Today, I'll show you the elk and the photos I got while on our way to see the elk. Tomorrow (or when I get to post again), I'll show you the houses that are left in the park.

This group of elk were unexpected. They were in someone's side yard as were driving to get to Cataloochee. A very unusual sight, there were about 20 in this herd. I caught a glance of them as we flew past them, so we put it in reverse to stop and get several photos of them.

The sunrise - something I NEVER see!

On one side of the park were the bulls. They were not afraid of us and posed for our pictures!

I'm pretty sure this is when my Dad got out of the car to take pictures, this bull was not too thrilled about that. He watched my dad very intently - a tense moment!

Again, I happened to look back while we were driving to the other side of the park and saw this scene. Amazing! This represents the road I'm on - daunting and yet encouraging:)

I could feel God's presence at this serene moment...

We reached the other side of the park where the mares and calves were. We found them in a field and then waited as they migrated to another field on the other side of the gravel road.

I don't know this hiker, but I do like the composition of this photo:)

Where I Come From

I've already become a slacker on my new blog - it's true, but with good reason. Unfortunately, all I can say about that reason is my life in surprisingly hectic for someone without a full-time job!

On that same note, I have to say that a lot of the time, the "hectic-ness" is usually brought on by my own anxiety and panicky nature:( It's not ideal, but it is a great introduction to what I've been thinking about recently. The other day, I was driving down the road in worry mode - I can't even remember about what. I just remember making my mind stop racing for just a moment to think about what a very wise person told me years ago: When you start to worry and panic, determine what the real issue is that is motivating the worry, and then decide if it is worth the trouble of overanalyzing or has your mind blown it out of proportion. 9 times out of 10, my mind has automatically made a mountain...

The real point I'm making (and don't worry the point is not that I'm a worry wort) is that my character traits - good and bad - are part of my personality and are inherited! Yes, I have stretched my introduction clear across topics to show you my origins:) So badly I want to tell you that I have a "Dear Photograph" photo to share, but sadly I wasn't thinking at the time and didn't take the perfect opportunity while at my Granny's house a few weeks ago. In fact, for some reason and not because we ever do this, my Mom pulled out the photo books and we sat on Granny's couch for probably two hours looking through the 50+ year old photos. Some of which were of my Papa and his family standing around the yard on a Sunday, in the shade, playing croquet. I'll even admit that I thought "I know my uncle is going to pull out the mallets and ball at any moment, and I should get a photo of that so that the next generation can see that the tradition survived"...BUT I did not think to make a "Dear Photograph" photo.

I can't show photos of the boys of my family standing around in Granny's yard playing croquet anyway, because I haven't asked for their permission, but I did take some photos that represent where I come from...

This garage, though I don't think it has always been this bright of a color, is where my Papa fixed and improved all sorts of gadgets that he found. It's also where he did all his wood working. I can remember when I was very young and into Cabbage Patch dolls, and he made me a bed for each of them, and I got to help! I didn't take a photo of the basement where he also spent a lot of time with all of his many collections of bottles and vintage toys, because it has changed into a game room since he passed away in 2006.

This photo makes me chuckle - mainly because that's a straw in the poured beer, but I can't say that this represents where I came from, because I don't remember a lot of drinking while visiting the grandparents'.

Again, I've never seen this set-up before, but it definitely didn't surprise me to see it there. This is a homemade chicken spit! The container: an old, rusted barrel with an electronic spit attached somehow to continuously turn the chicken. I have to say, when I first saw it I was impressed with my uncle's ingenuity, but I was glad there were plenty of side dishes to go with the chicken. Once I tried it I was more impressed by the juiciest, most flavorful chicken I think I've ever had!

And this is my sister, Cathy aka CJ, with a little more of where we came from in the background;)

Revamping!

I've got to admit, I'm very hesitant about this revamp. I haven't blogged in the last few months, and I didn't intend to post anything ever again. I lost faith in myself, and my relationship with God is struggling. I'm not back with a new lease on life, and I'm not back to convert the non-believers or step on anyone's toes. I'm just back to talk about my journey on what I've found to be my passion: photography. I am certain of only one thing: Whatever it is that I do and have in my life is through Him. I don't know how or why, and I will never claim to be an expert, but I renamed this blog as a constant reminder to myself of the power of God's grace.

"My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness. Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong." 2 Corinthians 12:9-10

Every once in a while, I have a feeling and know that God is right there with me. This photo was taken in the valley of Catalooche in NC. It is a rarity that I'll wake up before 7 a.m., but I had an opportunity to spend some quality time with my parents in the beautiful mountains of NC, and I took it! We were on our way to spot the Elk (more photos to come in a later post), and I happened to look back and see this scene...I won't try to describe the feeling; I'll just say He was there.