Rob, B and I decided to begin the year with a hike. We let B choose. She chose to hike to a place called "Devil's Marbleyard, described on Roanoke.com as having a "Gottasee factor" of 3.5 (0 - 4) and a "Gottabreathe factor" of 2.5 (0 - 4). Did we make a mistake letting her choose?
With Mannheim Steamroller providing the background music, the sun shone warm through the windows, lulling me into a peaceful relaxed state. What a nice day to be out. Ahhhhh. We parked the car at the "well marked lot," crossed a lovely wooden bridge and headed into the wilderness. The trees, the fallen leaves, the cold crisp air, the sunshine, the company. Ahhhhh.
It didn't take too long, however, before my "ahhhh's" became "ugh's." The trail was rocky. The rocks were covered with leaves. The leaves were wet. 3 water crossings - again, with wet leaf-covered rocks. After maybe a mile, we pass a young woman who responds to our "how much further?" with, "Oh, maybe a half a mile...and it gets steeper."
We finally reach our destination. A huge field of boulders - really BIG boulders. It reminds me of watching a child play with a toy dump truck. Fill 'er up, then dump it out. Except this was some dump truck! Rob's first comment was, "We are NOT going to climb on those!" Yeah, right. Up B goes. We sat there and ate our lunch with the view of those amazing boulders before us and the sound of melting icicles around us. Awesome.
For some, it would not have been a difficult trek at all. For others, like Rob and myself, it was a little strenuous considering our age, physiques and lack of experience. What it ended up being, at least for me, was proof that I could do it and it felt good afterward. If it is true, that what you do on New Year's day is what you end up doing all year long, then I will be working hard to see some awesome displays of God's handiwork, will indeed see them and will feel fulfilled, accomplished and blessed for the effort.
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