History Preserved

From Helen:
Jay told us about a plaque he hiked past on which many hikers had placed little mementos and coins. The plaque was in memory of Ottie Cline Powell whose body was found on April 5, 1891. It is a sad story about a 4 year old who strayed from the school yard and was forever lost. For the complete story, go to http://www.blueridgecountry.com/archive/ottie-cline-powell.html .

Mark carefully avoided any hint of poison ivy to allow us to
get a picture of him by this old stone wall.

To think of people who lived in these mountains so long ago and went about their daily lives brings me a sense of connectedness that extends deeper than the back-to-nature joy I feel whenever I'm outdoors. I appreciate so much that people care enough to put memorials and post stories about the history of these mountains. When Mark and I were hiking with Jay we passed a stone wall. It didn't look particularly ancient, but we enjoyed thinking about what might have been.

Giant natural stone couch along the AT in VA,
near Buena Vista.

Nature even gives us pause by putting stones and trees together in a way that makes one think of prehistoric days or fantastical tales. We came upon a "couch" of boulders during our hike with Jay. Sitting on it made us feel the size of a child's dolls. So many things to see when we're out there!