Into the Mountains

It's good to be in the studio on these cold winter days with my cup of tea and my music playing, having fun doing what I love best.  However, It's also good to occasionally escape into a  completely different environment and refresh my brain!  So when a friend called and invited me to go up into the mountains with her for the day, I saide:  "Yes!  Let's go!"

What an amazing sensation to drive up out of the low ceiling of fog into an open, pale blue sky!  As we climbed into the mountains, it grew colder and soon there were banks of snow along the road, a narrow tunnel through tall stands of pines.

We stopped at the mountain home of my friend's mother-in-law, a delightful woman in her eighties who offered us a cup of tea and cookies.  Her home, which was surrounded by gnarly, ancient oak trees, vegetable gardens, roses, and brick walkways, was charming.....a vision of my secret fantasy of how I would like to spend the very last part of my life.  (Strictly a fantasy because I couldn't handle the hard work of it--but oh, I loved those three big fat red hens!)

There was even a weaving studio with several looms in it, including one just like my beloved Glimakra countermarche loom which I sold ten years ago when I moved to a smaller home.  It was so good to see it, bringing up wistful memories of my own weaving studio back in the day.  Sigh.

After a short drive further up the road we came to a mountain Inn with a hot spring pool!  The ground was covered with snow and steam wafted up from the pool and made foggy streamers around the Inn.

There was a bridge across the river which led to hiking trails--must return in the summer to explore!

The river, at this point is rowdy and boisterous, lot of crashing white water onto rocks, then rushing on with tremendous energy!

Across the river were delicate white trees, so different from the pines:

A group of frozen musicians waited patiently in the barbecue area for summer to return:

We climbed into the pool and luxuriated in the heat and circlets of steam around our heads,feeling all the aches and stiffness creep away.  Softening, relaxing, melting into big hot water fish and swimming lazily around the pool.  A little big fish cruising is so good for the body/soul!  Blue sky overhead and fresh mountain air to breathe.  Aaaaaaaaaah!  Yes.

Then It was into the car again for the return trip. I so wanted to stay overnight and wake up to a mountain morning but Mr. Bill and the doodles were waiting.  Goodnight tall pines.  Goodnight warm steam foglets. Goodnight great river.  Goodnight blue mountain dusk.

In the mountains and beside the great rivers, I am flooded with love for the beauty of the American wilderness and all that it has given our country!  We must save this for our children, so that they, too, will love their mother Earth.

Gentle readers, my learning curve for a new computer and new operating system continues.  Within a few days, I hope to actually begin creating posts on my new laptop!  So far it has been a process of delicate errors.  In the course of figuring things out, I got addicted to a soliaire game called "Spider" which did slow things down a bit.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Comments

[Michelle Remys]

A beautifully written and photographed post! What a lovely adventure into the mountains!
x0 - Michelle

[Esther Pepper]

Thank you for sharing, EstherXX

[Myoriah]

Thanks for sharing those lovely photos. Glad you had a wonderful day in the mountains. Oh yes,and nothing is nicer than to be in the warm water breathing clean mountain air.

I'm getting ready to make a list of places to explore this Summer some trials are not hike-able until July or August.