We’ve been living in Raleigh, North Carolina since 2005, and we haven’t taken a trip to the mountains in over seven years. It’s not that we didn’t care to visit the high country. We were actually excited about the idea of exploring Asheville, Mt. Mitchell, and the Blue Ridge Parkway before we even made the move to Raleigh. We just never made it out west until the weekend before last Christmas.
We woke up at 4AM and headed out at about 6AM so that we could have a full first day in the mountains. Our Jeep Liberty is a little small for 2 humans and five dogs, but it has never let us down and we always manage to be comfortable by packing light, and filling every nook and cranny in the vehicle that doesn’t hold a person or a dog. We drove through Boone, NC, Linville Falls, NC and stopped in Hot Springs, NC. It is absolutely beautiful out there. Our dream is to buy land somewhere at a high elevation, build a home for ourselves to live in, and then build cabins that can provide us with income as rentals. The recent news of the return of Sasha’s cancer means that she probably will not realize this dream with us, but I know that she would be so happy living in the mountains. I imagine looking out onto our land and seeing Sasha with her nose pointed toward the sky, taking in all the scents carried on the mountain breezes. She would love the cooler climate. Our whole pack would love it out there. It would be heaven for all of us.
Anyway, here are some pictures from our first trip:
Oh, what wouldn’t I give to be there now?! So peaceful. So gorgeous. That is where my family belongs.