Initially, I had many different plans for this weekend. The very original plan was to go Virginia to visit Shuang Ning, then the trip to the mountains with my other exchange friends was postponed from 2 weeks ago to this week, but we postponed it another 2 weeks cos the trees still haven’t changed colours. Then there was the option to go Washington DC again with UNC people for urban missions, but I would have to miss 2 days of class, including a test on Fri. There was also the football game on Thu and the special talk on Fri at the NCSU student fellowship. So I thought, I’ll just stay in Raleigh this weekend to study for my International Finance test, go to Southpoint Mall with Christina to buy some summer clothes that are on sale, spend some time clearing my table and reflecting. However, it seems that God had something else planned for me :)
After the NCSU student fellowship on Fri night, Luyan told me that she can’t give me a ride to church on Sunday cos some of them from the student fellowship were going to the Great Smoky Mountains. When she sent me home that night I asked her about the trip again. It’s just something that the few of them planned, to see fall colours in the mountains. Then she said actually I could go too. I had like 5 minutes to decide cos it only takes 5 minutes to reach my hall and they were leaving at 5.30am the next day. She called to confirm that there’s still space in the car for me to go then it was set that I am going to Great Smoky Mountains with the Chinese fellowship people. It’s indeed a God-given opportunity!
So 7 hours later, I was all set to go to the mountains! The Great Smoky Mountains National Park stretches over North Carolina State and Tennessee State, and is the largest wilderness area in the eastern US. It encompasses over 500, 000 acres of Appalachian peaks and is the most visited national park out of more than 390 parks in the USA National Park System, with over nine million visits per year! The peak season to see fall colours there is 15-31 Oct, so it was pretty crowded when we went.
There were 13 of us altogether, riding in 3 cars. I only talked to 2 of them before, so it took some time for me to warm up to get to know the rest. It takes about 6 hours to drive from Raleigh to the Great Smoky Mountains, but along the way we stopped for breakfast, toilet breaks and lunch. Along the highways, the trees are still mostly green and few have changed colours. But as we drove higher and higher up the mountains, the fall colours became more obvious. We stopped at visitor centres and scenic spots along the way to take pictures.
At one of the spots where we stopped to take pictures, one of the cars had some problems and the car company was called to bring a cooler for the car. While waiting, the rest of us went up to Clingmans Dome, the highest point of the mountains, at 6643 ft, or 2024m. We drove there and had to climb for about 20 minutes. It was a cloudy day, so there was so much mist that we couldn’t see much from the top and it was freezing cold!
When we went back to the spot where the car broke down, the view there changed because the sun came out from behind the clouds and the colours on the mountains were even more beautiful. How amazing that the car actually broke down at a place with such a nice view. Here, I fully understood the meaning of “breathtaking view” because it was indeed so! I had never seen such beauty in my life before. It was simply AWESOME! But my camera phone ran out of battery by then so I didn’t get to capture the view.
What happened next was super hilarious. It was already 6 pm plus by then so we decided that one car will go first to collect keys then check in to the bungalow house we are staying at and prepare food for steamboat. The other car will wait with the car that broke down, in case the car company didn’t come and they have to abandon the car. But there were so many cars that we were caught in the traffic for almost 2 hours, when it should have taken us just 30 minutes to get to the place to get our keys. From there we headed to our house and we got lost for a while cos the GPS gave unclear directions so we took a big round to get to the road that leads up to our house. At that time we called the people in the other car, only to realize that they were actually in front of us! They had expected us to be there much earlier and gotten everything ready for steamboat dinner when they arrived. Anyway, we set off to unload stuff and prepare food and in 45 minutes we were all ready for a great meal, of which I forgot to take pictures again!
The next morning we headed to Cades Cove, a popular area for biking, picnic and walking trails. The weather that day was excellent, clear skies and the sun was out, so it was pretty warm in the afternoon. We were caught in traffic again but the surrounding view was beautiful too. The elevation here is lower so there’s more greenery and fewer colours. We stopped for picnic lunch at an open area near the visitor center.
What happened next was super hilarious. It was already 6 pm plus by then so we decided that one car will go first to collect keys then check in to the bungalow house we are staying at and prepare food for steamboat. The other car will wait with the car that broke down, in case the car company didn’t come and they have to abandon the car. But there were so many cars that we were caught in the traffic for almost 2 hours, when it should have taken us just 30 minutes to get to the place to get our keys. From there we headed to our house and we got lost for a while cos the GPS gave unclear directions so we took a big round to get to the road that leads up to our house. At that time we called the people in the other car, only to realize that they were actually in front of us! They had expected us to be there much earlier and gotten everything ready for steamboat dinner when they arrived. Anyway, we set off to unload stuff and prepare food and in 45 minutes we were all ready for a great meal, of which I forgot to take pictures again!
The next morning we headed to Cades Cove, a popular area for biking, picnic and walking trails. The weather that day was excellent, clear skies and the sun was out, so it was pretty warm in the afternoon. We were caught in traffic again but the surrounding view was beautiful too. The elevation here is lower so there’s more greenery and fewer colours. We stopped for picnic lunch at an open area near the visitor center.
After lunch we walked through some of the houses of the Cherokee Indians, whose homelands were these mountains and looked at the way of life of these people. Then we went on a trail and our objective that day was to find a bear! We didn’t see any bears then but we saw some deer. And I managed to take this shot. We had to creep up quietly cos they will run away upon hearing us go towards them.
After the short trail we drove along and stopped occasionally to take pictures. And just as we were going to head back to the house, guess what? We saw four bears and quickly stopped the car to get down and take pictures. I couldn’t get any nice shots though.
That night we had steamboat dinner again cos there was so much food left over. Had a really good time that night just talking and getting to know more about them and the ministry. This trip is indeed more than what I expected! God surely made this trip very worth it!
The next morning I woke up early to catch the sunrise. However, the house is in the middle of a forest so there wasn’t a nice spot to see the sunrise. This was the best place we found.
That night we had steamboat dinner again cos there was so much food left over. Had a really good time that night just talking and getting to know more about them and the ministry. This trip is indeed more than what I expected! God surely made this trip very worth it!
The next morning I woke up early to catch the sunrise. However, the house is in the middle of a forest so there wasn’t a nice spot to see the sunrise. This was the best place we found.
After breakfast we checked out and went a few more scenic spots before heading back. We drove along the Blue Ridge Parkway, which run from North Carolina all the way up to Virginia. We stopped at so many places that we had to restrain or else we would never get back to Raleigh.
The words and pictures here are a far cry from the true beauty of the mountains. At the end of it, I really didn’t feel like leaving. But when it’s time to go back to Raleigh we all had to. Similarly, when it’s time to go back to Singapore I will have to. Also, when it’s time for us to return to our eternal home in heaven we will have to as well. So treasure the present!
The 3 days at the mountains were the best part of my time here (other than the Niagara Falls) and one of the best times of my life too. It’s certainly a very memorable trip that God has given me and I am simply in awe of God’s wonders. Besides the beauty of the mountains and fall colours, God brought me a step closer to one thing I’m seeking Him for. What a wonderful closure to the first half of my time in the US!
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