Tri-State Peak, Stanford, and other Adventures

Though slightly drenched on Friday afternoon, neither our spirits nor our sense of adventure were dampened. Saturday morning was spent travelling to Cumberland Falls. I'd been there on family vacation several years ago, but I definitely didn't appreciate the grandeur by any means. The falls themselves are breathtaking and slightly mind-boggling. Just trying to follow the water from top to bottom made me dizzy. The landscape along the banks of the river is composed of forested hills and cliffs as well as rock formations that several of us decided to explore. (This was made much easier since our director had stayed at the college...=P)


Cumberland Falls


Rachel: Now don't pull a Pocahontas on me!

We ended our escapades back at the Gap by hiking the trail to Tri-State Peak. This is the point at which Kentucky, Tennessee, and Virginia meet. I know it's cheesy and lame, but I was pretty excited to be in three places at once. I promptly updated my facebook status to say something to this effect, to which my dad commented "Four if you count confusion!" Thanks, Dad...Love you too. Ha-ha.


Three states at once!

This week find us in Stanford, KY, staying at the Kentucky Disaster Relief building. We had been under the impression that we would have no mattresses, so the staff was quite excited when we discovered the bunk beds. A couple from the church invited us over for swimming and a cookout last night. The much needed downtime was greatly appreciated. I'm informed that we'll be going to see "Turtleman" this afternoon. Apparently he wrestles snapping turtles... I'll try to contain my enthusiasm...

*Pray for hearts to be open to God.
*Pray for endurance and rest for the staff.
*Pray that I will turn my decisions over to the Lord.

Rain Forest

Got to explore some of the Cumberland area this afternoon. Absolutely beautiful! It did rain on us when we got to Pinnacle Overlook. Actually, it stormed. We ran back to the vehicles to wait out the rain for a while, then went hiking in the rain for about an hour. Despite the rain, it was one of the most glorious experiences of my life. This area of the state is breathtaking. I'm excited about going to Cumberland Falls tomorrow and the possibility of coming back to explore the Gap further. The haze is lifting from the mountains as I type this.

Being out here makes me wonder where in the world I'll end up one day. I don't know what the Lord has in store for me as far as where I'll be serving, but I hope it's half as beautiful as it is here. I drank from a mountain spring today. It's a very small thing-not an overly exciting experience-but very different nonetheless. I'm grateful for the adventurous spirit God has given me to enjoy things like this.

No more time to write. Back to Internet-less, cell signal-less Clear Creek. =]

Oh, I would also like to add: Middlesboro, KY is the only inhabited meteor crater in the United States. Yes, that's right. The town in which we've been doing camp this past week is in a meteor crater. Pretty awesome if you ask me. Okay, that's it. =P