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The view from a different window |
2009-11-10 |
By Lois Wyrick |
We opened the door and I gasped with amazement at what I saw. The wall facing me was a huge window that went from top to bottom of the room and from side to side and I could see through the window to the valley and see all of the yellow and red-russet colors of the trees that were at the peak of their journey. I suppose I could have gone home at that moment because I had seen what we had planned to see. But I would not have done that because I knew there was more to see. It was raining and the view didn’t show as well as it should but I knew it would once the rain left.
We were staying at the Amicalola Lodge this time. We always select a different place to stay. We sometimes stay in North Carolina at bed and breakfasts or even make it a day trip and stay in our own bed that night. Our daughter, Cathy, and her husband, John, were with us. One of Cathy’s hobbies is photography, and she took some dramatic pictures of what we saw.
The next morning saw fog and nothing else. I wasn’t discouraged because I knew that it would burn off and it did. Yes, the view was breathtaking. That night gave us another gift with the view of the setting sun. It was red-orange and it hung across the mountain as if it were the frame. The sun kept us watching as it slowly descended. And I felt that God had given us a special gift.
The Cherokees saw the tumbling waterfall at the southern end of the Blue Ridge mountains and named it Amicalola because the word meant tumbling waters. The Cherokees controlled the area until they were forcibly removed from the land in 1838 and sent to Oklahoma Territory to live. To be at the base of the waterfall and see the flowing waters can take your breath. I can’t even imagine how the Cherokees must have felt when they were forced to leave. I can’t believe that our nation was so cruel.
We travel the same route each year with an occasional turn on roads we have never traveled. Our favorite route is to go over the Cohutta mountain range.
The Cohuttas and the Smokies are a part of the Blue Ridge province, yet they are actually geologically distinct from the Blue Ridge Mountain Range and quite a bit older.
The Cherokees considered the Cohuttas to be the “poles of the shed,” holding up the skies in their land. I can understand and grieve with the Cherokees as they gave up such a beautiful home place. The trip over these mountains is breathtakingly beautiful as the vivid yellow and the deep red color mixed with the green needles of the pine tree surround you with their beauty and you thank God for giving you such a place.
These mountains held not only beauty for the early settlers but wealth as well.
Agriculture was the major industry but lumber and mining contributed significant income to them. Once they has harvested the lumber the federal government bought the mountain land and created the Chattahoochee National Forest.
The Civilian Conservation Corps during the 1930’s worked in the park to improve the environmental conditions of the mountains, and reforesting areas all over Fannin County. Today, more than 100,000 acres of land in Fannin County is managed by the United States Forest Service. I am grateful for what they do as it assures us that this beautiful land will be ours to see and enjoy for a long time.
I have seen the Northeast and the bright fall colors and the mid-west and their colors. It is somewhat different but has its own beauty.
I am grateful that, we too, have the colors. I can never decide if the spring with the bloom of the dogwood, azaleas, and wisteria is my favorite or the fall with the tree colors and the wildflowers making their last hurrah known. All I know is that I’m grateful for it.
Our stay in he mountains created many memories. Cathy’s pictures have been a plus and we are back to routine. Cathy and John left Monday for a three-week cruise. I hope they have a marvelous time. As for me, I plan to stay right here and see the view from my window. Or maybe I’ll persuade Ed for one more trip to the North Georgia Mountains. I have a good reason to go there. We didn’t buy sourwood honey. I don’t know how that happened as it is usually first on my shopping list. And we didn’t buy any apples and nobody should go to North Georgia and ignore apples.
Wyrick is a Sharpsburg resident and a regular columnist for this newspaper |
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