Change

The humidity was oppressive, it seemed to weigh down on me making every slight movement feel intentional. It was as if forcing my limbs to cut through the thickness of the air. I had never felt such a heat in my life, which was hard to believe considering I was born and raised in the dessert valley of Arizona.

I looked over to a hiker passing me on the trail and asked "Hey, what's the temperature out here today?"

"Well mam it's a hot one today I reckon it's gonna hit about 90 degrees today but you can cool off at the top there's a beautiful breeze up yonder" the man responded, his thick southern drawl hanging on every word.

I thanked the man and stood there in disbelief. Just one more reason to hate this God forsaken place I thought. I had recently been transferred to Charlotte, North Carolina from Pheonix, Arizona when the bank I work for was bought by another larger bank. A few of the more friendly, receptive, girls in the office suggested that I get out and see the state so I could better appreciate the beauty of it. I must of worn my distate for the place like a scarlett letter. I had seen the Grand Canyon and the Painted Dessert and was quite positive that some stinking mountain was not going to change my opinion of the South.

But giving them the benefit of the doubt I wiped the sweat from my forehead and continued on my trek up the trail when I passed a sign pointing to the gift shop for Blowing Rock National Park. A heart attack seemed certain if I did not find my way to air conditioning soon so I set my sights on the gift shop.

I wandered through the gift shop picking up little trinkets and cursing capitalism for seeping its way into everything. I passed through the gift shop which was the only access to the scenic overlook and I paused to read a caption on the history of "The Blowing Rock". I read the story of "Two star-crossed lovers, one each from two batteling tribes, were walking near The Rock when the reddening sky signaled to the brave that he must return to his tribal duty, and the maiden urged him to stay with her. His desperation in choosing between duty and love caused him to leap from the edge of the gorge toward the rocks below, while the maiden beseeched the Great Spirit to bring him back to her. The famous winds of the John’s River Gorge blew her lover back into her arms."

"Well I'll be", I sighed then smiled kind of staring off at nothing, visualizing the story I had just read of the rock.

A sales clerk from the gift shop, a short, stalky, elderly black woman cleaning up around me looked over at me and must have recognized I was a sucker for a love story. She said "you know it's true dontcha miss?"

I was startled out of my day dream and said "Well it says here it is just a legend."

"Yes mam it is, but it's true you just go out there and feel that there wind in your face mam and you'll see. It's just beautiful up here I've lived in these mountains my whole life and there's one thing you can count on and that's the wind blowing off the rock" she said.

"Well thank you, I will just come back in and look around after I see the rock." I said feeling suffiently cooled down enough to continue forward with my sight seeing adventure.

"Well you just do that miss, and most of these here souvieners and such are made by local artisans we have some beautiful stuff in here. Now you go on and have yourself a blessed day" she said as she returned her attention to dusting off the trinkets before her.

I stepped out the door of the gift shop and put my sunglasses down over my eyes. The catwalk all around the scenic area of Blowing Rock National Park was beautifuly decorated with the most beautiful perinials in huge ceramic pots and moss filled hanging baskets. It was still hot but it did not seem as unbearable as it had before. The hiker I passed on the trail was right there was a beautiful breeze blowing off the surrounding mountains and it seemed to touch my moist skin and cool me.

I picked a MOuntain Laurel out of one of the pots and stuck it behind my ear and turned to see what was so special about this place. I was immediately taken back by what seemed like an alien place to me. The mountains seemed like they stretched on forever, not at all like the mountains of my native home. They were shrouded in trees the rugged rocks seemingly covered in a blanket of growth. Growth that shaded it during the summer and offered it warmth in the winter stretched on for as far as I could see. From that spot I could look out and see Grandfather Mountain and Table Rock, it seemed like I could see into forever.