My Morning Walk

To the east the sun is making its presence slightly known. The red burning through the darkness setting the horizon ablaze. These mountains are notorious for their morning fog. Not as famous as their nearby cousins The Great Smoky Mountains but just as serene. The way the world looks from this vantage always astounds me. How could so much be going on in the world just outside of this tranquil landscape. This miracle is why I drag myself out of bed before daybreak and pull you along. Even knowing how you hate mornings.
We start out sitting on the old rock wall watching this amazing sunrise. You are sitting between my legs and my arms are wrapped around you from behind pulling you gently close to me. The warmth of your body leaning against mine is more than enough to dull the morning chill. There are no words spoken as now is not the time, and we are to enraptured in the spectacle of morning coming to life. And, I am enraptured in the beauty of the woman in my arms.
Once it has become light enough we begin our slow hike. We head east on a flat easy trail. The dew is still moist on the ground and shimmering off the leaves. I love watching you in times like this. Your curiosity and delight have always amazed me. You smile and point as squirrels scamper hither and yonder beginning their day as well. As in each trip I have made here I again see something new. I wonder what you are thinking looking at these scenes.
The trail comes to a fork and you have the option of which path to take. I expect you to take the one that is marked as easy, but you pleasantly surprise me and opt for the more difficult of one. We turn north onto that trail and continue our hike. The trail descends getting steeper and steeper. The trail snakes down through a series of large rocks. We have to watch our steps because a fall from here would be dangerous. I am paying extra close attention to you (what can I say I just can’t help it), trying my best to make sure you won’t fall. In the middle of the descent through the rocks you suddenly stop. I am curious as I catch your gaze. I turn to see what it is that you are looking at. It only takes a second to notice. About 75 feet away flying in lazy circles is one of the bald eagles that are prone to nest in this area. The sight of this is so breathtaking that we find ourselves sitting on one of the large rocks watching this show. Eventually (because today time has no meaning to me) the eagle finds something to tempt its palate and streaks toward to ground. This marks our cue to finish the descent before one of us takes a fall.
At the bottom of the trail we come to our next obstacle. Due to the recent rains the small creek has now flooded the trail. Well, what else to do but to stroll right through it. The cool slow running water feels good especially against the rising heat of the day. As we walk through the water we playfully splash a bit more than is necessary. So what should have just been our feet ankles getting wet, we are splash wet up to our waists almost. The laughing and giggling that come from this are more than worth it though. I love when you laugh and giggle and play. It feels great to be doing it together this day. Once we finally get through the water, we are faced with the worst part of the hike. On a mountain when you go down you eventually have to go back up.
As we are making our way up the steep incline (was it this steep going down? Thank God that it is straight at least) we come across a Pine Snake sunning itself stretched across the trail. You seem to have a curiosity of it as if you have never seen one before. He does not seem to the least bit bothered by our presence here this morning. He is enjoying a lazy day just like we are. We gently step over him and continue the rest of the way up the hill. As we crest the top we find ourselves down the trail from where we started. We slowly work our way back to the car. As we walk we shyly touch our fingers together, which leads to gentle hand holding and walking closer. All I can do is reflect and think that it truly has been a great walk.