Sacred Parks Trip 4 & Photos: April 5 - 14, 2010 - Ohio, Virginia, S. Carolina, and Tennesse / N. Carolina
(To make photo captions visible below, click on each picture for full-sized mode, then click arrows to view in successive order)
This trip was a turning point in the Conceptual Phase, as Paul realized for the first time that spring was official springing, and pollen was in the air. This wreaked havoc on his sinuses, miles into backcountry hiking/camping in the middle of the Smoky Mountains. Reaching out to the stranger proved to be the one way he could experience God's grace most fully in the wilderness. And Paul realized what was known before: that all creatures need others - oneself included! Starting near Cleveland, Ohio (Cuyahoga Valley NP), Paul drove through the beautiful mountain country of Appalachia to Shenandoah National Park, then down sections of the Blue Ridge Parkway to Congaree NP in South Carolina, and finally on to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park (on the border of TN and NC), where Paul preached and led an adult (bible) forum on the project at Our Saviour's Lutheran Church in Gatlinburg, TN. This trip was a good place to move into the next phase: Immersion.
Parks Visited: Cuyahoga Valley National Park, Nazareth Farm, Shenandoah National Park, Blue Ridge Parkway, Congaree National Park, Pisgah National Forest, Great Smoky Mountains National Park
Flagship Park: Great Smoky Mountains National Park, on the border of North Carolina and Tennessee
Theme/s: "Allergies and Synergies", "The Gift of a Stranger" and "The Beginning of the End of an Era, and the Dawn of Another"
This trip was a turning point in the Conceptual Phase, as Paul realized for the first time that spring was official springing, and pollen was in the air. This wreaked havoc on his sinuses, miles into backcountry hiking/camping in the middle of the Smoky Mountains. Reaching out to the stranger proved to be the one way he could experience God's grace most fully in the wilderness. And Paul realized what was known before: that all creatures need others - oneself included! Starting near Cleveland, Ohio (Cuyahoga Valley NP), Paul drove through the beautiful mountain country of Appalachia to Shenandoah National Park, then down sections of the Blue Ridge Parkway to Congaree NP in South Carolina, and finally on to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park (on the border of TN and NC), where Paul preached and led an adult (bible) forum on the project at Our Saviour's Lutheran Church in Gatlinburg, TN. This trip was a good place to move into the next phase: Immersion.
Parks Visited: Cuyahoga Valley National Park, Nazareth Farm, Shenandoah National Park, Blue Ridge Parkway, Congaree National Park, Pisgah National Forest, Great Smoky Mountains National Park
Flagship Park: Great Smoky Mountains National Park, on the border of North Carolina and Tennessee
Theme/s: "Allergies and Synergies", "The Gift of a Stranger" and "The Beginning of the End of an Era, and the Dawn of Another"