Sunday and Monday we stayed at the KOA East of Asheville. We came here so we could visit the Biltmore before we head to Maggie Valley on Tuesday but it ended up being a great, short stay! The KOA had us backed up to a river so this was our backyard for 2 days:

Guess how many minutes until the kids were playing in the water and “accidentally” falling in?

After arriving we looked up some hikes on AllTrails (we’ve used this app a lot!) and chose Lookout Point. We drove through Montreat College to get there, which was such a pretty little campus. The town of Montreat sounded so familiar but I couldn’t place it until I googled and realized it was where Billy & Ruth Graham lived and raised their family. So cool! The town and area started as a spiritual retreat in the early 1900s… and we can certainly see why! It’s fun to think that the views and hikes we are seeing were enjoyed by one of our favorite heroes of the Faith. I can’t even imagine the conversations he must have had with the Lord in this area as he retreated from pouring out his heart and came back home for rest.

When we got to the area where the hike started, the Lord had a perfectly oversized-shoulder area reserved just for us (there are no parking lots and the roads are so narrow. I’m still surprised we found a spot and one big enough for Betty. But why should I be surprised!?) and we were off.

It.was.gorgeous. It started all yellows and it was really just amazing! Please enjoy all these bright colors with me!!!!!

Right away it felt so good to be out hiking again. We have missed this.

The yellows turned to bright reds and oranges.

We even got some rock scrambling in at the top of the trail. But it was so humid it was more like rock slipping:

It was so warm this day that at the top we were sweat- dripping. What a great workout. And look at the reward!!!!!

Praise the Lord! If there wasn’t 2 couples there at the top with us I would have shouted and danced! They were trying to enjoy the peace and quiet though 🙂

We did our 5 minutes of quiet, had fun discussing all our observations, and headed back down:

On Monday we did “regular” school and work and then the kids had a blast playing in the backyard river!

After work, we found another hike here in Montreat.

This one was not a peak or look out but was instead a nature trail. It reminded me of my childhood and brought back so many great memories of playing and walking in the woods. Where I grew up in New Jersey, it is so pretty and was really an amazing place to be a child.

We had blue skies for the last couple of minutes on the hike and then it got dark so quick.

As we drove back to Woody I loved the kids comments

E: This was great. I’ve really missed this.

R: Yes this feels right. I had forgotten how much I missed Woody and exploring new places

(A didn’t have anything to say haha)

I think we’ve all loved the break and time with family…. and we all love our adventures “on the road”!

It was a great 2 days. I am so in love with fall in the NC mountains.