Blogs from North America - page 9665

The objective today was to ride the Great Smoky Mountains Railroad. The line operates an excursion train through the mountains along the Nantahala River. To get to Bryson City, where we would board the train, we followed US 19 west from Asheville. This route took us through Maggie Valley, a center for winter sports, and then directly through the Cherokee Reservation. The highway through the reservation is mountainous, with roadside billboards whose messages about health care and other tribal concerns gives the visitor an insight into contemporary Cherokee life. A large casino greets visitors in Cherokee at the intersection of US 19 and 441 in the heart of the reservation. At Bryson City, North Carolina, we found the blue railway station and picked up our excursion tickets and lunch coupons. Presently, the train arrived and we ... read more

Wednesday was a day to explore the natural features of the Western North Carolina mountains. The previous day's rain had cleared, we would see the features! We followed US 74A southeast from Asheville to Chimney Rock. Chimney Rock is a large natural formation shaped like--a chimney. It is described as a a 315 foot (96 m) granite monolith overlooking Hickory Nut Gorge and Lake Lure. One enters the site from the highway and then follow a winding road up to the parking lot. From there, a trail leads to Chimney Rock itself, or there is also an elevator. A gift shop and cafe are located next to the rock, but do not detract from the impressive sight. Chimney Rock itself has a overlook that enables a view of Lake Lure below and the Great Smoky Mountains ... read more

The Biltmore Estate in Asheville, North Carolina, the largest of the Vanderbilt mansions, had been on our list of historic houses to visit for a while. Spring Break of 2002 provided an opportunity for a family road trip to see this American castle and the natural scenery of Western North Carolina. Off down I-95 from Northern Virginia we headed on a Monday morning, then diverged to I-85 south of Richmond. This was a more direct route across Virginia to the heart of North Carolina. At Durham, I-40 took us straight through to Asheville. We stayed at the Hampton Inn near Biltmore Village, not far from the Biltmore Estate we would visit the following day. The entry is at the Gate House off of Hendersonville Road. Then it is a drive of some distance over a winding ... read more

A roadtrip to Wabash College in Crawfordsville, IN, to attend the fraternity regional/Panhel 2002. Meeting up with our fraternity brothers from Wisconsin, Michigan State, and Wabash. Wabash College is all male college, and around 95% of the student population is associated with ten national fraternities. In order to dig more chicks in (which they are good to begin with), they created the Panhel event, which imitates the Panhellenic, the sorority association. Long story short, this is when the whole campus is wet, all students are basically drunk for a whole week, many are hauling kegs to classes and parties. I guess we are fortunate enough to taste the tradition of Wabash College.... read more

ENTRY 50 — March 4th, 2002 PEACHLAND YOUTH MINISTRY A Youth Fellowship member mentioned to me that the local wing of AMOR Ministries was planning an excursion to Tecate, Mexico. The purpose: to build houses. AMOR was in need of chaplains. This was an ecumenical project involving all the churches of the Okanagan Valley. The Peachland group was to be led by Dave Roy, and I was to be the chaplain. There would be twelve teens in the group. Our assignment was to build a house for a man named Gilberto and his family. It was to take us seven days. The Problem - Scott and Linda Pastor Kevin from the Community Church looked worn. His phone had been ringing off the hook. He informed me that Scott and Linda, two of the youth going ... read more