Favorite Places

What are some of your favorite places in God's creation?

I'll start by describing on of mine:
The aptly named Valley of Heaven in Olympic National Park. Getting there requires a tremendous amount of exertion. The trail is relentlessly steep and doesn't have the luxury of switchbacks. It just goes strait up hill.

Lake of the Angels sits nestled in the valley amid rock gardens, wildflowers, and imposing cliffs. Gaze at the mountains above and you are likely to see mountain goats. In September, feast on wild blueberries and enjoy the crisp autumn air or bask in the warmth of an Indian summer.

My favorite part, though, is the arduous and exposed scramble to the top of Mt. Stone. From the summit, one enjoys a panorama of almost the entire range -- to include the ice-clad Mt. Olympus.

The effort it takes to get there has deep spiritual significance as well. As I am sweating my way up the trail, I know that my effort will be richly rewarded. When life seems to be a relentless uphill battle, I can find strength and stamina by remembering that if I keep moving, God has an even greater reward waiting for me.

The Outer Banks of North Carolina (hence the picture of Hatteras Light that accompanies this post...), which are essentially a thin line of barrier islands separating the Atlantic Ocean from bodies of water on the landward side, called "sounds". Though the OBX have been built up a lot in the past 25 years or so, there are still a lot of fairly untouched, very beautiful areas.

Seeing the wild ponies of Shackelford Banks on a boat trip out to Cape Lookout is always a thrill...they're supposedly descended from ponies that escaped off a shipwrecked Spanish galleon back in the 1600s.

There is a place not too far from my home I especially like on a summers day, though all 4 seasons have their attraction.

It is the AuSable river as it runs threough the High Banks, in the summer, with luck, you may have the good fortune to look down into the valley and see a Bald Eagle floating leisurely above the river, or, in winter, you may see Snowshoe's jumping about.

I especially like to see it the first few days of spring as the trees and bushes get their new 'clothes'.

What a delight to discover this lovely new thread, and I have so enjoyed all the different descriptions I want to go!

One of my many favourite places to go is at the back of the Harbour here in Christchurch.
Up on the Port Hills, there are many and varied tracks to explore, bush or open ground covered in tussock, giving one the view of the Southern Alps, where Mount Cook is, or a view right up the harbour and out to sea.
This particular spot is called the Sign of the Bellbird, and when one gets down into the bush the sounds of the bellbirds calling gives one the impression the cathedral bells are tolling.
With a view of the almost bare rolling hills on both sides of the harbour, with pockets of heavy bush in the valleys, the sea and the mountains along with the beautiful Canterbury Plains one cannot help but sense the presence of God.
It is also the place to go to see a sunset, as the sun drops right down into the sea directly opposite the shelter at the Bellbird.
I was there last Sabbath and had taken my tea to eat and enjoy a walk before the sun set. In my exploration, I discovered the bush walks that I knew were there but not sign posted. These bush walks take you zig-zagging right down the hillside through thick native bush till you arrive at the plains. There are several tracks for future exploration, and this is the place Allan and I have chosen to take our Christmas Dinner to this year.

As I watched the sun dip out of the thick cloud into clear sky, and then drop out of sight, the canopy of gray turned to firey red, makeing it one of the more spectacular sunsets I have seen.

There are many many of my favorite places and all of them are in John Muir's Range of Light - the Sierras. I love the Sierras so much I even moved into one of the foothills.

Peeler Lake at the top of Yosemite sits on the crest and drains to both sides of the mountains. Maybe the only lake in the world to have two drainages. It is incredably beautiful.

Another place is called Evolution Valley and Evolution Lake. I renamed them to Creation Valley and Creation Lake. The valley is long and ends in a spectacular lake. Then up ahead, the trail rounds a large rock and a smaller section of the lake appears. The edge of the lake meets the sky where the waters seem to pour off the edge of the world.

Bullfrog Lake in the eastern sierra is likely the most beautiful lake in the sierra. Cramping is banned there, but one can walk past it. Words can not describe it.

Tenya Lake is another super beautiful place. If you ever go to Yosemite and dont walk completely around this lake - you didnt see it at all.

Higher up is Cathedral Lake. Near the outlet are views of part of Tenya Lake way down below. Well just maybe Cathredral Lake is the most beautiful because its beauty is 360 degrees around it. A very nice place for a day hike or to camp over night.

The trail up to Bishop Pass and down the other side is one of the most spectacular sights on earth. There are several small lakes along the trail which starts at South Lake. South L is a dude fishing lake in the Sabrina Lake, North Lake complex.

The town of Bishop down from the eastern Sierra is one of my favorite places. Home of Erik Schats Bakkerÿ - bakers of the worlds best bread = Volkoren Bread. They sell stuff by the Web also.

But my real favorite place is home. There's no place like home, there's no place like home, there's no place like home. And the new earth is my real home.

--Ðøug 2003.12.20.1.59.59 PT