Blowing Rock, North Carolina

I took these pictures at The Blowing Rock about two years ago on one of our visits to the Carolinas. The cliff stands 4,000 feet above sea level overlooking Johns River Gorge. Standing close to the edge my husband, the boys and I felt like we could fly if we could only get closer to "the odd shaped rock." Fortunately, barriers prevent folks from getting too close to the edge and being swept away by the wind. I could see how easily the wind could rush in, grab us and swoop us away to some hidden crevice somewhere at the foot of the rock. Hidden from the world, we might never be found.

The wind blew so hard that day that in every photo my long hair shoots straight up! The wind flows differently at the foot of this rock. It blows up rather than down or to the side as most "normal winds" do. After witnessing the abrupt and uncoordinated dances performed by the wind, I better understood the story that serves as the backdrop for this well known site in North Carolina. A young Cherokee brave and a Chickasaw woman fell in love, but torn by his love for her and his need to return to his people, the young man threw himself off the Blowing Rock. After days of praying for his return, the young woman witnessed as the rock "blew" him upward back into her arms. I have heard that when it snows sometimes, the great force of the wind makes the snow drift upward. What an awesome site that must be...

The site has been turned into a tourist attraction, complete with gift shop, outside garden area, and easy to maneuver pathways for people of all ages to enjoy; that is true.(Photo Gallery) But this place had a special feel to it. I could sense a oneness with the Earth and the sky. I don't know if it was the sound of the wind howling all around me that dazed me, mesmerized me and put me in a state of utter quiet in my head, or if it was the lack of artificial noise or the few people who walked around but hurried to find their own private corner of this magical world. Whatever "it" was, "it" was surely there.