October 16, 2006

I woke first today, so I snuck outside and let my sweet sleeping dog out of the back of the van. This was my first morning beside the French Broad River. I slept well last night as I always do when we camp. Madeline was also excited to greet the new day. I took her on a sniff-n-pee adventure on one of the lush green trails and then we settled down by the river for some quiet time.

There was a light sprinkling rain and the drops made their customary ringed designs in the water only to be erased by the current. The wind made beautiful passing patterns on the surface of the river.

The leaves have begun to change here; the mountainside on the other side of the French Broad is splashed with the earthy tones of autumn. I sit in the midst of a dense crop of hardwoods, one of which is a brilliant shade of orange moving into red.

Watching this river I am reminded of a Bob Dylan song…

“If I had wings, and I could fly,

I know where I would go,

But right now I'll just sit here so contentedly,

And watch the river flow.”