The Beautiful Solitude

The Beautiful Solitude

There’s a place with a grand story, a funny name, and a beautiful view. The Blowing Rock clings to the edge of a mountain overlooking a spectacular gorge filled with intense beauty and strange happenings. It’s a place of legend, a place where the wind blows up and the snow falls upside down.

My friend Erin and I arrived in Blowing Rock, North Carolina on a beautiful spring day. It took us a little while to find the drive for The Blowing Rock, but after turning around a few times, we made it.

I wasn’t sure what to expect, but beautiful red double doors adorned with black wrought iron wasn’t anywhere on my radar. The tops of the doors were rounded, which reminded me of a hobbit house or something Medieval. After posing for a silly picture in front of the doors, I pulled on the long heavy handle to open the door…and then I pushed, glaring at the tiny “Push” sign on the front of the door as I walked through.

We entered a fun shop filled with wonderful mountain gifts, payed the small fee, and were given a map in return. Making our way out the door and to the first path, we hurried along. I couldn’t wait to see what I was going to see.

And there it was, a big rock. In my imagination I had built it up to be something spectacular. To be honest, I was a little disappointed when I saw it. Sure, it jutted out over the edge of the mountain, but it wasn’t really that big.

But then I saw it. The view. Oh my, the view from the rock was incredible! Erin and I took turns standing on the top of the rock and taking pictures of each other. Being the rebels we are, we then sat on the edge of the rock with our legs dangling over the side of the mountain. Johns River Gorge lay 3,000 feet below our feet.

After a good long sit on top of The Blowing Rock we made our way along a path that gave us different views of the gorge below and the mountains across the gap. We walked around a corner and saw the perfect view.

Framed between two trees with perfectly twisted branches lay a slab of mountain rock begging to be walked on. Beyond the rock, trees filled the gorge until they met the mountains far beyond, as far as my eyes could see.

As the mountains stretched for the sky, the clouds reached down to meet them. Not to be outdone by the trees and the mountains and the clouds, a perky little bush burst forth its bright orange flowers to add a spot of complimentary color to the already beautiful scene. It was the perfect place to enjoy The Beautiful Solitude.

If you would like to read the romantic legend of The Blowing Rock, click here.