Author Archives: Ellen

The Blue Heron

On our Land That We Love Tour we stayed at a beautiful home on Hickory Lake in North Carolina while we attended wedding festivities. There were 10 of us in this home. One morning we enjoyed watching this blue heron.

On Sunday after 4 full days in this home we packed up our car again and had to use our Tetras skills to get it all to fit. We headed west on Interstate 40 through the Appalachians in North Carolina and along the Smokey Mountains into Tennessee and all the way to Jackson for the night.

Dear needed coffee along the way and we stopped at a local favorite restaurant called Aubrey’s and it was a good experience.

On the road again we traveled through some incredible thunderstorms and downpours that slowed us way down because of no visibility. Several accidents had the freeway backed up for miles. Most of the accidents were on I-40 going east which was fortunate for us. We were so happy to finally get to clear skies and dry roads. We thanked God for bringing us safely to our destination.

As I typed this on Sunday evening our kids were in the air headed home to Washington State.

Today Monday we drive 534 miles to Dallas, Texas. That should take us close to 8 hours.

Hope all is well with all of you dear friends!

My Lord, I Did Not Choose You ~ Hymn

 

My Lord, I Did Not Choose You

My Lord, I did not choose You,
For that could never be;
My heart would still refuse You,
Had You not chosen me.
You took the sin that stained me,
You cleansed me, made me new;
Of old You have ordained me,
That I should live in You.

Unless Your grace had called me
And taught my op’ning mind,
The world would have enthralled me,
To heav’nly glories blind.
My heart knows none above You;
For Your rich grace I thirst;
I know that if I love You,
You must have loved me first.

Words: Joseph Conder, 1836.

All the Bayles Women

What a joyous time to have all of us together in one place at one time. We are only missing the bride in this photo. She’s a little busy the day before her wedding. Our very first niece and our most current grandniece are included in this photo along with all the beauties in between. Tomorrow we’ll have opportunities to get many more photos all dolled up!

On Thursday night we enjoyed a time together at the rehearsal dinner and met the groom’s family and friends of both.

Friday will be the wedding at Providence Cotton Mill.

Early Morning Start

Tuesday September 28th we started early on our Land That We Love Tour south in Kentucky to Tennessee and then East to North Carolina.

We enjoyed a great sunrise.

We stopped at a Cracker Barrel for breakfast.

We had fog along the way. We had thought about stopping at the Cumberland Gap to see some views but the fog was heavy and we continued on without stopping.

Today was a shorter mileage day but we were in the Appalachians and the roads were windy so it took us a lot longer to travel those miles.

We reached our destination in Boone, North Carolina a little after 1 PM.

Boone is a college town home to Appalachian State University and it is full of young people.

We checked into our hotel found a restaurant to eat in and did a little shopping. We shopped at the Mast General Store and a few smaller shops, too.

Tomorrow we reach our wedding destination and our family will join us in our VRBO. Looking forward to seeing their faces and our extended family. We have wedding festivities on Thursday and Friday and family reunion times before, during and after. I will be very very busy and since my grands will be living in the same house I will be surprised if I have much computer time at all. Enjoy your last days of September y’all!

The Ark Encounter

Today was day seven of our Land That We Love Tour and we were very impressed with this encounter!

What an amazing morning we had in Williamstown, Kentucky visiting the life size replica of Noah’s Ark. Dear forgot that in Noah’s day there were no sunglasses but before I judge they didn’t have eyeglasses either.

Lots of photos were taken and I might have to do a weekly post on all that this experience offered.

On this Monday night we stayed in Berea, Kentucky about 80 miles south of the Ark Encounter at the historical Boone Tavern on the campus of Berea College. It was nice to only be on the road today for about 110 miles. We’ve traveled 2500 miles already.

On Tuesday we travel south and then east to Boone, North Carolina.

Something we saw at the Ark Encounter to think about. This is from the father of lies, the devil, the serpent.

Thank you so much for visiting and commenting while we’ve been traveling.

When In Kentucky…

Continuing on our Land That We Love Tour we are now in Kentucky. No photo worthy events on our trip from North Dakota to Omaha Nebraska and then from Omaha to St. Louis, Missouri. From St. Louis we drove to Kentucky and we had a surprise that I-64 east and west were closed this weekend in Louisville. We had to do some map maneuvering to get us past the closure and back onto I-64 to continue to Shelbyville and Georgetown. On that maneuver we were able to stop into Cave Hill Cemetery for a little while. I would have enjoyed staying there longer but we had a reservation to get to. The photo above is from Cave Hill.

For dinner Red State Barbecue in Georgetown was recommended to us. Since we were staying in Georgetown on Sunday night we decided to try it and are glad we did.

Brisket with a side of beans and corn pudding, delicious!!

Today, Monday, we are heading north a bit to the Ark Encounter in Williamstown, Kentucky. After our ‘Encounter’ we are heading south toward Tennessee with an overnight stop in Berea, Kentucky.

Long days on the road with little catch up time when we get to our lodging has limited my visiting time. Thanks for your understanding. I’ll come around when I can. Hope all is well…

Dear Refuge of My Weary Soul ~ Hymn

Dear Refuge of My Weary Soul

Dear refuge of my weary soul,
On Thee, when sorrows rise;
On Thee, when waves of trouble roll,
My fainting hope relies.

While hope revives, though pressed with fear
And I can say, My God,
Beneath Thy feet I spread my cares,
And pour my woes abroad.

To Thee I tell each rising grief,
For Thou alone canst heal;
Thy Word can bring a sweet relief
For every pain I feel.

But oh! when gloomy doubts prevail,
I fear to call Thee mine;
The springs of comfort seem to fail,
And all my hopes decline.

Yet, gracious God, where shall I flee?
Thou art my only trust,
And still my soul would cleave to Thee,
Though prostrate in the dust.

Hast Thou not bid me seek Thy face?
And shall I seek in vain?
And can the ear of sovereign grace
Be deaf when I complain?

No, still the ear of sovereign grace
Attends the mourner’s prayer;
O access may I ever find,
To breathe my sorrows there.

Thy mercy seat is open still;
Here let my soul retreat,
With humble hope attend Thy will,
And wait beneath Thy feet.

Words: Anne Steele, 1716-1778.

Badlands National Park

Our Land That We Love Tour started in the Badlands National Park in South Dakota on Friday morning, September 24th. We drove the 39 mile loop and stopped at every scenic turnout.

Amazing morning at Badlands National Park. We managed to arrive at dawn and were awe-struck. On Friday our day ended in Omaha, Nebraska.

Psalm 19:1-6

The heavens declare the glory of God,
    and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.
2 Day to day pours out speech,
    and night to night reveals knowledge.
3 There is no speech, nor are there words,
    whose voice is not heard.
4 Their voice goes out through all the earth,
    and their words to the end of the world.
In them he has set a tent for the sun,
5     which comes out like a bridegroom leaving his chamber,
    and, like a strong man, runs its course with joy.
6 Its rising is from the end of the heavens,
    and its circuit to the end of them,
    and there is nothing hidden from its heat.

Praising God today for all He has done…

On to South Dakota

We continued on our Land That We Love Tour into South Dakota today, Thursday September 23rd. It was a long day and I’ll leave you with just one postcard. Later I will document more fully all we have seen. No time for the computer on Thursday.

We loved getting to this spot which was a ‘bucket list’ must see in person destination. Mission accomplished.

I have many photos from Mount Rushmore so be forewarned that I’ll be sharing them soon.

Friday we head to a new time zone.