Next time you’re in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, drive the recently expanded western section of the Foothills Parkway. What will you see? Thirty-three miles of awesome natural beauty in all directions from Wears Valley to Chilhowee, mountains on one side and valley on the other. For an even better view, pull into parking lot #6 and take a short hike to the old Look Rock fire tower, once used for spotting smoke in the valley. The paved inclined walkway (about half a mile) provides grand viewing of sunsets and the Milky Way.
The psalmist David must have been in a similar place when he wrote, “Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth . . . When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is mankind that you are mindful of them, human beings that you care for them? You have made them a little lower than the angels and crowned them with glory and honor. You made them rulers over the works of your hands; you put everything under their feet.” As we head into this busy holiday season, take a break from the glitter and escape to the great outdoors to see the original twinkling lights.
Which of the three upcoming holidays do you like the most—Thanksgiving, Christmas, or New Year’s?