Wagon Wheel

I'm not sure why, but one of the most comforting songs that I've been listening to on this trip is Wagon Wheel (the Old Crow Medicine Show version). I listened to it a lot yesterday, on the road from Murfreesboro to Chapel Hill, NC, especially after hearing about the shooting in Aurora, while driving through the second most awful rain storm ever, and while thinking about my transition to Delhi, NY.

This was the longest and most anticipated leg of my trip. I crossed from Tennessee into North Carolina through the Smoky Mountains, listening to Wagon Wheel, driving at the casual pace of 45 mph, and watching the mist float up from the mountain valleys, truly understanding how these mountains got their name. The last time I visited this area of the country was in 2006. I was escorted by three fine gentlemen from college on my first backpacking trip, and, really, when I think about it, my first real traveling adventure ever. It was so much fun and, after all of these years, the Smokies are still magical, possessing a special place in my heart.

Great Smoky Mountains Backpacking Trip, March 2006

It took 5 hours to get to Asheville, NC where I saw another friend from the University of Rochester. This was a much better encounter than the last time she saw me when I was dehydrated and puking in the streets of Lake Placid, NY after climbing two high peaks in the Adirondacks in one day.

In Asheville, NC!

Another 4 hours later, I arrived at a dear, dear friend's house in Chapel Hill, NC. The last thirty minutes of the drive to her place were real emotional. I knew I would be getting another glimpse of Colorado through her, a fellow DU graduate, but, at the same time, we are both so very far from Denver and so very unsure of our impending careers in small town USA.



--------
Listen along:
Wagon Wheel - Old Crow Medicine Show
Bluesky - Trout Steak Revival (link redirects to a listing of several songs)
High Lonesome - Trout Steak Revival