o l d e r - l a t e s t - g u e s t b o o k - p r o f i l e - d i a r y l a n d
"I see skies of blue, and clouds of white... the bright, blessed day, the dark sacred night. And I think to myself, what a wonderful world."
Cowan's Gap is officially heaven. The trees are tall, the water is clear, the mountains are majestic, the sunfish nibble at your toes if you leave them just under the surface, and the weather was unbelievably perfect. I love Cowan's Gap!
I took pictures today of two signs that always held a certain mystical power for me in my childhood. One was "Keep Off Slopes of the Dam" and the other was "No Boats Beyond This Point." These signs were absolutes, their words were unable to be contradicted, and yet as a young girl I never knew why they were there, or what dangers they warned against. The slopes of the dam just looked like a hill to me, and the area beyond the boats sign was just more water. Now, as an adult, I understand that the slopes are extremely steep and have rocks at the bottom that would probably give you a nasty cut on the head, and the end of the boating area becomes shallow and full of frogs and other animals that would be hurt by boating. But still, those words somehow don't just denote warnings. They're like names. They mean more. I don't know why, but they imprinted themselves into my psyche back then, and they'll forever be part of what makes Cowan's Gap separate from any other state park.
I also met a suicidal frog and adored the myriad mountain laurel plants. Cowan's Gap, I repeat, is heaven. If anyone would like to join me for a weekend camping trip sometime this summer or in the fall, feel free to let me know. The place is amazing.