“In the deep, dark hills of eastern Kentucky…”

“In the deep dark hills of eastern Kentucky; That’s the place where I traced my bloodline; And it’s there I read on a hillside gravestone; You’ll never leave Harlan alive…” starts the song  “You’ll Never Leave Harlan Alive”, depicting Harlan County in the Appalachian mountains of Eastern Kentucky, one of the poorest counties in the nation. Last month, my church took a mission trip down to Harlan.

On the way there, we stopped at Natural Bridge State Park, smack dab in the middle of eastern Kentucky. The park gets its name thanks to a long stretch of rock that connects two sets of hills, like a bridge. A natural bridge. Before hand, one of our leaders had told us that if this park were in Minnesota, the bridge would be roped off on all sides, that is, if they even let people on the bridge at all.

The French Countryside

I spent a lot of time time in the countryside while in France. I stayed in an old country house outside of the city of Valence, surrounded by the beginnings of two mountain ranges: the Vercors and the Massif Central. The heat was almost insufferable during the day, but at dawn and at dusk, the temperature dropped a little, a breeze blew, and the crickets chirped. I loved sitting outside on the lawn chair at these times of day, when the world seemed peaceful, and a little less crowded.

We took a few short trips while in Valence to neighboring villages, but my favorite day trip was the visit to the Chateau de Crussol. The barely-there ruins were the remains of an old medieval castle.

A Day in Grenoble

One day in Valence, we took a little day trip to the nearby mountain town of Grenoble. By mountain town, I don’t mean that it was situated on the side of a mountain, but rather that that it was surrounded, 360 degrees, by mountains. The Vercors, Belledonne and Chartreuse mountain ranges. After about an hour and a half train ride from Valence, through the countryside, gaping at views of the sprawling mountain ranges all around us, we arrived in Grenoble.

Mountain Skiing

Skiing in the mountains is such a different experience than skiing at your run-of-the-mill ski hills that we visit back home in Minnesota. There are a few good ski areas up in northern Minnesota, but they don’t even begin to compare to skiing out West in the mountains.

Instead of skiing Big Sky, we opted for Bridger Bowl, a smaller, lesser known, and less-touristy ski area. It was still way more impressive than any ski hill I had ever seen. It seemed like the trails lasted forever as they wound down through trees and forests, past mountain views, chair lifts, and chalets. The snow was impeccable: extra powdery at some

Yellowstone Winter Scenery

Yellowstone National Park is often considered a summer destination. I have never visited in the summer, but I’ve heard it’s beautiful. However, winter in Yellowstone, a very under-rated adventure, is stunning as well. We just got back from a 10-day trip to Montana, where we spent a few days visiting Yellowstone to go cross-country skiing and animal watching. In this post, I want to focus solely on the scenery (the animals will come later). The beautiful mountains covered in snow, the fresh flocking on the trees, the powdery snow blowing about like fog, the vast winter landscapes stretching on and on and on.

Our first day in Yellowstone, we went cross-country skiing. The snow was perfect; my dad even claimed that this trail had the best snow conditions we would ever ski on. I don’t