Mountain Angel - Cartersville, Georgia

Mountain Angel – Cartersville, GA.


Jane Seymour is on the “stump” for her new book “AmongAngels,” but I could write one of my own. A friend of mine said, “oh, you were climbing at that place you stop onthe way to and from Michigan?” It wasasked without a lot of emphasis, sort of like, “so what.”


“So what?” I havefound a delightful little town just off I75 that makes the perfect place tostop on my 25 hour road trip to and from Michigan. I found it by accident looking for a HolidayInn headed north, glad I’d made it through Atlanta and figuring the mountainsfor the second day. Instead, I found RedTop Mountain Inn and spent two days instead of one hiking Red Top Mountain inthe November autumn, so inspired that I wrote the short story, “The Ice Storm”found in the Romance of My Dreams anthology by L & L Dreamspell, acollection of romantic tales by ten authors.


By the time I decided to stop again, Red Top Mountain Innwas closed and the Holiday Inn located at the edge of Cartersville was my stop. At first I was disappointed not to besurrounded by my exquisite mountains with their welcoming trails. Instead, I discovered a quaint town withantique shops, slanted parking and real trains holding up traffic in the centerof town. I enjoyed a cup of tea at thecorner deli that also served up books and gifts. Too late to climb at Red Top Mountain Park, Idiscovered Pine Mountain instead, a lovely two-hour, round-trip climb onswitchbacks to an awesome panoramic view – nearly straight up but a well-maintainedand marked path.
Always a time of discovery when I stop in this specialplace, this time I followed the grand opening of the new TELLUS Science Museumright behind the Holiday Inn! I had tohike Pine Mountain first, a little early for the brightest of autumn but stillexperiencing the brush of pastels and the changing green, the path litteredwith pine needles and slippery leaves. Mytennis shoes were wrong. I rememberedthe last trip I swore I’d pick up some real hiking shoes. Climbing the switchbacks was okay though afew stones slipped here and there and looking back gave me concern. In fact, I started looking for someone on thepath so I wouldn’t be quite so alone in case I slipped on the return. Just as I was near the top, a woman in abright orange shirt was coming down.



“My husband jogged on up to the top. I don’t think I can make it. I told him I was starting down.”


That was all I needed to turn around, a partner for the tripdown, a partner with hiking shoes. Imade the right decision. She and I had awonderful conversation about the spiritual side of life and I felt as if shewere truly my angel to help me down the mountain as some of the switchbackturns were treacherous for my tennis shoes. She went first, testing the best places to step. I followed closely all the way to thebottom. She stayed with me even afterher husband finished his jog down. Icannot repeat the many conversations we shared on that downward trek, but itseemed we had known each other long before that day. My fears were lost in camaraderie. Jane Seymour, I met an angel. She heard my call.


The days were still long; I finished with an hour at TELLUSScience Museum, truly fascinated by the mineral collection and the meteor thatactually went through the roof of a Cartersville home in 2009. I see a book in here some place! I drove through Cartersville to themall-laden outskirts and the winding roads through pretty neighborhoods toDellinger Park to eat my McDonald’s salad. The park seemed infinite with all its activities from tennis to LittleLeague. I sat by a pond and watched theducks, so at peace from a perfect day.


I wound through town back to my Holiday Inn. Every town has its underbelly I’m sure, butfor all appearances, Cartersville, Georgia has it all. It’s a small town in some respects; yet, itspreads out with all the modern one could want. I’m not sure about the above ground mining that seems to be a majorindustry, but the air breathed clear. The surrounding mountains are sufficient nature, Altoona Lake beckonswith water sports. Even the trains Iheard quite often left me with a sense of comfort, a melancholy nostalgia for thepast in this pleasant town of the present. My mind wandered as I contemplated where my future may take me. I wonder if Cartersville needs ateacher? An author? I could climb all I wanted then, not just ona stop to and from.