The McLure Trail of Tears 10-10-10

So, this was probably the second hardest day in the McLure household thus far, both physically and emotionally. The physical part was taking 2 clumsy, head-heavy 3-year-olds hiking. After constantly reminding them to "look down, look down" so they wouldn't trip over rocks and tree roots, we ended up with lots of scrapes and bumps.

Graveyard fields is a spot on the Blue Ridge Parkway that Jackson and I used to frequent when we lived in Asheville. When I worked at the Grove Park Inn, I had Monday's off and it was the best day for a hike seeing as we would have the trails to ourselves. This seemed like the perfect spot for us to spread Jackson's ashes.

We found a beautiful golden tree on the upper falls trail right next to a campsite that seemed to be the most fitting place to say goodbye. The boys are sitting on Jackson's tree with brances that seem to be reaching out to ask for a hug.




There just happened to be a tent stake right next to the tree that called my name to carve a "J" in the trunk. We hope to find the tree again on a hike or camp trip in the future to let him know we're still thinking of him...always.