A Few Days in the Mountains

A Chinese friend we met in Xi'an, Sissia, asked us if we would like to go to the mountains with her for a few days last week. She said she would pay for everything - how could we say no? Things have been a little stressful lately and this would be a great respite for our family. We had a friend come to take care of Zachary while we went away.

The mountain air was beautiful. The sky was clear and blue, a rare sight in the city, and it was much cooler. Cutting through the mountain was a long, shallow river that only added to the beauty of the atmosphere. It 

was like the rest of the scenery - beautiful, clear, and cool. Some people were fishing in its torrents; Emma tried a bit herself using a little net, but succeeded only in catching ridiculously tiny ones. A certain frog she and I attempted multiple times to catch continually succeeded in escaping. 

Emma looking for fish

The river was clear and cold

We went out one night to see the stars and it was the most amazing sight I have ever seen. If you've ever seen that sort of scene, an endless array of stars littering the deep night sky, you know what I mean. It's unbelievable; it's hardly even real. It's like a dream. (Jen and I tried getting some pictures, but none of them came out.)

The hotel seemed to be a family-run business. When we would leave our room at night all the lights were out, just as if we were at home. If we hadn't yet had dinner, the staff would knock on our door to see if we wanted some. One night we even had dinner in the lobby, with the whole staff watching us and their dogs running around the table.

Dinner in the lobby

Front view of the hotel

Matthew loved throwing rocks

The owner of the hotel

Peacocks were the hotel greeters

Emma crossing a sketchy bridge

~Rick

[Abby] Look at that last picture. So calm. So elegant. So alluring. Yet it's so simple. The tips of mountains, darkened by a shadow as a result of a non-existent sun, scraping a sharp blue sky. A sky painted with quick, soft strokes of white paint that form clouds that meet the mountains. It's not the best picture quality, not the best picture, but it still conveys so much. :D