Columcille

     I have lived mere minutes from a very unique place that I have heard about but never been to.  Today despite the weather we ventured to Columcille, a park dedicated to rock formations and nature and the peace found within it.    A very special gate and a sign at the entrance greeted us with the following:
     "Columcille is a place and space.  A playground where the human spirit can bounce on a voyage into myth and mystery with earth and spirit.  A listening post...where the veil is very thin.  As you voyage through the infinity gate into infinity remember the words of St. Oran..."The way you think it is may not be the way at all."  Come as you are.  Go in peace."
     At first I thought the weather would be a detriment.  The fog was so heavy while traveling up the mountain that I almost thought about going back for safety reasons.  I went on though.  I told the children that instead of fog I was sure we were touching very low clouds.  In response, they opened their windows and tasted the clouds.  Emily said they were sweet.  The misty air proved to be the perfect backdrop for the photographs and event.  It made a beautiful and mysterious place turn mystical and magical as well.  We romped around in the squishy grass taking photographs of boulders, lichen, moss and trickling streams.  Our pants grew soggy with wetness and our shoes became drenched and it hadn't rained a drop the whole time.  The air was so saturated with moisture that you almost felt like paddling your arms to get from rock to rock instead of walking.  The smell of nature was pungent and dense.  We enjoyed our voyage into the damp forest...and even captured a picture that appears to have a white globe formation floating about in the woods. Though it may only be a camera flash trick and completely explainable I'd like to think that it is a hole in the thin veil of the spirit world as the sign has instructed.   I know it will be a whole different experience on a warm and sunny day and look forward to returning there.  In the meantime, we loved our adventure to another world only a quick car trip away.