Area Wildfires

First, I want to thank the bloggers that were worried about us in wake of the wildfires in the mountains near us.  We are safe as we are in the surrounding foothills.

Gatlinburg last night around 11 p.m.

However, we're asking for your prayers for the evacuees from Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge. And also for the firefighters and other personnel. The fires have jumped from ridge to ridge.  We did get some rain last night, which helped, but the fires are still burning.  The rain has moved out, though, and the sun is out, again.  Again, prayers please.

On the Spur between Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge

As of 9:30 a.m. EST on the news they are saying no reports of fatalities, a MIRACLE.
Update:  Five people are unaccounted for.

  Some hotels have burned, but there's no reliable assessment available yet.   The news footage is not encouraging, but we know you're interested as we are.

FINAL UPDATE:

Officials: 13 dead, 85 injured from devastating Sevier Co. wildfires

http://www.local8now.com/content/news/Great-Smoky-Mountains-National-Park-issues-air-quality-advisory-403402976.html

EDIT:  12/1/16:

7 dead, 74 injured, over 400 buildings damaged from devastating Sevier Co. fires

Source:  Knoxville News-Sentinel

Update 11/30/16:   Gatlinburg under curfew 6 p.m. to 6 a.m.
                               Raining.  Thank the Lord!

Update 11/29/16:

TEMA: More than 100 buildings destroyed; 1,400 evacuated

Earlier I told you Ober Gatlinburg is gone since our news had broadcast that it was completely burned.
EDIT:  TEMA said earlier that Ober Gatlinburg is gone, but now reports say it's still there.
We simply must wait for the final assessment.

Even the news stations are asking for your prayers.
Here's the link to our local station with live feed:
http://wate.com/     ...such as it is....
EDIT:  I know this post is not very forthcoming, but I was urged by a couple of readers to post what I could.  The truth is we are sitting, glued to the news and Facebook hoping for reliable news, as everyone else is.
 http://wate.com/2016/11/29/gatlinburg-father-searches-for-wife-daughters-after-fire/

Thank you for your prayers!
And please, please remember:

VMI, A Stop Along the Way

Hello from the hills!   The weather is fairly pleasant, and the trees are turning.

We recently embarked on a trip to see a few places in Virginia.  This wasn't our main destination, but we stopped at Virginia Military Institute to tour the museum and grounds. 

Click to view fence for Good Fences.

Our tour guide was an amiable psychology major from Taiwan.

 The cadet barracks reminded me a a sprawling castle.

We saw tributes to great men who had led valiant troops in battle...

And of "Virginia" mourning her dead.

In the museum... relics of the past.

In the chapel is a painting depicting the Battle of New Market.   

A closer look at the painting.  If you're interested, the heartbreaking story of young cadets thrust into a civil war was told in the 2014 film, Field of Lost Shoes.  

In my next post I'll share pics of our trip to Mount Vernon.  

In the meantime, I've been knitting a few hats.  This is the Sunset Hat, a free pattern on Ravelry.  It's a good pattern for using up small amounts of yarn leftover from other projects. 

I used self striping yarn with sequins for this one.

Hope you're having a great fall!

Shared at Good Fences