Creatures

 The morning greeted us with bright sunshine, crisp air and an azure blue sky as we stepped out of our hotel room, situated on the property of  the Wafloy Mountain Retreat which is butted up against the Great Smoky Mountain National Park. It is the one park that has managed to stay open during the government shutdown, thanks to the insistence of Tennessee governor, Bill Lee. 

The sun was just beginning to peak over the treetops, beckoning for us to pause a moment and let it's rays caress us as we took a selfie.

We headed along the drive toward the meeting place, a lodge housing sleeping quarters with bunk beds,

and an industrial style kitchen visible from the comfort of couches and reclining chairs arranged in a half-circle in the large, open meeting room. A foozball table and a ping pong table were on either side of the main entrance door. People stood in several small groups, talking and laughing, but mostly talking with an intensity that is common among experts in science and like-minded academia. 

The sign outside explained in two words the purpose of this get-together - Creation Conference. Hosted by Core Academy of Sciences, the weekend promised a thought-provoking time of questions and dialogue about, you guessed it, Creation. Specifically, though, the topic was centering on Moral Evil and Todd Wood's push back to Christopher Southgate's The Groaning of Creation: God, Evolution and the Problem of Evil. 

Now, I will insert here that I have no expertise in this area of study, but it is one of the perks of being a professor's wife - I get to listen and learn. I love that aspect. 

The other perk was the Biology students we brought along with us. Seeing them listen, ask questions and participate in follow-up discussions was inspiring for me. I find when I'm in these types of settings, especially with college students, my own curiosity is sparked and I want to understand more.

Then there are the long break sessions. Curious students head for streams and, with professors joining in, flip rocks, decaying logs and peel back bark to expose cool creatures, or their remains.

We especially had fun on the Saturday afternoon hike. Six miles roundtrip, up and down hills with some of the more serious hikers attending the Creation Conference. In total, two of The Professor's students and two students from another college joined The Professor and I and his boss, the head of the Biology Department. 

Originally, it was one large group of Creation Conference folks on the trail, but as the hike progressed, it split off into three groups, ours being the more gung-ho, energetic group. 

It was unfortunate for the other two groups that they didn't hang with us because they missed the most fun parts of the entire hike...more creatures.

The Professor was especially excited about the snake and, of course, proceeded to wrangle it.

I totally resonated with the sentiments of the head of the Biology department on our hike when he mentioned how beneficial it is for young people to explore and be curious about nature. Watching as the students waded in the water and becoming animated when an exciting find was uncovered, was priceless. This, I thought to myself, this is how it should be.

 And this is how we begin the steps of caring for our planet -  by being by the side of our youth and together lifting rocks, peeking under crumbling bark on a rotten tree, rolling logs to reveal millipedes or roly polies scurrying in the decomposed wood underneath, peeling back moss to reveal a quartz boulder and answering the questions that are sure to come.