The Tunnel

Most Sundays, I drive south to Oak Mountain State Park. Before I even get there, I pass through one of my favorite places this close to home. Just turning off the main road and passing a service station, I enter the Tunnel. This time of year, everything is lush and green. Soon it will begin to turn with the season with several beautiful shades of brown, red, orange and gold. As we move into winter, the leaves disappear and the Tunnel becomes gray and still. Just when it seems that the world won't come out of the cold, the trees start squeezing out tiny green buds. Spring is beginning. Each week, I watch the forest here wake up from it's winter sleep. The trees get greener and greener, and the Tunnel becomes alive again. The trees almost seem to reach down to say hello. Greeting you as you enter a calmer, quieter place. As the heat of summer moves in, the leaf-full trees offer shade and a brief, cool respite from the heat. Even though I've been watching the Tunnel change for several years and know what comes next, each time I drive through I take a deeper breath and smile. As I leave the park a few hours later, the Tunnel amazes me again to carry me to the next trip.