Hidden treasure

Kingdom Come State Park is certainly off the beaten path. It is named for the Civil War-era novel, The Little Shepherd of Kingdom Come, and standing at its peak atop Pine Mountain, about 2,700 feet above sea level, truly it does seem as though little has changed since that time. And yet, a whole era has come and gone. The coal boom is just a rumble now, and fron certain points one can see evidence of an industry in its sunset as above-ground mining seeks whatever can be found in the earth, as the deeper seams are smaller and more difficult to access. The towns once noisy with activity are quiet little communities with consolidated schools and empty storefronts. And yet families sustain, content and rooted, surrounded by the treasure of largely unspoiled pieces of creation. So explore away, and at the end of the day, come down to the valley for warm, sweet cornbread and milk. Mmmmm.

Here's an excerpt from the novel:
.…The lake of dull red behind the jagged lines of rose and crimson that streaked the east began to glow and look angry. A sheen of fiery vapor shot upward and spread swiftly over the miracle of mist that had been wrought in the night. An ocean of it and, white and thick as snowdust, it filled valley, chasm, and ravine with mystery and silence up to the dark jutting points and dark waving lines of range after range that looked like breakers, surged up by some strange new law from an under-sea of foam; motionless, it swept down the valleys, poured swift torrents through high gaps in the hills and one long noiseless cataract over a lesser range - all silent, all motionless, like a great white sea stilled in the fury of a storm. Morning after morning, the boy had looked upon such glory, calmly watching the mist part, like the waters, for the land, and the day break, with one phrase, "Let there be light," ever in his mind - for Chad knew his bible. And, most often, in soft splendor, trailing cloud-mist, and yellow light leaping from crest to crest, and in the singing of birds and the shining of leaves and dew - there was light.
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from The Little Shepherd of Kingdom Come, by John Fox Jr