He glanced around at her and winked. "That's better," he said with a twinkle in his eye. "See how much better this is than walking?"
She wrinkled her nose at him. "Lead the way, Romeo," she said dryly. "But just remember, it's the country that I'm interested in exploring."
He chuckled and started the engine.
This time he followed the main road for a while before dipping off onto a well used trail. He worked the ATV down a steep rocky slope and through overhanging brush that kept her busy dodging limbs and combing cobwebs from her hair. An armadillo stared at them from a rocky ledge as they passed, and a doe and her fawn darted across the trail not more than a hundred yards ahead, disappearing into the brush.
He carefully worked the ATV down a steep washed out trail that threatened to overturn the vehicle several times. As they came out on an open trail, he increased speed. She heard the gurgling water before the creek came into view. He stopped the ATV and shut off the engine.
"The local folks call this spot the writing on the rock. I think you might find it interesting."
The creek flowed over a succession of rock ledges and formed pools at the edge where tadpoles swam. He led her to a large mossy rock that was etched with a name and date. Some of the letters in the name were backward, but the date was clearly 1872.
She knelt and touched the letters. What would inspire someone to chisel their name into a rock so far from civilization? If they could talk, what tales these hills could tell. She glanced up at Yancey, who was lounging against a tree watching her. "I wonder why they chose this spot. Who would see it?"
He shrugged. "There used to be houses around here long time ago. I've found old rock fences, and there's an old log cabin falling into ruins not too far from here."
He moved away from the tree. "Come on, I'll show you something that will take your breath away."
They climbed back on the ATV and crossed the creek. After a while they were riding around the side of a steep hill through tall grass. A deer watched them from the trees. Lisa tapped Yancey's shoulder and pointed at it. He nodded and returned his attention to the steep hill. After a long time they came into a clearing on the edge of the mountain. She gasped at the view. He stopped the ATV again and they got off, both gazing in rapt silence. Range after range of mountains began with a mixture of sharp green that gradually faded until the last range was wrapped in the haze of distance. It could have been a tropical rain forest, so densely covered with trees and without a trace of human inhabitants.