Blog 7

As the mountains surround Jerusalem,

so the LORD surrounds his people

both now and forevermore.
Psalm 125:2

It has been a week since I have been home from vacation in the majestic mountains in Colorado. Unfortunately it has been almost three weeks since I have written a blog. Sorry about that. Now that I am home, I will attempt to write a little more regularly.

After driving over 1400 miles, I felt warmly embraced once again by the craggy peaks that surrounded us. Being in the mountains brings a sense of peace and calm that few other things do for me. Here I can truly relax, knowing that the Maker of those mountains is holding me in the palm of His hand.

This was the first time in many years that I did not take my bicycle to Colorado. I have enjoyed many solitary rides up the Chalk Creek Canyon that follows an old railroad route to the ghost town of St. Elmo. The last two times I had my bicycle in Colorado, I thrilled at a 17 mile exhilarating ride from the top of Cottonwood pass over 12,100 feet down to the town of Buena Vista. I had to promise Dianne that I would not let it coast more than 35 mph, a speed that I did not exceed too much.

This year we decided to take a little more extensive hike as a family. We wanted to revisit the Poplar Gulch trail that begins above St Elmo. Walking the trail with our whole family reminded us of many hikes we took when the children were smaller. No longer do we have children riding on shoulders or in front packs or begging to be carried. Now, I wanted to be carried! We hiked up 5 switchbacks before coming to a mountain stream, where we all had a good taste of pure mountain water. Then we continued trudging up to a beautiful meadow which was completely surrounded by high mountain peaks.

It was a great morning of hiking except for one thing. My out of shape body did not enjoy it at all! I learned quickly that I was in no condition for a hike of this magnitude (and the magnitude was not all that great!) Each step ached and my breathing was labored. I committed myself on this hike never to come to Colorado again in such poor physical conditioning! I learned that I would have a lot more fun and relaxation in Colorado being in better shape. (Now that I have put this in print, I will need to follow through. Don’t hesitate to ask me how I am doing in my conditioning program!)