Last week my mom and I spent the week in Colorado - Boulder and vicinity. We had bigger ambitions, but my mother's body protested quite a bit when we got too high up in the mountains, so we cancelled the second half of our trip and just hung out in Boulder.
It actually turned out to be a nice misfortune. I managed to get to the mountains every day to go hike and sit in the quiet.
As is likely to happen when you spend days solid around someone, my mom and I had our share of disagreements. After a particularly rough one, I decided to get some perspective in the mountains.
Sometimes, getting away is exactly what you need.
I went to the usual park off Flagstaff road, where there are endless trails to explore. As I was driving up the mountain I noticed a storm brewing in the distance, but wasn't about to let it deter me. I parked the car and started exploring a new spur of the trail.
I hiked for a good long while, all the while seeing deer, squirrels and hundreds of woodpeckers. My mind was starting to calm, and by the time I reached an intersection of trails, things were starting to look better to me.
I followed a randomly selected fork, and hiked along not sure where I was going (the best feeling ever in the mountains - when you're not terribly lost, that is...) The trail started getting significantly more difficult. I kept going, though, enjoying the challenge.
After hiking up an incline, the trail seemed to circle back on itself in front of a large group of boulders. Not wanting to stop, I looked around for anything resembling a trail. My efforts paid off, and I followed a jagged trail up the boulders.
My mind and feet were distracted negotiating the rocks, so I didn't realize immediately when I was at the top. With no more boulders to climb, I looked around me.
I had come to an open area that led to a sharp dropoff. The wind was howling. In the near distance, I could see the storm festering.
I watched it. Somehow it seemed possible to reach up and touch it. It sat there trapped over the mountains; I could hear it discharge its energy in the distance. The sound lingered as it reverberated between the slopes of the mountains. I closed my eyes for a little while and let the wind blow on my face and my ears absorb the sound.
Then, as though this moment couldn't get any better, I opened my eyes and looked up to see a golden eagle soaring with its offspring. I followed them across the sky with the wind as a backdrop until they landed on one of the thousand trees.
I knew with a touch of sadness that I couldn't stay forever. I finally rose and started walking back. Disappointed at having to leave, but knowing that the place was burned in my memory.
2 comments:
Mmmmmm....sounds wonderful! So are you gonna move there? Boulder is a lovely place. I went there for a Spring Break ski trip in college with some friends and we stayed with my boyfriend's sister (she was going to the University there). I fell in love with the surroundings. And if you like to ski....you would be at the gateway to MANY resorts. Colorado is definitely a nature-lover's paradise (did I ever tell you I rode horses in the mountains there, too????? THAT was yet another awesome experience!). I could definitely see you living there and embracing life there.
that... is quite a story. even better the second time.... mountains are so good for the brain. and forests. really, all nature. My friend stephen, who's real into biology, told me that humans are naturally happier and calmer in forests, because its shelter. like out on open plains, we have no hope if a tiger finds us, but forests.... they're so safe, and calm, and awesome.
and the picture. sweet blog!
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