Life Lessons from a Winebago IX

Today we will be on top of the world. 

A few days ago we unwittingly climbed above the tree line at Rocky Mountain National Park in our RV. It was awesome and frightening.We are now climbing to 14,110 feet, 2000 feet higher than that feat. However, we are much better prepared today. We are styling in our new ride, a small SUV. There were more than a few logistics to get us into this little treasure. The big question we had to settle was, What to do with a 31 foot RV after we rent the car? It turned out there was a perfect road with trucks a plenty parked on it just a block from the rental agency. Sweet!

Driving a small SUV up a windy trail is SOOO much easier. The switchbacks are so tight that our RV could never make them. As we go up the scenery is awesome. It seems every minute is a new "Oh wow!" There are ponderosa pines, Douglas fir, and aspen trees, though we see no wildlife. Suddenly there are no trees, but there is plenty of snow, and what is not snow is rock as far as the eye can see. And then... we hit the 19 mile marker, and we ARRIVE. We exit the beautiful desolation and find sharp contrast in a welcome center, restaurant, train station, and viewing areas with those 25 cent high powered binoculars. We are standing on top of the world and will never forget this moment. 

After driving down the mountain and enjoying our last looks and a snow angel, we are heading to the Garden of the Gods. Here we are walking and driving among beautiful red rock formations made of sandstone. As if our eyes had not had their fill of beauty, God planted more here for us to see. One formation in particular is the balanced rock. This is a massive rock balanced on a small base. Chelsea's under protective parents encourage her to do handstands on the rock ledge of the balanced rock. The other parents around fear for Chelsea's life... And we take pictures to make sure we capture any catastrophes.

It is interesting how the Garden of the Gods was formed. There were various types of rock in the area. There was sandstone, whitestone, and other stones. The sandstone was hardest, so as erosion took place by water and wind, the other stone eroded and the sandstone stayed. The sandstone had been stood up earlier by the earth's underground forces. It seems that erosion can take place in the physical world and in our spiritual and ethical lives. Will our lives be like the sandstone that stands strong against erosion or will we be the other stones that slowly erodes away? We must watch. Erosion is a slow but powerful process that is not obvious over short periods of time. When we are not careful, we change significantly even if slowly. We must not. We must watch and be wary.


 

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