Rocky Mountain High

This afternoon I went up to Rocky Mountains National Park. One of my favorite things is that first moment of astonishment; driving around a turn and suddenly here are these amazing mountains towering into the clouds. To get into the park I had to get through the gate guarded by the highway robbers calling themselves Park Rangers and charging $20 just to enjoy something they had nothing to do with creating. Like most of you understand I wasn't content to just look at this image of beauty but I wanted to get close and enjoy it.
I started out on a hike to an alpine lake that I thought would be beautiful. It was a little interesting though since there was over 3 feet of snow on the ground and I had no snowshoes. It kind of worked to step in the packed down footprints left from other travelers, but everynow and then I would suddenly sink down thigh deep in the snow. Soon I lost the trail but didn't want to give up so I went trudging up this ridge from where I thought I would be able to see the lake. I made it up but no view so I started following the ridge line. Before long I was having visions of myself getting stuck up there and I began to look for places where I could build a shelter or start a fire. I finally decided to turn back as the sun began to sink below the white peaks in the distance. I was pretty frustrated at not finding my lake, but I knew the smart thing was to turn around. As I started down the slope I looked out and there was a different yet very beautiful lake waiting for me.
Maybe that doesn't sound that interesting, but to me it was significant as I thought about how my path and God's path are often different, yet...