Reflections on the Rockies...

"Reading about nature is fine, but if a person walks in the woods and listens carefully, he can learn more than what is in books, for they speak with the voice of God." - George Washington Carver 

God is big... WAY bigger than I notice from day to day.

Lake Minnewanka, Banff National Park, Alberta ,Canada

Mt Edith Clavell and Angel Glacier, Jasper National Park, Alberta, Canada

Glacier National Park, MT

 Everywhere I looked, I felt small.  Not in a bad way, but in the "get over yourself" way.  Over the course of ten days, the things I considered to be problems seemed much smaller, and the joys that I sometimes overlook seemed much bigger.  In that time, we collectively took almost 1500 pictures and videos... two cameras and three cell phones trying to capture every amazing sight for posterity and to share.

Athabasca Glacier, Alberta, Canada

Of course, the big problem is that there is no way to capture the amazing things we saw on film.  No way to capture the smell of pines and leaves... no way to record the mist that surrounds you when you are able to get right next to a waterfall... no way to take the reactions of those who are seeing it all for the first time, or with new eyes, or in new ways.



Once again, I am confronted with the BIGNESS of God.  More than ever, I understand this world we have as a gift.  I see it's fragile nature.  Only 35 glaciers remain at Glacier National Park in Montana, and to really see those you must hike away from the road and the crowds. They predict that within 25 years there will no longer be any active glaciers there, and that the park will be a final testament to the power that glaciers had to move earth and shape the landscape in new and powerful ways.

If you see me and ask me about me about my trip, I will embarrass myself by whipping out my phone and showing you the pictures I took on it.  I want them to tell the story of our visit to one of the most peaceful and beautiful places I have ever been.  But on my phone, they are small, and even if I were to blow them up and plaster them all over my walls, they would only capture a part of what I would want you to know.

Our five senses and our brain are even more miraculous than we imagine. Believe me, the pictures only capture 20% of what lays before you when you are standing on that mountain or at that lake or walking down that path. If you are intrigued by what you have seen, then maybe this is your invitation to go on a journey of your own away from the expected and into places you have never been.

This trip has made a lasting impression on me.  It's easy to become blinded to the things that surround us. But in taking time to get away, I realized that I have to try harder to not take for granted how much better my senses make my life.

Just today we spent time in our tiny garden, tending to our tomatoes and peppers, our parsley and basil. We took care to water the parsley and peppers this morning, because we saw how droopy they were yesterday after the heat of the day. We marveled at the spiny fuzz that covers the tomatoes when they are very small, and how the flowers dip their little heads down if they have been fertilized and are making fruit, and how they shrivel and blow away if they are no longer needed.   We remembered the wonderful taste and feel of the meaty flesh of the one tomato that we have harvested, and look with great anticipation for the many that are to come. (I see tomato sauce in my future...)

This is a miraculous world we live in, my friends.  And I am more grateful than ever for the opportunity to explore it, one adventure at a time.

Peace, Deb

"The best remedy for those who are afraid, lonely or unhappy is to go outside, somewhere where they can be quiet, alone with the heavens, nature and God.  Because only then does one feel that all is as it should be and that God wishes to see people happy, amidst the simple beauty of nature.  I firmly believe that nature brings solace in all troubles." - Anne Frank