Well, the ten-day vacation is over and I’m now back home with my furry children, all of whom have been ultra-clingy since my return.

The trip was planned to start in Colorado with a trip to the uber-cool Garden of the Gods, followed by a journey to the top of Pikes Peak.  However, when we arrived there in Colorado Springs, our routes to both locations were blocked by a forest fire that had started two days earlier.  At that time, we couldn’t see much, other than smoke, from our vantage point near the USAF Academy.  When it became apparent that conditions weren’t going to change by the next day, we got together and decided to leave Colorado Springs a day early and head up to Evergreen, Colorado – just west of Red Rocks.

Our visit to Red Rocks was downright magickal. The sight of these large red stones on the side of a ridge-line was downright alien…much like the startling way that Garden of the Gods appears in Colorado Springs.  The amphitheater was extremely impressive.  Even talking in a just a mere whisper seemed to carry quite a distance.  There were people everywhere using the seating area as a large stair-climber for their exercise – and its a fairly steep climb.  But what really left an impression on me was the way that the energies of the local area are so strong.  Its as if the residue of the concerts that have passed through have each left a mark on the area. Its an incredible feeling to catch a grip of. Very powerful, very happy, very creative feeling.  I could have easily stayed there all day and just soaked up that atmosphere. Unfortunately, the temps were close to 100F, so we opted to wander through the very small Visitors Center, where pieces of musical creativity can be seen – along with some incredible footage of various bands playing on a 20-minute looped reel.  That particular area also had large theater-style seats on a raised platform, which really boosted the experience.  I saw footage of Widespread Panic playing, and really saw what I’ve been missing from a concert here.  I will have to remedy that in the future.

The next morning, the trek continued into Wyoming, where we ended up at a small cabin on a remote location on a ranch called Deerwood Station.  Located about twenty miles outside of Laramie, the owners were some of the nicest, most gracious hosts I have ever encountered.  Their ranch has about 25 horses, but they will be taken a portion of their 5000 (yes, that’s five THOUSAND) acres and fencing it off so that they can become a sanctuary location for a large herd of wild horses.  Its a controversial thing, from what we were told, but it sounded absolutely awesome to me.

The three day trek around Wyoming was incredible.  The last day, we all went into the Snowy Range, where we hiked along a trail called The Lakes Trail.  I took a major ton of pictures while up in this area.  It was incredible…the sights, the sounds, the entire experience.  We saw a Marmot about the size of a small labrador retriever, sunning itself on a rock.  He never moved, except to crane his neck to keep an eye on us.  The Numen here was absolutely incredible.  Several times, I decided to stop on a huge pieces of granite rock (these things were the size of a city bus or even bigger) to just sit and listen to the voices in the wind.  And boy was it windy!  The trail wanders through a canyon between some gorgeous granite cliffs and fairly high sized hills – and the wind just whips through here.  You can sometimes here it howling on certain wind gusts.  At one point, the trail begins to follow along a small lake called Lookout Lake.  The water was crystal clear, and if you waited for a period of time, you were rewarded with the sight and sound of a trout leaping out of the water to snare a low flying bug.

After hiking about half of the trail – we decided to turn back and go further down the road to a popular lake and waterfall, called Lake Marie.  The waterfall was a spectacular site, and again the Numen of the area was wonderful.  Sitting on the edge of a nearby hill, it was breathtaking to see the falling water illumined by sunlight peeking through the trees.  It was truly a moment that I will treasure for the rest of my life.  I certainly wish there was a way to bottle that experience and share it with anyone I meet that is feeling down.  For me, it was that strong of a positive moment.  Above the waterfall, and on the other side of the road, is Lake Marie.  Here, we were able to walk right to the mouth of the stream that transforms into the waterfall and right to the very banks of Lake Marie.  Again, the water here was crystal clear.  The mood would have been extremely serene and wonderful, if it had not been for the large number of tourists that were all clamoring for pictures.  This was the only location in all of the Snowy Range where we ran into a large number of people.  I found out later that the toursim for the area is down significantly because the snow pack from winter was very low.  Therefore, late season skiing was non-existant, which is what seems to drive the tourism for this area during June and July.  This is also a factor for the significant number of wildfires that are burning through the Rockies.

During the trip, I had forgotten my ear buds for my iPhone.  The idea was to go into the woods and do the same thing I do on my daily walk – infuse my travels with the sounds of various artists that I adore.  However, I am glad that I had forgotten the earbuds.  The sounds of everything around me was simple incredible and really heightened my total experience.  Sometimes technology is helpful – but sometimes it just gets completely in the way and lessens the experience.

For me, the trip was absolutely the type of “re-charge” that I was needing.  I’m back from the trip feeling refreshed and feeling absolutely fantastic.  I also have realized that my fervor for living in the northern and western tier of the North America continent is back and burning stronger.  Its an area that I  am absolutely in love with.