It was the Summer of Love. I was too young for love at the time, but we all love a vacation, so I was excited to drive with my family across the country from Illinois to California. A three-week adventure that would take us through the mountain states traveling West and through the desert coming back.
My mom, dad, older brother, and our pet Schnauzer, Pepper, hopped into our gold Pontiac with the brand-new air conditioner that was installed under the dash. We averaged 500-700 miles each day, stopping along the way and sometimes spending a whole day in an interesting place to see the sights.
First stop for the night – Lincoln, Nebraska. Next day, headed to Colorado Springs to see the Garden of The Gods, The Royal Gorge, and Pikes Peak. I wasn’t as into nature as I am now, and I just wanted to get to California, see some palm trees, go to Disneyland, see the ocean and maybe some movie stars.
I don’t know if you’ve ever driven through mountains before, but I was getting a little carsick going through all the winding roads – and the Peak was 14,110 feet high! (As a reference point for those of you familiar with Sedona, its elevation is only 4,000 feet). When we reached the observatory, we were literally walking among clouds. And the temperature had dropped from the arid 70 degrees in the valley to a brisk 40-something at the top of Pikes Peak, with rain and storm clouds threatening. I could not enjoy the beauty of God’s Country because I was so sick. And all I could think was, “Oh, great. We have to drive the same winding road ALL THE WAY DOWN to get back to our hotel”, where I just wanted to park it under the covers.
Remember the movie BRIDESMAIDS with Kristen Wiig? Remember the bridal luncheon where they all got sick after eating Brazilian food? I’ll spare you the details, but there I was at the top of Pikes Peak having my own Bridesmaid moment. Always a bridesmaid, never a bride…well, that’s not true but is a story for another time!
Fast-forward to my 20’s. I used to love spending time outside reading, soaking up the summer sun (better grab it while you can in Chicago) and found at some point that I was starting to notice the flowers blooming and the grass blowing in the breeze. Then, decades later while visiting my parents after their move to Arizona, I enjoyed the differences in vegetation between Illinois and Arizona. I saw a colorful hummingbird for the first time, I saw the sky ablaze with colors I had never seen before at sunset.
Ask anyone who has been to Sedona what that was like when they were driving North on Interstate 17, seeing mountains all around. And then…after driving some winding roads, there is a clearing where the road opens up and you see the red rocks for the first time. Depending on the time of day, the sun hits the mountains differently, and you can see the sandstone layers of color that range from red to purple to orange. It’s better than a postcard. It’s like another world. It takes your breath away. It’s something so much bigger than yourself. Suddenly, I realized that I had started looking at mountains differently. I had this immense appreciation for God’s Creation and began to connect with Him in a new way. Present day – I’m living at the foothills of a mountain where you can look up and actually see the stars in the sky.
After we returned from that California vacation, we invited some of our family over to watch our home movies of the trip (because who doesn’t want to do THAT!). Out of 12 rolls of movie film, I remember that there were four rolls of nothing but mountains. I wasn’t paying attention to the movies because looking at those mountains reminded me of being sick. I remember my mother sort of reprimanding me to look at the movies, and my response was, “If you’ve seen one mountain, you’ve seen ‘em all.”
It took me many years to realize that this just wasn’t true and to come to appreciate their beauty, and now I’m living amongst them! As I look back on that vacation, I know that it wasn’t about the mountains. It was a Summer that I got to be with my family and create many memories. I will never forget that trip for many reasons; my parents divorced the following year, so having that last family trip is something I will always treasure.
Relationships can change. So, treasure those you have. Create new memories. Explore together. Laugh together. And remember – IT’S ALL ABOUT RELATIONSHIPS!!!
